HOUSTON -- During a press conference Sunday for the NCAA men's championship basketball game in Houston, Butler players were asked if it was inevitable that, even if it doesn't happen this year, that a mid-major program will eventually emerge to win the national title.  Bulldogs forward Matt Howard said that he's not sure you can make that argument.  "I don't know that you can say it's inevitable because, you know, we know how hard it is to get here ..." Howard said. "It's not an easy task."  Shelvin Mack agreed that it's no easy quest for a mid-major school to make a run at the national championship.  "Yeah, we know it's not going to be an easy task," Mack said. "It's hard for a lot of mid-major schools. ... But we all believe in each other. I'm sure other schools believe in each other. Great things can happen."  Mack then explained why he thinks Butler is labeled as a mid-major program.  "Just because we're labeled as a mid-major school, a lot of that comes from football. We don't have a football team, so that's why we get labeled as a mid-major," he said.  Just one problem with that statement: Butler actually does have a football program.  The Bulldogs' football team, a non-scholarship program, compete in the Pioneer League in the Football Championship Subdivision. They went 4-7 last year and opened spring practice for the 2011 season on March 24. Their annual Blue-White spring game will take place on April 16.  Maybe the football team should send Mack some tickets to the spring game. Of course, he could be too busy celebrating a basketball championship.  See photos of: NCAA Tournament, Matt Howard, Butler Bulldogs, Shelvin Mack  To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor  . For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to  . Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to
Did Shelvin Mack forget that Butler has a football team? - Campus Rivalry: College Football & Basketball News, Recruiting, Game Picks, and More - USATODAY.com