Bud Foster

Bud Foster (1906-1996)

Teams coached: Wisconsin Badgers
Wisconsin record: 265-267 (.498)
Overall record: 265-267 (.498)

Career Accomplishments:

• NCAA National Championships:  1  (1941)
• NCAA Tournament Appearances:  2  (1941, 1947)
• NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen:  0
• NCAA Tournament Final Four:  1  (1941)
• NIT Championships:  0
• NIT Appearances:  0
• Big Ten Regular Season Champion:  3  (1935, 1941, 1947)
• Helms Foundation National Championships:  1  (1941)

Awards:

• Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (inducted 1964)
• National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame (inducted 2006)

Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):

1934-1959	Wisconsin
1933-1934	Wisconsin (freshmen)

Bud Foster Facts

• Harold E. Foster
• Born May 30, 1906
• Died June 16, 1996
• Hometown: Newton, Kansas
• Alma Mater: University of Wisconsin (BA, 1930)
• Growing up in Kansas and Mason City, Iowa, Foster was two-time All-Big Ten at Wisconsin under head coach Doc Meanwell
  • After graduating, Foster played professionally with the Oshkosh All-Stars (alongside fellow Hall-of-Famer Branch McCracken)
• Returned to his alma mater in 1933 to be the Badgers’ freshman coach; became the varsity head coach a year later
  • Would coach the Badgers for 25 seasons, winning 265 games during that stretch
  • Claimed three Big Ten titles and reached two NCAA Tournaments; led Wisconsin to their first and only NCAA title in 1941
  • Retired in 1959 with the most wins in program history, a mark that would later be passed by Bo Ryan
• After his coaching career, Foster was the President of the NABC and served on the Basketball Rules Committee
  • Foster also worked in broadcasting, teaming with Ted Moore to call Badgers games
• Inducted into the Naismith HOF in 1964 and the inaugural 2006 class of the College Basketball HOF
  • Also a member of the Wisconsin Athletics Hall of Fame; known around the program as “Mr. Wisconsin”

Bud Foster Coaching Tree

• John Erickson (Wisconsin)