Butler’s a private liberal arts school in Indianapolis. Total enrollment in 2009 was 4,512. Compared to other Final Four schools VCU (30,381 students), Kentucky (27,171) and Connecticut (25,029), it’s tiny.
Yet, I’m convinced its reach far outstrips its size.
Yes, it’s all anecdotal evidence, but my life’s had multiple random Butler’s associations recently.
My mother-in-law attended Michigan State, but earned her graduate degree at Butler. (She lives in Indianapolis.) She really wasn’t sure whom to root for in last year’s Final Four between the Spartans and Bulldogs.
Our Bracketologist, Dave Ommen, is a Butler grad, but I didn’t know that before bringing him on last year. In the two years he’s worked with us, the Bulldogs have been to two Final Fours. Just sayin’.
A high school classmate (I grew up in Wyoming) who’s a teacher living in New Castle, Ind. He emailed me on Facebook to express his delight in former student Matt Howard, now the Bulldogs’ center. In my classmate’s words, Howard comes from a polite, well-grounded family. Everyone’s rooting for him,
More amazing is that my wife attended DePauw for two years before transferring to Kansas. While at DePauw, she was in the sorority and same pledge class as Brad Stevens’ wife, Tracy.
Small school? Sure. But it’s a small world, too.
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