Kurtz Named Lt. Fred Koss Award Winner
Friday, May 29, 2015 | Men's Basketball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Jacob Kurtz has been named the 2014-15 recipient of the Lt. Fred Koss Award, distinguishing himself throughout his five-year career as a Gator by exemplifying the ideals of the award through his courageous and unselfish commitment to the Gator men's basketball program.
The Lt. Fred Koss award is presented to a senior basketball player who has personified the attributes of leadership, personal character, scholarship and competitive excellence reflecting the ideals of a University of Florida student.
Kurtz became known as “Jake the Snake” to his coches and teammates and the Rowdy Reptiles, grabbing loose balls, making deflections, scoring off offensive rebounds and most of all showing relentless effort to make a positive difference in the team's success. He quickly became a fan favorite and yet he always deflected any personal recognition to his teammates and coaches.
Jake earned a degree in engineering and spent his final season with the Gators in graduate school. He has since been hired as the UT Chattanooga video coordinator by former Gator assistant coach Matt McCall, who took the Mocs' head job this offseason.
The Lt. Fred Koss Award was established in 1974 to honor its namesake, who perished when his F-4 Phantom jet was shot down on July 7, 1972, during the Viet Nam war. Lt. Koss was a freshman basketball player at the University of Florida in 1964-65. He earned his undergraduate degree from Findlay College before entering the United States Air Force for pilot training.
The first recipient of the award in 1974 was Timothy Fletcher who went on to become a Colonel in the United States Air Force with a 30-year career. The award has been awarded to 40 players in 35 different seasons, making this the longest standing continuous award in any sport at the University of Florida.
Kurtz, from Oviedo, always wanted to be a Gator and came to UF hoping to become a manager for the Gator basketball program. With persistence, he was given a chance to work as a manager and eventually joined the team, starting in seven of the 33 games he played in his senior year.
