J. K. Kennedy

Teams coached: Florida State Seminoles
Florida State record: 236-208 (.532)
Overall record: 236-208 (.532)

1948-1966	Florida State
1947-1948	Florida State (asst)

Jesse Kennard “Bud” Kennedy
Born April 22, 1907
Died June 24, 1966
Hometown: Lawrence, Kansas
Alma mater: College of Pittsburg (BA, 1932)
Grew up in Lawrence, KS where his father, A. R. Kennedy, was the Kansas Jayhawks’ head football coach
The younger Kennedy played at Kansas, Baker University (KS) and Pittsburg State (then Kansas Teachers College)
Became athletic manager and assistant basketball coach to Don Loucks at Florida State in 1947
- The 1947-48 season was FSU’s first year of men’s basketball competition
Kennedy became the head coach in 1948, leading the Seminoles program for the next 18 years
- Went 236-208 overall, initially coaching the team in NAIA competition until they moved to NCAA Division I in 1955
- Reached the NAIA Tournament twice (in 1951 and 1955) before the move up to D-I
Died of cancer in 1966 following what would be his last season at Florida State; he was 59 years old at the time
- His former player and assistant Hugh Durham, now a College Basketball Hall of Famer, took over as head coach
Kennedy was posthumously inducted into the Florida State University Hall of Fame in 1977