VIDEO: Oklahoma State Women’s Basketball Interim Coach Speaks About Those Killed In Plane Crash

On Thursday morning, Oklahoma State head women’s basketball coach Kurt Budke, assistant Miranda Serna, and two others were killed in a plane crash in Arkansas. Budke and Serna were on a recruiting trip in a single-engine plane.

Assistant Jim Littell will assume duties as interim head coach and Littell spoke to the video a short while ago for the first time. The video also shows footage of Oklahoma State staff, students and players honoring those who were lost.

Seven year’s ago, when we walked through these doors and Coach [Budke] walked to the press conference, his zeal for Oklahoma State was incomparable. He loved this place. He loved coming in here every day...everybody here loved the man. He was far more than a basketball coach. I want people to realize that....talk about a loving husband and tremendous dad. We would sit around and brag about our kids and how much we love our kids and watch them grow up in a great community. This was his dream situation and every day be begin a recruit in, he’d walk to middle court and say, “look at this place, look at this place, I love this place.” And he meant it from the heart.

You know, Coach Budke was a ball coach. What he did to turn around this program is unbelievable. That’s not important right now. What’s important is, he was a father figure to these kids. He had a tremendous knack of taking kids that were maybe struggling in some part of their life and making it better for them. And that was his strongest trait.

Our players are right now totally devastated. They loved Coach Budke, they loved Coach Serna. A lot of the reason that a lot of these kids are here is because of those two people. Coach Serna was a tireless worker and got those kids believing in her. So obviously, they’re hurting because we’ve lost two tremendous people today from the OSU family.

He was a great basketball coach but he was a better husband and a better dad and a better friend. And I think all the people who are in this room and knew Coach Budke, are better off for knowing him. And he will not be forgotten. He will never be replaced and I love the man.

Oklahoma State blog Cowboys Ride For Free has more reaction to the tragic events.