Butler Bulldogs
PioneerIndianapolis, INButler Bowl
2026: 5–2 (2–1 Pioneer). Last: lost to Dayton 19–9 at home. Next: at Drake, Saturday, Oct 24, 1 p.m. ET.
- W 27–23Georgetown College Kentucky
- L 24–51at Montana State
- W 52–0Franklin
- W 47–20Chicago State
- W 33–28at Valparaiso
- W 41–10San Diego
- L 9–19Dayton
- Oct 24at Drake
- Oct 31at Presbyterian
- Nov 7St. Thomas (MN)
- Nov 14at Marist
- Nov 21Morehead State
Butler has played football since 1884 and is officially 623–509–35; 296 of its 1,167 games are in our file. They have won 13 Indiana Collegiate Conference titles (the last in 1975), plus six Heartland Collegiate Conference titles, four Pioneer Football League titles, two Midwest Intercollegiate Football Conference titles, counting shared titles. The most-played rival is Drake: 23 meetings, Drake leads 18–4–1. This season, they’re 5–2.
Résumé
- All-time record
- 623–509–35 official; 119–174–3 on file; how we count
- Postseason
- 0–0 bowls, title games, playoff
- AP No. 1 finishes
- 0
- Weeks at No. 1
- 0 of 0 ranked
- Elo now
- 1330
- Computer rankings
- Massey No. 93 · Composite No. 47 in FCS, Oct 17; down 13 since Oct 11. From Massey Ratings
- Conference titles
- 25 last in 2013
- Bowl record
- 1–3 official, bowls only
- Seasons
- 54 since 1892, 296 games
Identity
- Fight song
- The Butler War Song
2026 season 5–2
RosterFull 2026 season| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 29 | vsGeorgetown College Kentucky | W 27–23 | 73% |
| Sep 5 | at Montana State | L 24–51 | 15% |
| Sep 12 | vsFranklin | W 52–0 | 89% |
| Sep 19 | vs Chicago State | W 47–20 | 66% |
| Sep 26 | at Valparaiso | W 33–28 | 68% |
| Oct 10 | vs San Diego | W 41–10 | 63% |
| Oct 17 | vs Dayton | L 9–19 | 62% |
| Oct 24 | at Drake | Preview | 52% |
| Oct 31 | at Presbyterian | Preview | 43% |
| Nov 7 | vs St. Thomas (MN) | Preview | 58% |
| Nov 14 | at Marist | Preview | 50% |
| Nov 21 | vs Morehead State | Preview | 82% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
This season, game by game
Players
The 2026 rosterThe moneyOn the 2026 team
- Gabe Passini903 passing yards, 10 TD (leads Butler in passing yards)
- Desmin Jackson409 rushing yards, 5 TD (leads Butler in rushing yards)
- Madden Beriault34 tackles, 2 INT (leads Butler in interceptions)
- Nick Munson21 catches, 330 yards, 7 TD (leads Butler in receiving yards)
- Sam Manna290 rushing yards, 2 TD
- Tommy Diamond38 tackles (leads Butler in tackles)
Program strength since 1892
Best seasons everHead coaches
| Coach | Years | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Fred Mackey | 1932 | 2–4–1 |
Most-played series
All rivalries- Drake
4–18–1 in 23
- 2016 L 14–28
- 2017 L 16–27
- 2018 L 6–36
- 2019 L 7–42
- 2020 L 7–33
- 2021 L 3–6
- 2022 L 24–27
- 2023 L 9–13
- 2024 L 17–27
- 2025 L 19–24
Lost the last 10.
Next: Oct 24
- Valparaiso
14–9 in 23
- 2018 L 17–35
- 2019 W 24–21
- 2020 L 14–24
- 2020 L 25–28
- 2021 L 3–47
- 2022 W 26–25
- 2023 W 17–7
- 2024 W 24–17
- 2025 W 27–20
- 2026 W 33–28
Won the last five; holds the Hoosier Helmet Trophy.
- Morehead State
10–12 in 22
- 2017 W 44–6
- 2018 W 24–21
- 2019 L 20–31
- 2020 L 14–35
- 2020 L 18–28
- 2021 L 8–31
- 2022 W 56–20
- 2023 W 49–7
- 2024 W 40–6
- 2025 L 30–31
Lost the last one.
Next: Nov 21
| Opponent | Games | BTLR record |
|---|---|---|
| Drake | 23 | 4–18–1 |
| Valparaiso | 23 | 14–9 |
| Morehead State | 22 | 10–12 |
| Dayton | 22 | 8–14 |
| San Diego | 17 | 3–14 |
| Davidson | 15 | 7–8 |
| Jacksonville | 13 | 4–9 |
| Franklin | 10 | 8–2 |
Rivals the program names: Valparaiso.
The trophy it holds: Hoosier Helmet Trophy (Valparaiso, since 2022). Who holds each comes from the games on file; the trophies from Wikipedia.
Every opponent (65)
Every program Butler has played, A to Z, with Butler’s record against it. Each links to the series, game by game.
- Albion 5–2
- Ball State 2–0
- Campbell 6–3
- Central Connecticut 1–0
- Chicago 0–0–1
- Chicago State 1–0
- Cincinnati 0–2
- Dartmouth 0–2
- Davidson 7–8
- Dayton 8–14
- DePauw 1–0
- Drake 4–18–1
- Duquesne 0–1
- Evansville 1–0
- Franklin 8–2
- George Washington 1–1
- Georgetown College Kentucky 1–0
- Hanover 5–0
- Illinois 1–8
- Illinois State 0–2
- Indiana 0–3
- Indiana State 0–3
- Indiana Wesleyan 1–0
- Iowa 0–1
- Jacksonville 4–9
- James Millikin 0–1
- Kentucky 0–3
- Marist 4–4
- Marquette 0–2
- Marshall 0–1
- Michigan State 0–1
- Minnesota 0–2
- Missouri S&T 2–2
- Montana 0–1
- Montana State 0–1
- Morehead State 10–12
- Murray State 1–0
- New York University 0–1
- North Dakota State 0–1
- Northern Iowa 0–1
- Northwestern 0–2
- Notre Dame 0–2
- Presbyterian 1–2
- Princeton 0–2
- Purdue 0–8
- Robert Morris 0–2
- San Diego 3–14
- South Dakota State 0–2
- St. Joseph’s (IN) 1–1
- St. Thomas (MN) 2–3
- St. Thomas University (Fl) 1–0
- Stetson 6–1
- Taylor 8–1
- Tennessee State 0–1
- Tiffin 0–1
- Truman State 1–0
- Upper Iowa 1–0
- Valparaiso 14–9
- Virginia Lynchburg 1–0
- Wabash 1–3
- Washington St. Louis 2–4–1
- Weber State 0–1
- Western Illinois 0–1
- Wittenberg 2–0
- Youngstown State 1–2
Conference titles
25, counting shared titles- Midwest Intercollegiate Football Conference 2
- 1991, 1992
- Heartland Collegiate Conference 6
- 1977, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989
- Indiana Collegiate Conference 13
- 1952, 1953, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964 (shared), 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975
As the program counts them in its Wikipedia article, shared titles included, and listed under each conference’s current name (a Western Conference title of the 1900s counts as a Big Ten title); season pages use the name the conference had that year. A title the article files under a conference the team wasn’t in that season is listed under the one it was. Division titles include years the team tied for its division.
Conferences
- Independent 1884–1887 and 1889–1913
- Indiana College Athletic League 1914–1922
- Indiana Intercollegiate Conference 1923–1931, 1934–1942 and 1945–1947
- Indiana Collegiate Conference 1950–1972
- Midwest Intercollegiate Football Conference 1990–1992
- Pioneer Conference since 1993
- 1993Joined the Pioneer Conference from the Midwest Intercollegiate Football Conference in football. Source
Butler’s football conferences by season, from CollegeFootballData.com’s memberships (renamed conferences keep the name of the time). The moves and their announcement dates from Wikipedia’s lists of NCAA Division I conference changes; the year is the first season in the new conference. Conference realignment: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
The school
Butler University- Enrollment
- 5,746 4,489 undergraduates, fall 2024
- Where
- Indianapolis, Indiana
- Public or private
- Private nonprofit
- Founded
- 1855
- Graduates’ median earnings
- $77,235 10 years after starting
Enrollment, place and Carnegie research tier from the National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS, public domain). Earnings from the US Department of Education’s College Scorecard (CC BY 4.0): the median for students who received federal aid and were working, not in school. Founding year from Wikidata. Every school’s in the data.
Season by season
National champions| Season | Record | Conf. | AP pre | AP final | Coach | Elo | SP+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 5–2 | 2–1 | 1330 | ||||
| 2025 | 6–6 | 4–4 | 1296 | ||||
| 2024 | 9–3 | 5–3 | 1370 | ||||
| 2023 | 7–4 | 5–3 | 1341 | ||||
| 2022 | 7–4 | 5–3 | 1261 | ||||
| 2021 | 3–8 | 1–7 | 1094 | ||||
| 2020 | 0–6 | 1072 | |||||
| 2019 | 3–9 | 2–6 | 1119 | ||||
| 2018 | 4–7 | 2–6 | 1180 | ||||
| 2017 | 6–5 | 4–4 | 1272 | ||||
| 2016 | 4–7 | 2–6 | 1170 | ||||
| 2015 | 5–5 | 4–4 | 1240 | ||||
| 2014 | 4–6 | 2–5 | 1220 | ||||
| 2013 | 9–4 | 7–1 | 1331 | ||||
| 2012 | 8–3 | 7–1 | 1310 | ||||
| 2011 | 5–6 | 3–5 | 1178 | ||||
| 2010 | 3–7 | 2–6 | 1239 | ||||
| 2009 | 10–1 | 6–1 | 1379 | ||||
| 2008 | 6–5 | 4–4 | 1235 | ||||
| 2007 | 4–7 | 0–7 | 1117 | ||||
| 2006 | 3–8 | 2–5 | 1039 | ||||
| 2005 | 0–11 | 0–6 | 972 | ||||
| 2003 | 0–1 | 1101 | |||||
| 1962 | 0–1 | 1116 | |||||
| 1942 | 0–2 | 1139 |
Every season back to 1892 (29 more)
| Season | Record | Conf. | AP pre | AP final | Coach | Elo | SP+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | 1–0 | 1184 | |||||
| 1940 | 0–2 | 1135 | |||||
| 1939 | 1–0–1 | 1164 | |||||
| 1938 | 0–3 | 1124 | |||||
| 1937 | 0–1 | 1156 | |||||
| 1936 | 0–0–1 | 1190 | |||||
| 1934 | 0–1 | 1224 | |||||
| 1933 | 2–6 | 0–2 | 1102 | ||||
| 1932 | 2–4–1 | 0–0–1 | Fred Mackey | 1079 | |||
| 1931 | 0–1 | 1097 | |||||
| 1930 | 0–3 | 1098 | |||||
| 1929 | 0–2 | 1108 | |||||
| 1928 | 1–2 | 1120 | |||||
| 1927 | 0–2 | 1083 | |||||
| 1926 | 0–2 | 1093 | |||||
| 1925 | 0–2 | 1098 | |||||
| 1924 | 0–2 | 1104 | |||||
| 1923 | 0–2 | 1111 | |||||
| 1922 | 1–1 | 1123 | |||||
| 1917few games on file | 0–1 | 1088 | |||||
| 1916few games on file | 0–1 | 1087 | |||||
| 1915few games on file | 0–1 | 1085 | |||||
| 1910few games on file | 0–1 | 1084 | |||||
| 1905few games on file | 0–1 | 1080 | |||||
| 1904few games on file | 0–1 | 1076 | |||||
| 1902few games on file | 0–1 | 1089 | |||||
| 1894few games on file | 0–1 | 1091 | |||||
| 1893few games on file | 0–1 | 1096 | |||||
| 1892few games on file | 0–1 | 1097 |
Officially 623–509–35 since 1884 (per Wikipedia, rechecked weekly); game by game here, 119–174–3 (296 of its 1,167 games are on file). Our file starts in 1892; the program began in 1884. Some games are missing from our source.
No season on file for 1895–1901, 1903, 1906–09, 1911–14, 1918–21, 1935, 1943–61, 1963–2002, 2004: the program may not have played, or our source may be missing them.
Records are computed from every game on file at CollegeFootballData.com, whose coverage of the earliest seasons can be incomplete. Elo is this site’s own rating; see how it works on the records page.