Kurtis Townsend (born December 13, 1957) is an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

coach who is an assistant men's basketball coach at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...

. Townsend was an assistant on the Jayhawks 2007–08 and 2021-22 NCAA national championship team.

Playing career

Townsend is a 1982 graduate of

Western Kentucky University Western Kentucky University is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a quarter-century earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glasgow, Elizabethtow ...

, where he completed his bachelor's degree in recreation and played point guard from 1978–80. The team won the 1980 Ohio Valley Conference championship and earned a bid in the

1980 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 1980 NCAA Division I basketball tournament involved 48 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 6th, 1980, and ended with the championship ...

where they lost in the first round to Virginia Tech in an overtime game. Prior to Western Kentucky, Townsend spent two seasons playing at Menlo Junior College in California. After college, Townsend played one season for the Montana Golden Nuggets of the CBA.

Coaching career

Townsend had coaching positions at Miami, USC, and Michigan early in his career. He joined Kansas as an assistant in 2004. In his tenure at Kansas, he has won 2 National Championships. Michigan, Eastern Kentucky and Cal. In the 2022–23 season, Townsend and head coach Bill Self were suspended for 4 games for recruiting violations.

Personal life

Townsend resides in Lawrence, Kansas with his wife and his five children. He is the brother of former NBA player

Raymond Townsend Raymond Anthony Townsend (born December 20, 1955) is an American retired professional basketball player. He played three seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Golden State Warriors and the Indiana Pacers. Townsend played co ...

References

External links

Kansas Jayhawks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Townsend, Kurtis 1957 births Place of birth missing (living people) Living people American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players California Golden Bears men's basketball coaches Eastern Kentucky Colonels men's basketball coaches Junior college men's basketball players in the United States Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball coaches Miami Hurricanes men's basketball coaches Michigan Wolverines men's basketball coaches USC Trojans men's basketball coaches Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball players