By Mark Meredith/TVCC Public Information
Many current and former Trinity Valley Community College students, staff and alumni can remember the plane crash that took the lives of the former TVCC basketball coach Kurt Budke and former Lady Cardinal player and TVCC assistant coach Miranda Serna on Nov. 17, 2011. The two were then the head and assistant women’s basketball coaches at Oklahoma State University, and were returning from a recruiting trip to Arkansas.
To honor their memory, the TVCC Foundation established the Kurt Budke and Miranda Serna Lady Cardinal Scholarship, to be awarded to a student in the Lady Cardinals program. Since that time, numerous donations have built the fund to the point that the first scholarship can be awarded. The award ceremony will take place during halftime of the men’s basketball game against Bossier Parish Wednesday, Jan. 27, at approximately 8:10 p.m. with members of the Budke and Serna families in attendance.
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.
Before becoming head women’s basketball coach at OSU, Budke spent a tenure at Louisiana Tech (2000-05), first as an assistant coach and then as head coach. His first season at Oklahoma State was the 2005-06 season.
Serna played on the 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.
The men’s game will immediately follow the women’s game, which tips off at 5:30 p.m. The public is invited to attend the games to cheer on the No. 1-ranked Lady Cards and Cardinals and honor the memory of two TVCC legends. Both games, including the scholarship award ceremony, will be webcast on the Cardinal Sports Network, available in the Fan Zone at www.TVCCsports.com.