The Butler Bulldogs softball team represents Butler University in NCAA Division I college softball. The team was founded during the 1980–1981 academic school year, and is a member of the Big East Conference (Big East). The Bulldogs play their home games at the Butler Softball Field on campus in Indianapolis, IN.
During their tenure in the Big East Conference, the Bulldogs have claimed 1 Big East Conference softball tournament title.
History The Bulldogs first fielded a varsity softball team in 1981 and have been a member of five (5) athletic conferences during their existence which includes the North Star Conference, Midwestern Collegiate Athletic Conference (MCC), Horizon League, Atlantic 10 and, as of 2014, the Big East Conference.The Butler softball team has been led by Scott Hall for the last 12 seasons and is the 8th head coach in program history. Hall led the Bulldogs to a team record 4 tournament game wins in 2011 as well as a team record 16 conference wins in a single season in 2022. Hall also guided the Bulldogs to their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 2016 after capturing the programs first conference tournament championship.
Butler Softball Field The Butler softball team calls the Butler Softball Field home, located adjacent to the Holcomb Gardens across the Inland Waterway Canal. The field is a part of a larger athletic field complex that features Varsity Field (the alternate field for both the men's and women's soccer teams), the outdoor tennis courts and intramural softball and soccer fields.
The facility underwent major renovations during the summer and fall of 2010. A new press box was built along with new bleachers and walkways. Also, the actual playing field was replaced and is now one of the best surfaces in the region. In 2010, the facility received a new infield surface with a natural sand and clay mix.
The field features brick dugouts for both the home and visiting benches, a bullpen area and batting cages located down the first base line out of play and spectator seating for up to 500 people. The field's outfield dimensions extend to 200 feet from foul pole to foul pole.
Head coaching history
Coach Years Record Win Pct. Barb Greenburg 1981 - 1994 263-226-4 .533 Jeryl Neff 1995 - 1997 48-88-1 .350 Tiffany Strnad 1998 - 1999 37-68-1 .349 Dirk Welch 2000 - 2002 49-84 .368 Tom Spencer 2003 - 2005 55-103-1 .346 Angie Nicholson 2006 17-30-1 .354 Jeanne Rayman 2007 - 2010 105-100 .512 Scott Hall 2011 – Present 295-329-1 .472 All-Time (41 years) 1981 – Present 869-1,028-8 .456
Conference affiliation On March 20, 2013, the Butler administration announced that the school would join the reconfigured Big East, and moved to the new conference on July 1, 2013.
Years Conference 1981 - 1986 North Star Conference 1987 - 2001 Midwestern Collegiate Athletic Conference 2002 - 2012 Horizon League 2013 Atlantic 10 Conference 2014 – Present Big East Conference
NCAA tournament results
Season Overall Record Conference Record NCAA Regional Location NCAA Tournament Results NCAA Tournament BidFinal RPI Ranking 2016 28-24 9-7 Lexington Regional L, 1-6 vs. No 9 KentuckyL, 1–2 vs. Illinois Automatic131st
Season-by-season results
Conference tournament results Source: Midwestern Collegiate Athletic Conference
SeasonConference Overall Record Conference Record Conference Regular Season Finish Conference Tournament ResultsConference Tournament Finish1987MCC23-20N/A3rdW, 4-2 vs. LoyolaW, 5-3 vs. DetroitL, 1-2 vs. EvansvilleL, 1-3 vs. Detroit3rd1988MCC20-16-1N/A2ndW, 2-1 vs. LoyolaL, 2-3 vs. DetroitL, 1-2 vs. Evansville3rd1989MCC16-21N/A4thL, 6-7 vs. Notre DameL, 6-7 vs. Evansville6th1990MCC21-234-66thL, 1-6 vs. DaytonL, 3-2 vs. Evansville6th1991MCC25-216-43rdL, 3-7 vs. LoyolaW, 3-2 vs. DaytonW, 1-0 vs. St. LouisW, 3-0 vs. LoyolaL, 4-5 vs. Notre Dame3rd1992MCC12-245-55thL, 0-5 vs. EvansvilleL, 0-4 vs. Loyola5th1993MCC19-236-65thW, 6-1 vs. La SalleL, 0-1 vs. Notre DameL, 1-11 vs. Evansville6th1994MCC22-28-34-64thW, 2-0 vs. DetroitL, 5-7 vs. Notre DameW, 8-6 vs. La SalleW, 9-8 vs. DetroitL, 0-5 vs. Loyola3rd1996MCC13-295-96thL, 0-6 vs. Cleveland StateL, 0-8 (6 in) vs. Green Bay8th1997MCC18-28-16-84thL, 1-4 vs. LoyolaL, 0-1 vs. Detroit7th1998MCC24-25-110-22ndW, 3-2 vs. Green BayW, 5-4 vs. Cleveland StateL, 0-2 vs. UICL, 0-6 vs. Detroit3rd1999MCC13-436-65thL, 1-5 vs. Wright StateL, 0-4 vs. Green Bay6th2000MCC13-363-96thL, 0-3 vs. LoyolaL, 0-2 vs. Detroit7th2001MCC21-253-96thW, 7-3 vs. Wright StateL, 0-8 vs. UICL, 1-3 vs. Green Bay4th
Horizon League Source: SeasonConference Overall Record Conference Record Conference Regular Season Finish Conference Tournament ResultsConference Tournament Finish2002Horizon League15-235-96thW, 8-2 vs. DetroitW, 4-1 vs. Green BayL, 0-12 vs. UICW, 3-1 vs. LoyolaL, 1-8 vs. UIC2nd2003Horizon League18-318-135thL, 4-7 vs. Green BayL, 6-11 vs. Loyola7th2004Horizon League18-39-110-105thW, 3-0 vs. DetroitW, 1-0 vs. Youngstown StateL, 1-10 vs. UICL, 0-1 vs. Wright State4th2005Horizon League19-337-126thL, 1-2 vs. Cleveland StateL, 5-7 vs. Wright State7th2006Horizon League17-30-14-168thL, 0-7 vs. UICL, 0-11 vs. Loyola8th2007Horizon League26-247-86thW, 2-1 (12 in) vs. Green BayL, 2-7 vs. Wright StateW, 7-1 vs. DetroitL, 1-2 (9 in) vs. Cleveland State4th2008Horizon League17-295-127thL, 0-6 vs. Green BayW, 3-1 vs. Youngstown StateL, 1-2 vs. Loyola7th2009Horizon League26-2812-115thW, 8-1 vs. Youngstown StateL, 0-7 vs. Cleveland StateW, 2-0 vs. Green BayW, 12-4 vs. LoyolaL, 2-5 vs. Wright State4th2010Horizon League36-1911-116thW, 4-1 vs. UICL, 9-11 vs. Wright StateL, 2-3 vs. Green Bay5th2011Horizon League32-2414-83rdW, 4-0 vs. Wright StateW, 3-1 vs. ValparaisoL, 1-2 vs. UICW, 5-4 vs. ValparaisoW, 1-0 vs. UICL, 3-5 vs. UIC2nd2012Horizon League25-3213-115thW, 3-0 vs. Youngstown StateW, 6-1 vs. ValparaisoL, 1-9 (6 in) vs. LoyolaL, 2-3 (8 in) vs. Valparaiso3rd
Big East Conference SeasonConference Overall Record Conference Record Conference Regular Season Finish Conference Tournament ResultsConference Tournament Finish 2016Big East 28-24 9-7 4th W, 10-6 vs. DePaulW, 10-8 (8 in) vs. St. John's1st2017Big East23-2911-94thL, 3-9 vs. St John's4th2021Big East17-21-16-11-14thW, 8-1 vs. DePaulL, 1-4 vs. UConnL, 5-14 vs. Villanova3rd2022Big East31-1716-62ndL, 0-2 vs. VillanovaL, 1-4 vs. UConn4th2023Big East18-3512-94thL, 6-9 vs. St John'sL, 2-4 vs. DePaul6th
See also List of NCAA Division I softball programs
References