College Sports Information Directors of America

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Jim McGrath Farewell Video (shown at Butler's final 2015 men's basketball game)

by Will Roleson, CoSIDA Director of Internal Operations

During the past decade, Butler University has gained unprecedented exposure in the national media, thanks in large part to the success of its men’s basketballteam.

The Bulldogs have been a perennial top-25 team and made surprising back-to-back runs to the NCAA national championship game in 2010 and ’11.

At the center of that publicity and media crunch? None other than Jim McGrath, a 2013 CoSIDA Hall of Fame inductee, who will be honored again by the national association with a Lifetime Achievement Award at its annual convention in Orlando in June. McGrath is retiring this summer from his role as associate athletic director for sports information at Butler after 34 years at the private Indianapolis institution.

With three-plus decades in Butler blue-and-white, McGrath is one of the longest-tenured SIDs in the country.

“I never would have dreamed in 1981 that I would still be at Butler in 2015,” said McGrath. “But it didn’t take long to realize that Butler was a special place and Indianapolis a special city. It was the right fit for me and the right fit for my family, and now I can’t imagine us being in any other place.”

Having honed his craft in the days before tweets, email and live statistics, McGrath has always focused on the personal touch, to the point of being “blessed’ for needing to do many things one-on-one.

“Face-to-face contact was extremely important in selling a story,” he said. “I’ve always felt that the best way to serve my university was to strive to provide the best service possible.”

Butler’s recent success caused a necessary, but welcome, change to McGrath’s approach to working with the media and representing his institution.

“As the SID, my job went from begging people to take a look at us to managing multiple national quests on a daily basis,” he said. “The increased national focus certainly put a whole new level of demands on our office but the ride getting there is one I’ll cherish forever.”

Prior to arriving in Indianapolis, McGrath spent 10 years as sports information director at his alma mater, Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill. He was the host SID for five NCAA Division III national basketball championships while at Augustana and doubled for five years as the director of communications for the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin.

McGrath also has served as media coordinator for a number of NCAA basketball championship events in Indianapolis, including four Men’s Final Fours and one Women’s Final Four. His most recent was the 2010 Final Four but he ended up with a larger role to play that week – that of athletic media relations contact for Butler. The Bulldogs made it all the way to the title game in their hometown, only to fall short when Gordon Hayward’s three-pointer at the buzzer bounced off in a two-point loss to Duke University.

During his time at Butler, McGrath has never had more than one full-time assistant. His current assistant is Kit Stetzel, who came to Butler in 2013. McGrath’s two prior assistants were Josh Rattray, now director of communications at North Carolina State University, and John Dedman, the current vice president, communications with the Indiana Sports Corporation.

“I was fortunate enough to not only work with Jim for four years at Butler, but I also was an undergrad there. He helped make our school a special place for a really long time,” Rattray said. “As a young SID, it was good for me to see the way he handled situations and treated everyone with respect. Also, I always admired him as a family fan. He showed you good be good at home and in the press box."

Added Butler Director of Athletics Barry Collier, “Jim McGrath has been an absolute rock for Butler athletics. His professional manner and personal touch has positively impacted hundreds of staff members, thousands of student-athletes and literally millions of fans. Jim has exemplified ‘The Butler Way” and leaves behind a wonderful legacy of service and passion.”

After he retires, McGrath plans to spend more time with Judy, his wife of 43 years, their three sons (Chad, Scott and Chris) and their families, which now include six grandchildren and a seventh on the way.

“But most of all,” McGrath said, “I’m going to step back and smell the roses and give thanks for the wonderful opportunity that’s been given to me.”

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