LINCOLN, Neb. -- Barry Collier resigned as Nebraska's basketball coach Tuesday to become athletic director at Butler, where he coached for 11 years.
The 52-year-old Collier, who coached at Butler from 1989-2000, was the Bulldogs' winningest coach and was inducted into the university's Hall of Fame on Saturday.
"I thought long and hard about this," he said. "I want to be able to give back to Butler in a way I've never done before. It's an exciting change. It's not about me, it's about what needs to be done for Butler University."
Collier's job status at Nebraska was the subject of intense media speculation last season before Huskers athletic director Steve Pederson announced after the Big 12 Tournament that Collier would be retained.
If he had been fired at the end of the season, it would have cost Nebraska $976,090 to buy out the last two years of Collier's four-year contract.
The Cornhuskers finished 19-14 last season but lost six of their last eight regular-season games to finish in sixth place in the Big 12 at 7-9. They knocked off Missouri and Oklahoma to reach the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament.
The Huskers lost to Hofstra in the first round of the NIT Tournament.
Collier said he felt good about the second half of his six-year career at Nebraska.
"I do know that as a program, we had our best year last year," he said. "I feel good about where the program is. Were this opportunity not available, I'd still be coaching at Nebraska today."
Collier left Butler in 2000, going 196-132 with winning records in all but two of his 11 years. He guided the Bulldogs to the NCAA Tournament in 1997, 1998 and 2000.
As a player at Butler, Collier was the team's co-MVP in 1975-76.
Collier has been coaching in some capacity since 1976 and said it was time to accept a bigger challenge.
"I don't have any doubt that I made the right decision, and I'm suited for this position."
