Kurt Budke

Kurt Budke

Sport(s)	Women's basketball
Biographical details
Born	June 3, 1961 Salina, Kansas
Died	Perryville, Arkansas
Alma mater	Barton County Community College Washburn University Wichita State University
Playing career
1979–1981	Barton County CC
1981–1983	Washburn
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1983–1984	Washburn (men's GA)
1984–1988	Friends (men's asst.)
1988–1991	Kansas City Kansas CC (men's asst.)
1990–1991	Kansas City Kansas CC (interim HC)
1991–1993	Allen County CC
1993–2000	Trinity Valley CC
2000–2002	Louisiana Tech (assoc. HC)
2002–2005	Louisiana Tech
2005–2011	Oklahoma State
Head coaching record
Overall	468–157
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
4x NJCAA Women's Basketball Champions (1994, 1996, 1997, 1999) 7x Texas East Conference Champions (1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000) 3x WAC Champions (2003, 2004, 2005) 2x WAC Tournament Champions (2003, 2004)
Awards
All-KJCCC (1981) KJCCC East Coach of the Year (1993) 2x WBCA NJCAA Coach of the Year (1995, 1998) 4x Texas Coaches Association Coach of the Year (1994, 1996, 1997, 1999) 2x WAC Coach of the Year (2003, 2004) NJCAA Hall of Fame Kansas Sports Hall of Fame Barton Community College Hall of Fame Women's Basketball Hall of Fame

Kurt John Budke (June 3, 1961 – November 17, 2011) was an American college basketball coach. His final coaching job was as the head coach for the Oklahoma State University Cowgirls women's basketball team from 2005 until his death in a plane accident in 2011.

Career

Prior to being named the women's basketball head coach of Oklahoma State in 2005, Budke had previously coached at Allen County Community College, Trinity Valley Community College, and Louisiana Tech. His teams reached 20 wins in each of his years, and had double digit losses in only one of his years, prior to his first year at Oklahoma State. At the junior college level, his record stands at 273-31 (.898), which is the highest winning percentage in NJCAA.

He was also a two time NJCAA coach of the year (1995, 1998). He was also the youngest coach ever to be inducted into the NJCAA Hall of Fame. From 2002 to 2005, he coached at Louisiana Tech, where he compiled an 80-16 record, highlighted by three consecutive NCAA tournament appearances. His first Louisiana Tech team finished 31-3, and ended the season with a national ranking of 6th. The Lady Techsters reeled off 29 consecutive victories, which is the fourth longest streak in the school's storied history. He was named the WAC coach of the year for his efforts.

In his five years as Oklahoma State's women's basketball head coach, his teams went 99-68, and made three NCAA tournament appearances, highlighted by a Sweet 16 run in the 2008 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament.

Death

Main article: Oklahoma State Cowgirls basketball team plane crash

Budke was killed in an airplane accident on November 17, 2011, when the Piper PA-28 Cherokee he and others were traveling in for a recruiting trip crashed in Perry County, Arkansas, about four miles south of Perryville. Budke and assistant basketball coach and recruiting coordinator Miranda Serna were killed in the accident. Budke left behind a wife and three children, the oldest of which is a student at Oklahoma State. Olin Branstetter, an Oklahoma state senator from 1986 to 1990, and his wife, Paula Branstetter, were also killed in the crash. Both Olin and Paula Brandstetter were certified pilots; the plane was being piloted by Olin.

Head coaching record

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Kansas City Kansas Lady Blue Devils (Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference) (1990–1991)
1990–91	Kansas City Kansas	3–27	0–
Kansas City Kansas:		3–27	0–
Allen County Red Devils (Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference) (1991–1993)
1991–92	Allen County	22–8
1992–93	Allen County	25–7
Allen County:		47–15
Trinity Valley Lady Cardinals (Texas East Conference) (1993–2000)
1993–94	Trinity Valley	35–1		1st	NJCAA Champions
1994–95	Trinity Valley	31–1		1st	NJCAA Runner-Up
1995–96	Trinity Valley	32–4		1st	NJCAA Champions
1996–97	Trinity Valley	34–2		1st	NJCAA Champions
1997–98	Trinity Valley	34–1		1st	NJCAA Runner-Up
1998–99	Trinity Valley	36–0		1st	NJCAA Champions
1999–00	Trinity Valley	24–6		1st	NJCAA Region XIV Finals
Trinity Valley:		226–16	96–2
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (Western Athletic Conference) (2002–2005)
2002–03	Louisiana Tech	31–3	18–0	1st	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2003–04	Louisiana Tech	29–3	17–1	1st	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2004–05	Louisiana Tech	20–10	14–4	T–1st	NCAA First Round
Louisiana Tech:		80–16	49–5
Oklahoma State Cowgirls (Big 12 Conference) (2005–2011)
2005–06	Oklahoma State	6–22	0–16	12th
2006–07	Oklahoma State	20–11	8–8	6th	NCAA First Round
2007–08	Oklahoma State	27–8	11–5	T–3rd	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2008–09	Oklahoma State	17–16	4–12	T–10th	WNIT Second Round
2009–10	Oklahoma State	24–11	9–7	T–6th	NCAA Second Round
2010–11	Oklahoma State	17–15	4–12	11th	WNIT Second Round
2011	Oklahoma State	1–0	–	–	–
Oklahoma State:		112–83	36–60
Total:		468–157
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

External links

• Oklahoma State profile