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October 2, 2008

CARDINAL HALL OF FAME: Kurt Budke

Special to the Review

The first class of the Cardinal Hall of Fame at Trinity Valley Community College is scheduled to be inducted Saturday, Oct. 11, at an 11:30 a.m. luncheon in the Student Union Ballroom. Today’s featured profile of a member of the class is Kurt Budke (women’s basketball):

When the Lady Cards were celebrating their first national title, Kurt Budke was the one holding the clipboard.

Budke was the head coach of the Lady Cardinals from 1993 to 2000. During those seven years, the team appeared in the national tournament six times.

That run would bring in four of the Lady Cardinals’ five national championship titles. The Lady Cardinals brought home the national title in ’94, ’96, ’97 and ’99

The other two years, the team fell in the championship game.

In Budke’s entire career at TVCC, the Lady Cardinals fell at home only two times.

He led the team to some of their best season records ever, including an undefeated 36-0 season in 1999.

Budke left TVCC with an overall coaching record of 273-31. He was named Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s Coach of the Year in 1995 and 1998.

Following the 2000 season, Budke left TVCC. He is now the head coach at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Okla.

Budke’s coaching journey began in 1984, when he served as a graduate assistant at Washburn University before taking an assistant coaching position at Friends University.

The Salina, Kan., native took his first job as head coach at Allen County Community College. His two years there ended with a 47-15 record and a No. 17 national ranking his first year.

Budke was named the Jayhawk East Conference’s coach of the year after his charges tallied a 25-7 record during the 1992-93 season.

He then went on to coach at Louisiana Tech before moving to OSU. Last year, in his second season at OSU, the Cowgirls reached the 20-win plateau and appeared in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1996

At the junior college level, Budke has a combined record of 273-31 (.898), resulting in the highest winning percentage in NJCAA history.

He was the NJCAA National Coach of the Year in both 1995 and 1998 and was the Texas Coaches Association Coach of the Year for each of the four years the Lady Cardinals took the national title.

In addition, he is the youngest coach to ever be inducted into the National Junior College Athletic Association Hall of Fame.

Budke coached 2000 WNBA Rookie of the Year Betty Lennox, 2003 WNBA Rookie of the Year Cheryl Ford and as well as fellow WNBA players Erica Taylor, Shalonda Ennis, Tausha Mills and Shantia Owens during their collegiate careers.

Budke is married to the former Shelley Balthazor. The couple has three children, Sara, Alex and Brett.

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