Butler men's basketball coach to headline 2012 Don Meyer Evening of Excellence

 

Stevens led the Butler Bulldogs to two consecutive NCAA Division I championship games in 2010 and 2011 and is the youngest coach in NCAA history to achieve such a feat.

 

Tickets begin at $25 and are on sale now at LipscombSports.com

 

“Brad Stevens is one of the most successful new coaches in college basketball right now. He has a very interesting journey into coaching and has been very successful. He is passionate about basketball and about molding his players into successful men on and off the court. We are thrilled he is coming to Lipscomb and are certain his message is one that will inspire everyone,” said Hutcheson.

 

Stevens was named Butler’s coach in 2007 at the age of 31. He has built the Bulldog basketball program in to a strong national contender.

 

The 2007-08 Bulldogs, under Stevens, won the Great Alaska Shootout, captured a second straight Wooden Tradition trophy, claimed a second consecutive Horizon League regular season championship, won the Horizon League Tournament title and notched a first round NCAA Tournament win for the second straight year. Butler was ranked in the "Top 25" of both the Associated Press and the ESPN/USA Today national polls for a school- and Horizon League-record 19 consecutive weeks, including a record five weeks in the "Top 10." The Bulldogs climbed to No. 8 in the nation on Feb. 18, the highest national ranking in school history.

 

Stevens was an assistant coach at Butler under Todd Lickliter from 2001-07. During that period, the Bulldogs compiled a 131-61 record, won three Horizon League regular season championships, made four trips to postseason tournament play and achieved Butler's first "Top 10" national ranking. He became the first assistant coach in Butler basketball history to help the Bulldogs reach the NCAA Sweet 16 twice (2003 and 2007).

 

One year after graduating from DePauw University, Stevens left a position as a marketing associate at Eli Lilly and Company in Indianapolis to pursue a career in basketball coaching. He served in a volunteer capacity in Butler's basketball office during the summer of 2000, before eventually gaining a full-time administrative position on the Bulldogs' staff in the fall of 2000. Prior to joining the Bulldogs' staff, Stevens served as a volunteer basketball coach at Carmel High School.

 

Stevens completed a stellar high school basketball career in 1995 as the all-time basketball scoring leader at Zionsville (Ind.) High School with 1,508 career points. During his prep career, he also set team all-time records for three-point field goals (since broken) and assists (444), and he tied the all-time mark for steals (156). He set single season records for points (644) and scoring average (26.8). Stevens went on to earn all-conference and academic all-conference honors as a four-year member of the basketball team at DePauw University. He played in 101 games in four seasons, and he served as a team captain as a senior. He received DePauw's "Coaches Award" in 1998-99.

Stevens earned a B.A. degree in economics from DePauw in 1999.

 

The Don Meyer Evening of Excellence is an annual athletic fundraising event named after long-time Lipscomb University men’s basketball coach Don Meyer who impacted the lives of countless thousands while at the helm of the Bisons.  Meyer, the winningest men’s collegiate basketball coach of all-time, was involved in a life-changing car accident on Sept. 5, 2008 that led to eight surgeries and the amputation of his left leg below the knee. He was subsequently diagnosed with cancer in his liver and small intestine.  Meyer was awarded the “Jimmy V Award for Perseverance” from ESPN at the ESPY Awards in July 2009.

 

Visit lipscombsports.com for more information.