By JAMES BROWN
WCLU Sports
Travis Hudson, a native of Edmonson County, will have a statue outside Diddle Arena unveiled during the 2025 WKU volleyball season.
Hudson is in his 30th season on The Hill and joined WKU’s Athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday night. He has amassed 777 career wins, surpassing Ed Diddle for the second-most among any Hilltopper coach in a single sport (Diddle owns 1,030 total head coaching victories among the four sports he coached at WKU), according to a press release from WKU Athletics. Hudson has led his Hilltoppers to 33 Conference Championships, 16 NCAA Tournament appearances (including the 2020-21 Sweet 16), been named Conference Coach of the Year 11 times and AVCA South Region Coach of the Year seven times, had 64 first-team all-conference honorees, 12 All-Americans (including four, four-time All-Americans), 11 Conference Players of the Year, seven Freshmen of the Year, seven Defensive Players of the Year, six South Region Players of the Year and five Setters of the Year.
“It is impossible to put into words what an incredible honor this is to me and our family,” Hudson said. “I have a deep love for WKU and am beyond proud to be woven into the history of this very special place in this manner. I stand on the shoulders of each player and staff member who has contributed to the incredible success and culture of WKU volleyball.“
Director of Athletics Todd Stewart announced that Hudson will be forever immortalized at Diddle Arena with a statue to be unveiled during the 2025 season.
“I appreciate the W-Club for providing an exception to their long-established guidelines for Hall of Fame membership and inducting Travis Hudson into the prestigious WKU Athletics Hall of Fame while he is still coaching,” Stewart said. “The victories, championships and NCAA Tournaments speak for themselves, but beyond that, the personal impact he has had on his players and everyone associated with the volleyball program is exemplary. Travis has elevated WKU volleyball to heights beyond what even the greatest optimist would have imagined while representing our program with integrity, character and professionalism every day over the last 30 years. As a result, we have also commissioned renowned sculptor Russ Faxon to design and produce a life-size statue of Travis that will be unveiled in the fall of 2025. He joins Ed Diddle as the only individuals in WKU Athletics history to have a statue in their honor, and I congratulate him on this truly deserved recognition.”
The life-size bronze statue will be mounted on a granite base. The location will be finalized and announced at a future date, the press release stated.
