HEAD COACH CHRISTIE CATES

Christie Cates was named the head coach for the Butler women’s golf program in June, 2019. Under Cates’ guidance, Butler women’s golf has continued to excel on the course, in the classroom and in the community.

The top team performances in program history have come since Cates took over head coaching duties. These highlights include six tournament wins and bettering the team scoring average each year.

The Bulldogs won the 2024 Dayton Flyer Invitational. Also under Cates's leadership, Katie Steinman set a program record with a five-under 67 in the final round of the 2024 Brittany Kelly Classic. Claire Edwards (68 on a par-72 course), Steinman (66 on a par-70 course) and Kelli Scheck (67 on a par-71 course) had previously set the school record, posting four-under rounds. Treva Dodd (as a freshman) set the 54 hole individual record of -3 at the 2024 Redbird Fall Invitational.

The Bulldogs finished the 2024 Rio Verde Collegiate Invitational at 15-over 879. The Bulldogs' performance bettered the previous program-record relative to par of 30-over 894 at the 2021 Redbird Fall Invitational. It also improved the Bulldogs' 54-hole record of 882 from the 2021 Butler Fall Invitational, which came on Butler's par-70 home course at Highland Golf Club.

Cates led the Bulldogs to a pair of invitational team titles during the 2022-23 season as Butler captured both the Redbird Fall Invitational and the Bradley Coyote Creek Classic. She led a roster that featured only one upperclassman. Sophomore Reese Wilson took medalist honors at the Redbird Fall Invitational in her first event as a Bulldog after transferring to Butler. Scheck, then a freshman) led the Bulldogs in scoring average and had three Top-Five individual finishes. Scheck also tied the Butler record for a single round relative to par with a four-under 67 in the second round of the Florida Gulf Coast Spring Break Shootout.

The 2021-22 season saw the Bulldogs capture the Don Benbow Invitational in Jacksonville, one of seven Top-Five team results during the campaign. Graduate student Ally Ross placed fifth at the 2022 BIG EAST Women's Golf Championship, while leading the team in scoring average for the season and winning medalist honors at the Benbow Invitational.

In her second season (2020-21), Cates mentored Claire Edwards to All-BIG EAST First Team honors and a sixth-place finish at the 2021 BIG EAST Championship. The Bulldogs' team performance in the second round of the Colonel Classic March 29, 2021 left an imprint on the program's record book. Butler's women set a program-record with a second-round team score of 287 (-1), while Edwards' second-round 68 (-4) also set a Butler record. The Bulldogs also captured the team title at the Lady Jaguar Invitational.

In her first season leading the women's team, the Bulldogs won the 2019 Dayton Fall Invitational, besting the 14-team field. The Bulldogs also placed second at the 2019 Butler Fall Invitational. The campaign was ended prematurely by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cates joined the Butler coaching staff prior to the 2016-17 season. In her three seasons as an assistant, she was involved in all aspects of both the men’s and women’s programs. During that time, Lauren Tibbets captured the 2017 BIG EAST title, while both Joey Arcuri (2017) and Patrick Allgeier (2019) tied for second individually in the BIG EAST Championship. In 2019, Butler’s men posted a top-three finish in the BIG EAST Championship, the team’s best finish since joining the conference in 2013.

Butler's women's golf program is among just 73 teams that have earned Public Recognition Awards every year of the program. Team earned NCAA Public Recognition Awards for posting scores in the top 10 percent of their sport. The APR is an annual scorecard of academic achievement calculated for all Division I sports teams.

Cates is a 2016 Butler graduate. She played her final three seasons for the Bulldogs after transferring from Franklin College.

She played in two BIG EAST conference championships and was a WGCA All-American Scholar during her Butler career.

In 2015, Cates was the Runner-up in the Indianapolis City Amateur.