News

Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College (NEO) will induct nine members into the NEO Athletic Hall of Fame at a ceremony on Saturday, September 15, 2018. Included among the honorees is Mr. Mike Butcher.

Butcher came to NEO from East Moline, Illinois, to pitch for Coach Mike Clark’s Golden Norsemen Baseball Team in 1983. He compiled an overall record of 17-11 and posted a 3.24 earned run average with 56 strikeouts from 1983-85. Butcher was drafted by the K.C. Royals in the second round of the 1986 MLB draft and spent four major league seasons with the California Angels from 1992-96. He had a career record of 11-4, with 9 saves. He began his coaching career with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2006 and later became pitching coach with the Angels in 2007, and his starters led the American League with 590 wins during his eight-year tenure. Butcher was hired as the pitching coach of the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2015 and currently is in his fourth year. Under Butcher, the Diamondback pitchers set a club record with 1,482 strikeouts in 2017. Butcher and his wife Tami have three children and have been married 22 years.

The induction ceremony for Butcher and the other honorees will take place in the Calcagno Family Ballroom in the Bruce G. Carter Student Union before the evening’s football game. Following the ceremony, the NEO Golden Norsemen football team will play against rivals Trinity Valley. Kickoff will be at 6 p.m. Tickets for the event are on sale now. “The Hall of Fame is a legacy that we are very proud of at NEO and to have it in conjunction with the NEO vs. Trinity Valley game will make for a great day of NEO Athletics,” said Joe Renfro, interim athletic director. “We hope everyone will come out and support the event and the Norsemen.” For more information about the NEO Athletic Hall of Fame, contact Nancy Roberts at nancy.roberts@neo.edu or call (918) 540-6327.