List of Butler Bulldogs men's basketball head coaches

Last updated June 11, 2025

The following is a list of Butler Bulldogs men's basketball head coaches. There have been 24 head coaches of the Bulldogs in their 125-season history.^[1]

Butler's current head coach is Thad Matta, in his second stint as head coach. He was hired in April 2022^[2] to replace LaVall Jordan, who was fired after the 2021–22 season.^[3]

No.	Tenure	Coach	Years	Record	Pct.
–	1896–1897	Unknown	1	1–0	1.000
1	1897–1899	James L. Zink	2	2–5	.286
2	1899–1903	Walter F. Kelly	4	6–8	.429
3	1903–1904	Ralph Jones	1	2–2	.500
4	1904–1906	Edgar Wingard	2	7–3	.700
5	1906–1907	Art Guedel	1	2–4	.333
6	1907–1909^[a]	Jack McKay	2	9–6	.600
7	1908–1909^[a]	Joe McCrea	1	5–2	.714
8	1909–1910	Walter Gipe	1	3–4	.429
9	1910–1912	Bill Diddle	2	10–12	.455
10	1912–1918^[b]	G. Cullen Thomas	5	16–28	.364
11	1918–1919	Joe Mullane	1	1–9	.100
12	1919–1920	F. E. Ellis	1	2–4	.333
13	1920–1926	Harlan Page	6	103–30	.774
14	1926–1942 1945–1970	Tony Hinkle	41	560–392	.588
15	1942–1945^[c]	Frank Hedden	2	18–15	.545
16	1970–1977	George Theofanis	7	79–105	.429
17	1977–1989	Joe Sexson	12	143–188	.432
18	1989–2000	Barry Collier	11	196–132	.598
19	2000–2001 2022–present	Thad Matta	3	56–41	.577
20	2001–2007	Todd Lickliter	6	131–61	.682
21	2007–2013	Brad Stevens	6	166–49	.772
22	2013–2014	Brandon Miller	1	14–17	.452
23	2014–2017	Chris Holtmann	3	70–31	.693
24	2017–2022	LaVall Jordan	5	83–74	.529
Totals		24 coaches	125 seasons	1,680–1,220	.579
Records updated through end of 2023–24 season Source^[1]

1 2 McKay and McCrea served as co-head coaches for the 1908–09 season. Their record of 5–2 is reflected in both coaches' records.
↑ Butler did not field a basketball team for the 1913–14 season.
↑ Butler did not field a basketball team for the 1943–44 season.

References

1 2 "Butler Men's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). Butler Athletics. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
↑ "Butler basketball brings Thad Matta back as head coach" . The Indianapolis Star . April 3, 2022. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
↑ Borzello, Jeff (April 1, 2022). "Butler fires men's basketball coach LaVall Jordan after five seasons". ESPN.com . Retrieved February 25, 2023.

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[McKayMcCrea-4] 1 2 McKay and McCrea served as co-head coaches for the 1908–09 season. Their record of 5–2 is reflected in both coaches' records.

[NoTeam1914-5] Butler did not field a basketball team for the 1913–14 season.

[NoTeam1944-6] Butler did not field a basketball team for the 1943–44 season.

[RecordBook-1] 1 2 "Butler Men's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). Butler Athletics. Retrieved February 25, 2023.

[2] "Butler basketball brings Thad Matta back as head coach" . The Indianapolis Star . April 3, 2022. Retrieved February 25, 2023.

[3] Borzello, Jeff (April 1, 2022). "Butler fires men's basketball coach LaVall Jordan after five seasons". ESPN.com . Retrieved February 25, 2023.

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v t e Butler Bulldogs men's basketball
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Culture & lore	The Butler Way Crossroads Classic Dawg Pound Butler Blue
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
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NCAA Final Four appearances in italics