Butler basketball has lost its most devoted, and inspiring, fan.

Matt White, who traveled to Indianapolis and addressed the Bulldogs at the 2010 Final Four despite enduring amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, died Friday night in Sarasota, Florida. He was 52.

White, a former runner on Butler’s track team, had planned to make Saturday the last time he watched a televised Bulldogs game. Junior guard Kamar Baldwin sent him a short video message beforehand, then went out and secured Butler’s 73-69 victory at Georgetown.

White did not witness that win, but family and friends who had traveled to Florida told stories and celebrated his life Saturday. They had “a great day” with him Friday, Steve Sanner said.

“It was beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time,” Sanner said.

Brandon Gaudin, a Butler graduate and former voice of the Dawgs, narrated a Fox Sports tribute during Saturday’s telecast. Coach LaVall Jordan wore the initials “M.W.” on the lapel of his sport coat.

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The tribute included a statement from Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens, who led the Bulldogs to NCAA championship games in 2010 and 2011. He said:

“I know I speak for a lot of former Bulldogs when I say we are thankful to have gotten a chance to know Matt. Despite all that he was battling, his spirits were always focused on helping others ... his words always were inspiring and encouraging.”

In the final years of his life, White communicated through alphanumeric codes and eye blinks. It took several days to compose his Final Four address, using a special headset to tap out each letter on a laptop with tiny facial movements. His wife, Shartrina, spoke for him, as she did when the Butler team met White at Florida Gulf Coast in December 2007.

Many of White’s Delta Tau Delta fraternity brothers were with him for a Super Bowl party a week ago – two or three at a time in a hospital room – and others traveled to Florida for Saturday’s games. The 16 annual Super Bowl gatherings brought together as many as 38 fraternity brothers on a weekend.

“I know he survived that long because he knew we were coming to town,” said John Karaffa, a fraternity brother and former Butler basketball player. “That was the most amazing thing this past weekend. We all came to say goodbye.”

Only days ago, Butler athletic director Barry Collier sent White a video in which he announced the renovated practice court at Hinkle Fieldhouse would be named Matt White Court.

“Matt, every Bulldog has a lot to learn about the Butler Way from you and your story and your toughness,” Collier said. “Thank you for being such an important part of Butler University and the Butler Way.”

White was a high school half-miler at North Manchester. The Bulldogs’ basketball upset of Notre Dame shortly before his recruiting visit influenced his decision to enroll at Butler.

He graduated in 1989 and was employed by Emmis Communications. By age 32, he was general sales manager for a large Chicago radio station. But in January 2000, days after his 33rd birthday, he was diagnosed with ALS. He was supposed to die within four years. He lived 19 more.

An avid golfer, he undertook an odyssey to some of the great courses in Scotland – St. Andrews, Carnoustie, Turnberry – and around the United States. In 2003, he played his final round at Cypress Point. His final hole was the scenic par-3 No. 7 at Pebble Beach, overlooking Monterey Bay.

He moved to Cape Haze, Florida, to be near his parents. In 2006, he married Shartrina, a woman he had once dated in high school 20 years before. She became his main caregiver.

In 2010, before the Bulldogs played the NCAA semifinal at Lucas Oil Stadium, arrangements were hastily made for him to travel to Indianapolis. An anonymous donor allowed use of a private Learjet. Two fraternity brothers drove White’s van, which had machines and liquid food supplies, from Florida to Indiana.

As White’s plane was landing, so was that of Dick Vitale. The TV analyst was introduced to White and had photos taken with him.

White’s address to Butler’s team was about polar explorer Ernest Shackleton, whose ship “Endurance” became stuck in Antarctic ice. The explorer and his men survived a stormy sea voyage of 720 nautical miles to reach South Georgia Island. White said he made it each day by living like Shackleton and his men, and that the Bulldogs were an inspiration.

So was White. Karaffa said those who received encouraging notes from White treated them as “the gospel.” ALS did not diminish his charisma.

“Over the years, he seemed to get smarter and smarter and smarter,” Karaffa said. “The wisdom he was able to impart on us was pretty remarkable.”

Funeral arrangements are pending.

Contact IndyStar reporter David Woods at david.woods@indystar.com or call 317-444-6195. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.