Shannon Butler (2001) - Hall of Fame - Montana State University Athletics

Shannon Butler

Induction:
2001
Class:
1989

Shannon Butler Bobcat Track and Cross Country, 1989-91 Years at MSU: 1989-91 Honors Earned: Two-Time NCAA Champion, 13-Time Big Sky Champion Hometown: Eureka, Montana “Shannon showed any kid that will ever compete in this program how much they can achieve.” –MSU Coach Dale Kennedy Shannon Butler burst onto the Montana State track and field scene like a comet, and a decade later his Bobcat career still burns brightly as one of the brightest stars in the constellation. A Eureka native, Butler spent the early portion of his collegiate career at Auburn. After transferring to Montana State he made the Big Sky Conference his personal playground, and captured the imagination of the nation. Butler won 3 Big Sky championships, and never lost a race at a conference meet. The two-time cross-country All-America narrowly missed a national championship as a senior. He made MSU history late in the spring of 1990 by winning the NCAA 10,000 meter championship in Durham, NC, then cemented his place as a college track and field legend a year later by winning the 5,000 meter in Eugene, Ore. He was wildly celebrated on that day in Tracktown USA, but the zenith of his Bobcat career may have come two weeks earlier in Bozeman, when he accomplished he unthinkable. Butler won an unprecedented Big Sky distance triple- the 1,500 meter, the 5,000 meter and the 10,000 meter- at the league championships, nearly leading MSU to its first league title.