RUSTON - After three years at the helm of the Louisiana Tech Lady Techster basketball program, Kurt Budke accepted the head coaching position at Oklahoma State Monday afternoon in a 3 p.m. press conference in Stillwater.

Budke cited the opportunity to coach in the Big 12 Conference while also moving closer to his hometown of Salina, Kansas, where the majority of his family still lives.

"I can never thank (Dr.) Dan Reneau and Jim Oakes for giving me this chance at what is considered one of the greatest women's basketball programs in the country," Budke said. "It's been the funnest three years of my life.

"I didn't know what it would be like following the legend of Coach (Leon) Barmore, but the fans were very understanding and behind us 100 percent all of the time. Even though we didn't reach a Final Four, I felt like we represented the Lady Techsters very well."

Budke, who was named only the third head coach in the history of the Lady Techster program on Aug. 23, 2002 - one day following the retirement of the legendary Barmore - posted an 80-16 mark during the past three years while leading the Lady Techsters to three straight Western Athletic Conference regular season titles, two WAC Tournament titles and three appearances in the NCAA Tournament.

"We wish Kurt and his family the best in their new job," said Tech Athletic Director Jim Oakes. "We know he will be very successful at Oklahoma State."

During Budke's first season as the Tech head coach in 2002-03, he led the Techsters to a 31-3 mark and an appearance in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament where Tech fell to LSU 69-63 in Palo Alto, Calif. Budke was named the WAC Coach of the Year that season after guiding Tech to a 17-1 mark in league play and capturing both the regular season and tournament titles.

The following year, Budke guided the Lady Techsters to a 29-3 mark and another appearance in the Sweet 16 where Tech fell 63-49 to No. 1 ranked Duke in Norfolk, Va. Once again, Budke was named the WAC Coach of the Year as Tech posted a perfect 18-0 mark in regular season league play and dominated the WAC Tournament.

Budke was faced with his biggest challenge as the Tech head coach this year as he entered the season minus 73 percent of his offense from a year ago. With only one player on the roster who had made more than one career start entering the year, Budke guided the Techsters to a 20-10 mark, a share of the WAC regular season title and the program's 24th straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

Tech's season came to an end with a 66-61 loss to Temple in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Storrs, Connecticut, March 20.

Prior to being hired as the associate head coach at Tech in the 2000-01 season, Budke led Trinity Valley Community College to six appearances in seven years in the National Junior College Athletic Association national championship game where his program captured the title in 1994, 1996, 1997 and 1999. The Salina, Kansas, native recorded an amazing 226-16 mark during his seven seasons at TVCC.

Following the announcement of Budke's departure from the Louisiana Tech program Monday, Oakes named long-time Techster assistant coach Chris Long as the interim head coach while the search begins for Budke's replacement.

Long, who was hired by Leon Barmore prior to the 1999-2000 season, is one of the top candidates for the position.

"I don't want to set an exact timetable for the process," Oakes said. "Obviously, this is a huge decision and we want to make sure we put the right person in place. The interview process could start as early as this week."


Kurt Budke Year by Year

Year School Record Post Season Appearances
1991-92 Allen County CC 22-8
1992-93 Allen County CC 25-7
1993-94 Trinity Valley CC 35-1 NJCAA National Champs
1994-95 Trinity Valley CC 31-1 NJCAA National Runner Up
1995-96 Trinity Valley CC 32-4 NJCAA National Champs
1996-97 Trinity Valley CC 34-2 NJCAA National Champs
1997-98 Trinity Valley CC 34-1 NJCAA National Runner Up
1998-99 Trinity Valley CC 36-0 NJCAA National Champs
1999-00 Trinity Valley CC 24-6 NJCAA Region XIV finals
2000-01** Louisiana Tech 31-5 NCAA Tournament (Elite Eight)
2001-02** Louisiana Tech 25-5 NCAA Tournament (1st Round)
2002-03 Louisiana Tech 31-3 NCAA Tournament (Sweet 16)
2003-04 Louisiana Tech 29-3 NCAA Tournament (Sweet 16)
2004-05 Louisiana Tech 20-10 NCAA Tournament (1st Round)
**, Associate head coach under Leon Barmore

Record at Allen County: 47-15
Record at Trinity Valley: 226-16
Record at Louisiana Tech: 80-16 (head coach only)
Total 353-47

Coaching Honors

1995 WBCA NJCAA Coach of the Year
1998 WBCA NJCAA Coach of the Year
2003 Class of the NJCAA Hall of Fame
2003 WAC Coach of the Year
2004 WAC Coach of the Year