BOSTON — Come next season, Celtics coach Brad Stevens can ask to be addressed as “Dr. Stevens.”
The request might not be fulfilled, but he can ask, at least.
Butler University will present Stevens with an honorary doctorate at the school’s commencement ceremony on May 10. The doctorate will recognize Stevens’ contributions to the university as its men’s basketball coach before he left last summer to join the Celtics.
“We didn’t have a formal opportunity to thank Brad or celebrate the many contributions he made to the Butler community,” Butler president James M. Danko said in a statement released by the school. “So for us, this will be that chance. Brad was a dedicated member of the Butler community for more than a dozen years, and still maintains close ties to the university. It is wholly appropriate that we honor him at commencement with his first Butler degree.”
Stevens attended DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind., where he earned his degree in economics. He left his job at Eli Lilly and Co. to join Butler’s coaching staff as a volunteer under Thad Matta in 2000, eventually rising to head coach and leading the Bulldogs to back-to-back national championship games.
