Butler Chooses to Attend UC Irvine Over SDSU, Long Beach and Tulsa

Ricky Butler, the former Ocean View High School forward, will attend UC Irvine this fall and will be eligible to join the Anteater basketball team for the 1988-89 season, Irvine Coach Bill Mulligan confirmed Monday night.

Butler was a three-time selection to The Times’ All-Orange County team. He had been expected to attend the University of Kansas on a basketball scholarship, but failed to meet the school’s academic requirements.

Butler chose UC Irvine over San Diego State, Cal State Long Beach and the University of Tulsa.

Butler can enroll in UC Irvine under a special admissions program, but will not be eligible for basketball this season, Mulligan said.

Mulligan said he had been interested in Butler since seeing him play as a sophomore in a Southern Section 5-A playoff game against Mater Dei.

“I’ve been drooling over Ricky Butler for three years,” Mulligan said. “I’ve always liked him. I just didn’t think we’d be able to get him.”

As it turned out, Irvine landed Butler partially by default. Butler was released from his commitment to Kansas after it was learned that his Scholastic Aptitude Test scores were too low for him to qualify for athletic eligibility. Under standards set by the NCAA’s Proposition 48, Butler will be ineligible to play or practice this season and will lose one year of eligibility.