Butler hoops coach visits Ft. Wayne

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - The man who led the Butler Bulldogs basketball team to two consecutive Final Four appearances was in Fort Wayne Monday.

Brad Stevens spoke at the yearly Northern Indiana Fellowship of Christian Athletes Home Team Banquet, which was held at the Memorial Coliseum.

The event raises money to support the FCA's growing ministry in northern Indiana.

Before the banquet, Stevens talked with NewsChannel 15 about Butler's upcoming move from the Horizon League to the Atlantic 10 conference. Stevens said the move will not only benefit his team, but the school in general.

"I think it also may help us extend our geographical reach for general student population," said Stevens. "You've got a footprint in more cities in the East. Obviously you'll still have a huge footprint in the Midwest with St. Louis and Dayton and Xavier. And then you go and play conference games in New York City, play conference games in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. and on and on. And so I think that's a potential great thing for our school as well."

During his speech, Stevens outlined the character traits that he believes form the foundation of Butler's basketball program -traits like passion, humility, unity, thankfulness, and accountability- and said he is continuing to make those the core of the program, although they originated under previous coach and current athletic director Barry Collier.