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Butler’s step up to the big time signified by charter flights?

butler big blue

Welp, I think we can officially say that Butler has made it as a high-major, nationally relevant program.

And it’s not because they hosted College Gameday on Saturday or have managed to climb into the top ten while missing their leading scorer. It’s not because they made the jump to the Atlantic 10 and are considering making the leap to the new league formed by the Big East’s Catholic 7. It isn’t even because the Bulldogs made back-to-back national title games and have the best, young head coach in the business running the show.

It has nothing to do with their success.

And everything to do with ... their travel? According to David Woods, the Butler beat-writer for the Indy Star, the Bulldogs no longer take busses to every game. They fly, sometimes commercial but usually charter flights. They’ll be flying charter to La Salle for Wednesday’s game and will be taking a charter to every Atlantic 10 road game for the rest of the season.

That comes at a cost:

Depending on the destination and length of flights, charters can run from $20,000 to nearly $40,000. Butler schedules charters through Anthony Travel, the same company used by Indiana, Purdue, Notre Dame and about 30 other Division I schools. Tim Lindgren of Anthony Travel said the company acts as a liaison with travel brokers.

Butler once called on donors to help with fundraising so the team could fly by charter, but now the cost is budgeted. Butler coach Brad Stevens said the university recognized travel expense would increase when Butler left the Horizon League to join the Atlantic 10.

Stevens said the charters are “part of investing and doing it the right way.”


By “investing and doing it the right way”, Stevens is saying that this is how the Bulldogs go from being a blip on the radar to having longevity as a contender, something that can be sustained even if Stevens decides to leave for another job.

There’s a convenience level at work here as well.

Butler’s playing a more national schedule. The Atlantic 10 is much more spread out than the Horizon League. Longer trips mean more potential travel pitfalls. Flying coach means a flight could be delayed. Taking a bus means that the team may not make it back from a game until 4 a.m.

Chartering a flight not only allows the Bulldogs to schedule their travel around practices and classes, but it means that players will have that much more time to study, work out and sleep.

Being able to afford those luxuries makes you one of the big boys.

Butler won when there wasn’t a level playing field. Now they spend like a high-major.

So watch out.

You can find Rob on twitter @RobDauster.