ITHACA, N.Y. – As part of the 150th anniversary of college football in the United States, ESPN released its 150 greatest coaches in the history of the sport on December 10 and legendary Ithaca College head coach Jim Butterfield landed on that list at No. 76 overall.
From 1967-93, Butterfield was on the sidelines of the Bombers program and turned Ithaca into a perennial powerhouse during his tenure. After a 29-29 start to his career over seven seasons, Butterfield finished off his hall of fame career with an overall mark of 206-71-1. The Bombers reached the NCAA Tournament 11 times, including seven trips to the Stagg Bowl. Ithaca won three national championships in 1979, 1988 and 1991 under the direction of Butterfield.
He was one of seven head coaches to make the top 150 list who coached their entire career at the Division III level. View the full list here.
Butterfield retired from IC in 1993 and remains the program's winningest coach. He was inducted into the National Football Foundation College Hall of Fame in 1997, into the Ithaca College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1975 and into the University of Maine Sports Hall of Fame in 1989.
Ithaca College's South Hill Field was renamed Butterfield Stadium in 1992; at the time he was one of only three active college football coaches with an on-field facility bearing his name. At the same time, the Philip James Butterfield Scholarship was established in the Ithaca College School of Health Sciences and Human Performance, where Butterfield held the rank of professor of physical education. The scholarship is now presented annually to a junior or senior who exhibits outstanding academic performance and citizenship with preference given to students who plan to pursue teaching careers.
Butterfield was named Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) in 1988 and 1991 and earned District I honors from that organization seven times: in 1974, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985 and 1986. Following Ithaca's national championship seasons in 1979, 1988, and 1991, Butterfield was presented the Stan Lomax-Irving T. Marsh Award as Eastern Coach of the Year by the New York Football Writers Association. In 1988, he was named Division III Coach of the Year by Chevrolet. The Ithaca Journal selected Butterfield as its coach of the year in 1974, 1975, and 1985, and Cable Newscenter 7 in Ithaca presented him with the 1988-89 Ithaca Area Sports Personality of the Year Award.
During his 27 years as Ithaca's coach, 85 Bombers earned a total of 149 All-American honors.