“My purpose cannot possibly be to win another game,” Hudson says. “That can’t possibly be what I was left here to continue to do.” That’s not a cliché, either, says Gregg Farrell, pastor at Crossland Community Church in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Farrell has worked with the Lady Topper volleyball team for six years in what he calls a “Chief Encouragement Officer” role, where he pours into the mental and spiritual health of those in the program. “[Hudson] understands there’s a sovereign design in that God could’ve called him home any time He wanted, but He hasn’t,” Farrell says. It’s an impossible story, Hudson says. All of it, including how it all even started.
At 17, Hudson joined the WKU volleyball program as a student manager just doing laundry and shagging balls. It was the first time he’d even touched a volleyball. Photos courtesy of WKU
At 24, he became the youngest head coach in Division I, and all these years later he’s built WKU into a perennial top-25 program that consistently wins its conference championship, and has been to 12 NCAA Tournaments under his watch. Hallie Shelton
He’s won 14 different conference or region coach of the year honors, and has coached countless AllAmericans. In 2019, after a 31-1 regular season, WKU hosted an NCAA Tournament game for the first time. He was inducted into the WKU Hall of Distinguished Alumni in October 2020. On the court, he’s created what athletic director Todd Stewart says is “the perfect template and the perfect blueprint for what a successful athletics program on and off the court would be.”
Katie Isenbarger
“I INVESTED IN THEM AS PEOPLE. IF THEY WALK AWAY FROM HERE AND WE’RE NOT CONNECTED AS FAMILY FOR A LIFETIME, THEN I DON’T KNOW THAT I’M DOING A VERY GOOD JOB.” — WKU COACH TRAVIS HUDSON wwwwww. s. sppoor rt st ss sppeecct rt ruumm. c. coomm
All that success and still Hudson wouldn’t say that’s his purpose. He just wanted a job that allowed him to work with young adults and see them grow. He’s received plenty of offers to leave for bigger jobs, but he doesn’t need a different school’s name on his shirt to feel like he’s doing his job well. In his office you’ll find nearly 20 pictures of Hudson with his former players at their weddings. It’s the same office where he speaks from the heart to recruits and their families about why they should come to WKU. There are no smoke-and-mirror games with Hudson. No figurative mask. He tells parents the same simple message, and he means it. “While I was sitting in his office on my visit with my parents, he looked straight at my parents and said, ‘I will take care of your daughter like she’s my own,’” senior Hallie Shelton says. “‘Anything she needs I am here for her.’ SSPPOORRT TSS SSPPEECCT TRRUUMM
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