USC ROSE BOWL CHAMPION, KANSAS CITY CHIEF & HALL OF FAMER BRAD BUDDE NEWEST COYOTE ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER

(PALM SPRINGS) – Success must be learned – before it’s earned.

That was the challenge to the three-time champion SoCal Coyotes this morning – from newly appointed advisory board member Brad Budde, former Kansas City Chiefs standout, College Football Hall of Famer – and one of the greatest offensive lineman in University of Southern California history.

In addition to advisory board duties, Budde eagerly stepped into his new role as a ‘life coach’ with the Coyotes non-profit sports leadership organization, where selfless work ethic, accountability, and improving others – all staples of his decorated career – will be among standards SoCal Coyotes players can anticipate from their newest mentor.

Budde, a prominent Orange County businessman, was inducted into the National Football Foundation College Hall of Fame in 1998, the USC Football Hall of Fame in 1999, and the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 2010.

During his USC career under head coach John Robinson, Budde started and won three Rose Bowls, including one national championship.

“Before a man can become significant in this world he must first learn how to be successful,” Budde said. “Success is a byproduct of the fulfillment of the scripture in John 10:27, ’My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.’”

Coyotes head coach J David Miller said his players “can expect immediate life counsel, and accountability” from Budde, who by Tuesday afternoon was already reaching out to – of course – the Coyotes offensive linemen. “The water just got deeper here,” Coach Miller added.

Drawing from his unique life experience as a professional athlete and entrepreneur, Budde serves both private corporations and government agencies to increase team efficiency and performance – with unprecedented results.

“Brad’s passion for excellence, which allowed him to dominate as a football player and businessman, will empower the SoCal Coyotes staff and players in our quest to produce the nation’s most dynamic leaders,” Coach Miller said.

Budde will be in the Coyotes locker room October 3 for the team’s much-anticipated rematch with the San Diego Stallions, which will be nationally televised on the RAM Sports Network.

Among USC’s most highly acclaimed linemen, Budde became the first player since World War II to start as a freshman in 1976. As a senior in 1979, Budde was a unanimous All-American, USC Offensive Player of the Year, USC Most Inspirational Player and Academic All-American, and then selected as the first and only Lombardi Award winner in the school’s remarkable history. He wrapped his stunning USC career by earning the NCAA Post Graduate Scholarship.

The son of legendary Kansas City Chief AFL Hall of Fame lineman Ed Budde, Brad again made history during the 1980 NFL Draft, when the Chiefs selected him in the first round. He and his father Ed became the first and only father-son tandem in NFL history to be drafted in the first round, to the same team, to play the same position.

Budde’s eight NFL seasons fulfilled his life-long dream to follow in his father’s footsteps. Off the field, Brad and his wife, Nicolette, devoted themselves to working with abused and neglected children through Camp Opportunity and Division of Family Services in Kansas City, Missouri.

Following retirement from the NFL in 1988, Brad returned to college and earned his Master’s in Physical Therapy from Loma Linda University. For the past 20 years, he has rehabilitated senior citizens in South Orange County, California, as President of Budde Physical Therapy, Inc.

In 2005, Budde founded GameDay Management Systems, Inc., bringing the fundamentals of high-performing sports teams into the workplace.

-Brandon O’Neill, VP Program Development