Amanda Butler has won more games through her first five seasons than any coach in program history.
Yet as Florida prepares for its season opener against Fairfield today at 4 p.m. in the O’Connell Center, she is hoping her program can reach new heights.
Butler returned to her alma mater for the 2007-08 season and has since amassed 98 victories, surpassing Carol Ross’ previous record of 97 wins through her first five seasons.
The year before Butler took over, the Gators finished 9-22 — including a streak of 13 consecutive losses — and finished 11th in the Southeastern Conference.
Athletics director Jeremy Foley looked for a young, talented coach to rebuild the program. He chose Butler.
“I knew that we had a lot of work to do,” Butler said. “I still feel like we have a lot of work to do.”
Since being hired, Butler has led the Gators to a postseason appearance in each of her five seasons, becoming the program’s first coach to do so.
“She bleeds orange and blue,” freshman Sydney Moss said. “She knows what it takes to be a winner and what it takes to be a Florida Gator.”
Despite the win total, the Gators have failed to challenge for a conference title under Butler.
During her five-year stretch as coach, UF’s best finish in the SEC was a fourth-place tie in 2008-09. In her four other seasons, the team hasn’t finished better than tied for seventh in the conference.
Just two of her five postseason appearances have been NCAA Tournament berths, and each resulted in Florida being eliminated in the second round.
Though proud of what she has accomplished, she isn’t satisfied with simply winning games.
“We are here to win championships,” she said. “That’s why all of these young ladies came here — to resurrect a program that is a perennial NCAA Tournament team and a perennial contender in the toughest league in the country.”
Newcomers have had to quickly acclimate to Butler’s style of coaching.
A four-year mainstay at the point guard position for the Gators, Butler helped lead Florida to its first two NCAA appearances in 1993 and 1994.
She started 99 of 114 career games and once played 20 minutes against Florida State just hours after receiving 10 numbing shots to reset a severely broken nose.
The same passion that motivated her as a player now drives her as a coach.
“She’s intense all the time,” junior transfer Vicky McIntyre said. “She knows what it is like to play in the SEC, so it really helps to have a coach who understands what you are going through.”
With a victory on Friday, Butler would have a chance to record win No. 100 as Florida’s coach when UF faces Georgia State on Sunday at 1 p.m. in the O’Connell Center.
But Butler refuses to let herself, or her team, look ahead.
“We’re just going to stay focused on trying to get better every day, learn the things we need to learn and win one game at a time,” she said.
Coach Amanda Butler speaks at the podium during UF’s media day on Oct. 10. Despite a high win total, UF has never finished higher than fourth in the SEC under Butler.
