Brad Stevens

Brad Stevens in the head men's basketball coach at Butler University. Stevens has been at Butler since joining as a volunteer in 2000 and was promoted to a full-time assistant coach in 2001. Stevens, who began coaching after quitting his job as a marketing associate, has set numerous NCAA records since becoming head coach of Butler in 2007.

His squad lost to Duke in the 2010 championship game when star Gordon Hayward narrowly missed a half-court shot at the buzzer. At 34, he became the youngest coach to go to two Final Fours when his Bulldogs reached the Final Four again in 2011.

Brad Stevens was born and grew up in Zionsville, Ind. He played basketball there and attended DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind., where he played basketball for four years. Stevens played in every possible game during his career and was the recepient of the Coaches' Award as a senior. He was nominated for the Academic All-America team three times. Stevens graduated in 1999 with a B.A. in economics.

After he graduated, Stevens became a marketing associate at Eli Lilly and Co., one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies. Stevens kept that job for just over a year before he decided to leave the firm and return to basketball. He worked briefly as a volunteer coach at an Indiana high school and coached an AAU team. During the summer of 2000, he joined Butler's men's basketball staff as a volunteer assistant -- occupying a mostly administrative position as coordinator of basketball operations.

Brad Stevens spent a year at Butler as a volunteer assistant. During that first year at Butler, the Bulldogs won their first NCAA Tournament game in 39 years, beating Wake Forest in the first round. Head coach Thad Matta left Butler to coach Xavier after that season, and Bulldogs assistant Todd Lickliter was promoted to head coach. Stevens got a promotion, too -- replacing Lickliter and taking over the third assistant position.

Stevens spent the next six years as an assistant at Butler. The Bulldogs compiled a 131-62 record during that time, winning three Horizon League regular season championships. Butler also made four trips to the postseason. By the 2006-07 season, Stevens was involved in almost every aspect of the Bulldogs' play, taking a particular interest in scouting and game preparation. The Bulldogs reached the NCAA tournament's Sweet 16 round that year, losing to eventual champion Florida as a five seed.

When Lickliter left Butler after the 2006-07 season to coach at Iowa, Butler athletic director Barry Collier hired Stevens as the new head coach. Though he was younger than the other candidates and had no experience other than at Butler, Collier said he was impressed with Stevens' work as an assistant and that he, more than any other candidate, exemplified the the spirit and culture of the program: the "Butler Way," as he called it.

Stevens became the second-youngest coach in Division I basketball. In his first season, the Bulldogs won another conference regular season and tournament title, finishing with a 27-3 record. The Bulldogs were given a 7 seed in the NCAA tournament in 2008, defeating South Alabama in the first round before losing to Tennessee, a 2 seed, in an overtime game in the second. Despite the final loss, Stevens set a school record with 30 wins, becoming the third-youngest Division I coach to win as many games. The school was also ranked in the AP Top 10 for three weeks, a new school record.

During his second season in 2008-09, Stevens continued to succeed. Despite having just one returning starter on his roster, Stevens and the Bulldogs won another regular season league title and a trip to the tournament. Though the 9-seeded Bulldogs lost to LSU in the first round, it was another remarkable season for their coach. Stevens recorded another 26 wins, becoming the fifth fastest coach to reach 50 career wins. He also ranks second in NCAA history in wins in a coach's first two seasons.

In 2010, the Bulldogs posted a 33-5 overall record, following an undefeated season in the Horizon League with conference regular season and tournament titles. Butler was ranked No. 8 in the final AP polls before the NCAA Tournament, and the Bulldogs' play in that championship only increased their visibilty across the nation. As a 5 seed, the Bulldogs defeated a 12-seed, 13-seed, top-seeded Syracuse and second-seeded Kansas State on the way to the school's and Horizon League's first Final Four. Stevens became the second youngest coach to reach the Final Four in NCAA history. The Bulldogs defeated Michigan State in the semfinals but lost to Duke, 61-59, after star Gordon Hayward narrowly missed a half-court shot at the buzzer.

Stevens became the second-youngest man to coach in a national championship game, and he became a media darling after the game. He was called and congratulated by President Barack Obama, appeared on David Letterman and even threw out the first pitch before a Cubs game. Stevens signed a longterm deal with Butler, extending his contract through the 2021-22 season -- in the process, reportedly almost tripling his base salary.

In 2010-11, Butler struggled early, at one point sitting 6-5 in the conference. But after rearranging his lineup and developing several young players, Stevens improved his squad enough to earn a share of the league title with a 13-5 record. The Bulldogs also won the Horizon League tournament again and reached the NCAA Tournament.

Another late tip-in moved the Bulldogs past Old Dominion in the first round, and Stevens' squad defeated No. 1 seed Pittsburgh by the slightest of margins in the second round. After dominating Wisconsin in the Sweet 16, Butler beat Florida in overtime in the Elite Eight and earned a second straight Final Four trip. In the process, Stevens became the youngest coach ever to go to two Final Fours. Butler reached the title game for the second consecutive season, but fell to Connecticut in the championship.

Having lost multiple players from the back-to-back Final Four teams, Butler was unable to duplicate its success in 2011-12. Stevens' Bulldogs finished the regular season 20-14, and settled for a bid in the College Basketball Invitational. Butler reached the semifinals before falling to eventual champion Pittsburgh.