After graduating in 1931, Pete Butler coached basketball, football and tennis at the University of Northern Colorado. After a stint at the New Mexico School of Mines—where he served as Athletic Director, Chairman of the Language and Economics departments, and coached basketball and baseball—he returned to UNC in 1940 to coach basketball and baseball.
World War II interrupted and he served with the U.S. Navy physical education program. He then returned to Northern Colorado to coach the Bears baseball team to 25 consecutive Rocky Mountain Conference championships. His teams combined for a 415-140 record, participating in 13 NCAA playoffs.
Butler was the District Seven Coach of the Year in 1956, 1959 and 1962, and eight of his baseball teams were inducted into the Northern Colorado Hall of Fame in 2011 (1952, '53, '57, '58, '59, '60, '61, '62).
Butler's basketball teams would also win seven conference championships.
He retired from coaching in 1967 to devote full time to his chairmanship of the Health, Physical Education and Recreation Department at Northern Colorado. He then retired from the University in 1973 and was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 1974.
