By Mark Meredith/TVCC Public Information
Trinity Valley Lady Cardinals freshman Christalah Lyons from Dallas received the first Kurt Budke and Miranda Serna Lady Cardinal Scholarship Wednesday night in ceremonies held at halftime of the men’s basketball game in Cardinal Gym.
TVCC Foundation Board Chairman Steve Grant said, “The Budke-Serna Scholarship was created to provide a scholarship to a member of the Lady Cardinal team who exhibits exceptional character, commitment and dedication to the team in all phases.”
Athens businessman John Warren, who was instrumental in starting the scholarship, spoke of the serendipitous way he and the Budkes met and became friends “…over a little ad for puppies in the newspaper.”
Serna’s mother Nettie Herrera spoke from the heart about Miranda’s love of people and passion for the game, saying, “I’m sure she’s very content at the establishment of this scholarship…Go Cardinals!”
Budke’s widow Shelley shared memories of the Budke family’s time in Athens and thanked everyone who donated to make the scholarship a reality. “Curt and Miranda loved winning basketball games,” she said. “But equally important to them was making sure their players got their education and received their degrees. That is why this scholarship is the perfect way to carry on their memory.”
Lyons accepted the award from Lady Cardinals Head Coach Gerald Ewing and said she was honored to be selected as the first scholarship recipient.
From 1993-2000, Budke was the head women’s basketball coach and established the Lady Cardinal program as the most dominant NJCAA program in the nation. He led the Lady Cardinals to an unprecedented six straight national championship games – winning four.
Budke compiled a 226-16 record during his tenure at TVCC, winning national championships in 1994, ’96, ’97 and ’99. After TVCC, he served as associate and then head basketball coach at Louisiana Tech before taking the reins as head coach at Oklahoma State University in 2005.
Serna played on Budke’s 1996 Lady Cardinal national championship team. After finishing her collegiate playing career at the University of Houston, she returned to TVCC as an assistant coach in 1999, when the Lady Cardinals claimed their fourth national title. She later rejoined Budke as an assistant coach at OSU.
Both died in a plane crash on Nov. 17, 2011, when they were returning from a recruiting trip to Arkansas. The TVCC Foundation later established the scholarship to honor their memory.