Butler's Matthew Graves is new head coach at South Alabama

It won't be the same next season, but it's a tremendous career move. Butler associate head coach Matthew Graves has accepted the head coaching position of men's basketball at South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama.

Graves replaces Ronnie Arrow, who retired 10 games into the 2012-13 season. Arrow left Mobile as the all-time leader in victories at South Alabama and most in the Sun Belt Conference. Jeff Price became the interim coach of the Jaguars, finishing the season 17-13 and lost in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt tournament to eventual champion Western Kentucky.

A 1998 Butler graduate, Graves played for the Bulldogs from 1993-98, scoring 994 points in his career and also finishing second all-time on the three-point list with 175 made. He scored a career-high 42 points vs. Cleveland State and is the last player to break the 40-point barrier. Was a key part of the 1997 NCAA Tournament team, making Butler's first appearance in 35 years.

Following his graduation from Butler, Graves spent time as an assistant coach at a couple Indianapolis area high school, North Central and Ben Davis.

Coach Graves came back to Butler in 2001 as the Coordinator of Basketball Operations for Butler men's basketball and held that position until 2003 under former head coach Todd Lickliter. From 2003-2010, Matthew remained an assistant coach on the Bulldog staff. In 2010, he was promoted to the role of associate head coach under current head coach Brad Stevens.

It says a lot about a coach when teams in the last 10 seasons have compiled a record of 244-98 over that span.

In his 17 years as a part of the Butler men's basketball program, the Bulldogs made nine NCAA Tournaments, which included four Sweet 16 appearances and most importantly, back-to-back NCAA National Championship games.

Butler University and the entire Butler Bulldog athletic program would like to thank Matthew Graves for his numerous contributions as a player and coach during his 17 seasons. Good luck in your head coaching adventure at the helm of the South Alabama Jaguars!