Shannon Butler, who ran at Montana State from 1989-91 after transferring from Auburn where he started his collegiate career, won two NCAA Championships and claimed 12 Big Sky titles after the Eureka, Montana native returned to the Treasure State. Not only did he win 12 Big Sky championships, but in 1991, he completed a rare sweep of the 1,500 meters, the 5,000 meters, and the 10,000 meters at the outdoor championship. He was the first Big Sky athlete to win all three in the same meet, and one of only two to even run all three events.
 
Butler captured the Big Sky individual cross country titles in 1989 and 1990 and went on to finish second at the 1989 NCAA Mountain Regional and won the meet in 1990. Butler finished second at the NCAA Cross Country Championships his senior year. Butler, who resides in Darby, Montana, was a five-time All-American. In 1991, Butler captured the U.S. Track and Field championship in the 10,000, finishing the New York City race in 28 minutes, 9.40 seconds. 
 
Butler was ranked fourth on the Big Sky Conference’s list of “50 Greatest Male Athletes of All-Time” back in 2014, while being inducted into Montana State’s Hall of Fame in 2001.