Butler has expressed interest in replacing Temple in the Atlantic 10, ESPN reported this morning, adding that the Bulldogs are drawn by the “increase in competition” the league offers.

This season, the Butler men’s basketball team went 20-14 overall, falling in the semifinals of the Horizon League championship to Valparaiso. The Bulldogs extended their postseason streak to seven straight with a bid to this year’s College Basketball Invitational, where they will face Delaware in the first round Wednesday.

Prior to this year, Butler made five straight appearances in the NCAA tournament, starting with a trip to the Sweet Sixteen in 2007. The Bulldogs made it to the title game in the NCAA tournament in 2010 and again in 2011, falling to Duke and Connecticut, respectively.

Earlier this year, athletic director Patrick Nero reaffirmed the Colonials’ solidarity to the A-10, and added that the league would remain strong should it face program departures, like the Owls’ decision to join the Big East earlier this month. In October, Nero said the league had been “proactive” in discussing prospective new programs to add to its ranks.

“I don’t see, right now, that the Atlantic 10 would lose multiple teams,” Nero previously said to The Hatchet. “If things happen around us that cause the Atlantic 10 to lose one program or two programs, we’ll continue to build on what we have and see who else is out there. Historically, if you look at who’s left the Atlantic 10, we’ve recovered to be as strong as ever.”