Kurt John Budke (June 3, 1961 – November 17, 2011) was an American college basketball coach. Budke was inducted into the

Women's Basketball Hall of Fame The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame honors those who have contributed to the sport of women's basketball. The Hall of Fame opened in 1999 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. It is the only facility of its kind dedicated to all levels of women's ba ...

in 2015. His final coaching job was as the head coach for the

Oklahoma State Cowgirls basketball The Oklahoma State Cowgirls basketball team represents Oklahoma State University–Stillwater and competes in the Big 12 Conference of NCAA Division I. The team's head coach is Jacie Hoyt, who was hired in March 2022. The Cowgirls play their ho ...

women's team from 2005 until his death in an aviation accident.

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 Allen County College is a public community college with two campuses in Kansas, a main campus in Iola and another campus in Burlingame. Allen offers both online and in-person courses for incoming students. Allen is also approved through the Ka ...

Trinity Valley Community College Trinity Valley Community College (TVCC) is a public community college based in Athens, Texas. It has four campuses serving five counties across the southeast and eastern parts of the state. About TVCC operates four campuses serving the Texas co ...

, and

Louisiana Tech Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activi ...

. 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 The 2008 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament involved 64 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the 2007–08 national champion of women's NCAA Division I college basketball. It commenced on March 22, 2008, and con ...

Death

Budke was killed in an airplane accident on November 17, 2011, when the

Piper PA-28 Cherokee The Piper PA-28 Cherokee is a family of two-seat or four-seat light aircraft built by Piper Aircraft and designed for flight training, air taxi and personal use.Plane and Pilot: ''1978 Aircraft Directory'', pages 62–64. Werner & Werner Corp, ...

light aircraft he was traveling in for a recruiting trip crashed near Perryville, Arkansas, killing all four on board. The airplane was being piloted by

Olin Branstetter Olin Richard Branstetter (June 30, 1929 – November 17, 2011) was an American businessman and politician. Branstetter was born in Harmon, Oklahoma and grew up in Arnett, Oklahoma. He graduated from Oklahoma State University (OSU) with a degree ...

, a former Oklahoma state senator and OSU graduate. Also on board were assistant coach Miranda Serna and Branstetter's wife Paula. Budke left behind a wife and three children, the oldest of which was a student at Oklahoma State.Branstetters had a love of aviation, OSU
, KJRH-TV, November 18, 2011.

Head coaching record

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Budke, Kurt 1961 births 2011 deaths Accidental deaths in Arkansas American men's basketball players American women's basketball coaches Barton Cougars men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Kansas Basketball players from Kansas Junior college men's basketball coaches in the United States Junior college women's basketball coaches in the United States Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters basketball coaches Oklahoma State Cowgirls basketball coaches Sportspeople from Salina, Kansas Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 2011 Washburn Ichabods men's basketball players Wichita State University alumni