The Butler Bulldogs women's soccer team is an intercollegiate

varsity sports A varsity team is the highest-level team in a sport or activity representing an educational institution. Varsity teams train to compete against each other during an athletic season or in periodic matches against rival institutions. At high schools ...

team of

Butler University Butler University is a private university in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university has over 60 major academic fields of study within six colleges in the arts, business, communic ...

, an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Division I member school located in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, IN. The team played its final season in the

Horizon League The Horizon League is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Headquartered in Indianapolis, the league's eleven member schools are located in ...

in 2011; on July 1, 2012, the Bulldogs joined the

Atlantic 10 Conference The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. The A-10's member schools are located most ...

for one season. They currently play in the

Big East Conference The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

History

Butler University first fielded a varsity women's soccer team in 1991, when they earned a 10–7–1 record under head coach Bryan Blitz, including a 0–3–0 record in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference (now called the

). Coach Blitz left the program following the 1995 season, the same season as the Bulldogs' first conference championship. The Bulldogs were next coached by George Van Linder, who led the team to its second conference championship and two conference runner-up finishes before departing after the 1998 season. Woody Sherwood served as the Bulldogs' third women's soccer coach and led the team to its third conference championship in 1999; under his leadership the team only once finished lower than third in the Horizon League. The Bulldogs' current head coach, Tari St. John began serving as head coach in the 2006 season. Aside from the head coach, Butler employs one assistant coach on a part-time basis. This position is currently held by Ric Huffman, who has held the position since 2009. Huffman also serves as the head coach of the Dynamo Football Club, also located in Indianapolis, and is a former member of the Indiana University men's soccer team and the Indiana Twisters of the Continental Indoor Soccer League. He also played on the 1998 National Indoor Championship team. The position was previously held by Greg Miller, who is the current head coach for the

Pittsburgh Panthers The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, facul ...

. All other women's soccer coaches serve on a volunteer basis. Butler left the Horizon League following the 2011 season when the athletic department moved to the

. During their time in the Horizon, the Bulldogs earned one conference tournament championship, in 1996, but the team did not qualify for the NCAA tournament because the conference did not have an automatic bid at that time. However, the team was the tournament runner-up six times, in 1994, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, and 2010. The team also won four conference season championships, in 1995, 1996, 1999, and 2010. Joining the Atlantic 10 Conference presented some challenges, including schedule adjustments, because the move came a year ahead of schedule. For example, the Bulldogs were scheduled to play an exhibition game against the defending Atlantic 10 champions, the

Dayton Flyers The Dayton Flyers are the intercollegiate athletic teams of the University of Dayton of Dayton, Ohio. All Flyers intercollegiate sports teams participate at the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA Division I level. The football team ...

, but the game had to be rescheduled as a conference game later in the season. Other teams had to redo their schedules in a matter of weeks after their previously finalized schedules were already released.

Players

Current roster

Yearly records

Players, awards, and recognition

Outreach

In response to the growth of interested youths in the Indianapolis area, where the Butler Bulldogs are located, the soccer program offers several soccer camps for various age groups. The camp is instructed by several members of the women's soccer program, including head coach Tari St. John. In addition to the camps, the Butler Bulldogs women's soccer program annually wears pink jerseys in support the "fight against breast cancer." The jerseys are sold to the public following the game to raise proceeds for the cause.

References

External links

* {{Big East Conference women's soccer navbox 1991 establishments in Indiana NCAA Division I women's soccer teams Association football clubs established in 1991