July 1, 2011 | Kenneth Best - UConn Communications

Academic Coach on the Bench

When Alyssa Budkofsky ’01 (ED) listens to the student-athletes on the men’s basketball team at Quinnipiac University describe the challenges of getting their schoolwork done and still meeting their obligations for practice, games, and travel, she is sympathetic up to a point. After all, Budkofsky, assistant athletic director for men’s basketball academic support at Quinnipiac, […]

Alyssa Budkofsky ’01 (ED) listens to the studentathletes on the men’s basketball team at Quinnipiac University.

Alyssa Budkofsky ’01 (ED) listens to the studentathletes on the men’s basketball team at Quinnipiac University.

Alyssa Budkofsky ’01 (ED) listens to the student-athletes on the men’s basketball team at Quinnipiac University.
Alyssa Budkofsky ’01 (ED) listens to the student-athletes on the men’s basketball team at Quinnipiac University.

When Alyssa Budkofsky ’01 (ED) listens to the student-athletes on the men’s basketball team at Quinnipiac University describe the challenges of getting their schoolwork done and still meeting their obligations for practice, games, and travel, she is sympathetic up to a point.

After all, Budkofsky, assistant athletic director for men’s basketball academic support at Quinnipiac, once faced a similar situation herself, as a student manager for the Huskies. Today, she tells her student-athletes: “I had to go to practice and go to class. I know you’re going to have to make sacrifices in your personal life, but that’s what you have to do to make that commitment.”

Soon after earning her degree in sports marketing, Budkofsky received a call from Karl Hobbs ’84 (CLAS), who had been named head coach at George Washington University after being an assistant coach to Jim Calhoun at UConn, asking if she would  be interested in going to graduate school and working as a student manager. While obtaining a master’s degree in business administration, Budkofsky tutored basketball players at George Washington to earn extra money. With her MBA in hand, she then spent a year and a half working for the management division of Ripken Baseball, led by former Baltimore Orioles star Cal Ripken Jr., before returning to George Washington as an academic advisor and earning a second master’s degree in  higher education.

Budkofsky started as academic advisor for men’s basketball in 2007 at Quinnipiac, when Tom Moore was named head men’s coach, and established an academic advisor position for his team. Moore, a former assistant coach to Calhoun at UConn, had previously hired Budkofsky as a student manager for the Huskies.

“Alyssa has been invaluable in our efforts to establish a culture of academic excellence in our men’s basketball program,” says Moore. “Her work ethic, loyalty, and commitment to the  academic process have been the driving forces behind us being noted by FoxSports as having the largest increase in our academic progress rate score of any Division I men’s basketball program  in the country.”

Budkofsky met Moore on her first day in Storrs as a freshman in 1997, when she visited the men’s basketball office to see how she could get involved with the team. The meeting put her in a front-row seat for a basketball journey she never anticipated, including being part of the Huskies’ first NCAA title in 1999.

“I was never very good at sports,” says Budkofsky, who sits on the team bench during games. “I played softball and danced. I grew up in Connecticut [in Bloomfield] and loved watching UConn basketball. That’s where my passion for sports started.”

Budkofsky has not only offered academic support to her student-athletes, but has also worked with Quinnipiac assistant coach Scott Burrell ’10 (BGS). Burrell, who left UConn before completing his degree to pursue his playing career in the NBA, completed his UConn degree requirements 17 years after he left Storrs.