Hall of Fame
Bernadette ‘Bernie’ Kok played four years for the EKU volleyball team and four seasons for the basketball team between 1972-76. Before coming to EKU, her experience in basketball included competing in AAU basketball leagues in eighth and ninth grade since there was no high school Kentucky state basketball championship for girls.
In Kok’s first season of volleyball, the Colonels finished 20-8 and she was the first substitute off the bench in her first year of competitive volleyball. The team won its second consecutive Kentucky Women’s Intercollegiate (KWIC) title, going undefeated in league play while winning the regional to advance to the AIAW national tournament. In her freshman season of basketball, Kok started and led the team to the KWIC title, mirroring volleyball’s undefeated slate against league foes. EKU defeated Louisville, Georgetown and Murray to advance to the AIAW national tourney. Kok led the team in scoring versus Louisville with 29 points and against Murray State with 18. She also led the team in scoring in EKU’s loss to South Carolina with 17 points.
Her sophomore season saw Kok gain a starting spot as EKU produced a 26-4 record and won its third consecutive KWIC crown. The Colonels defeated Louisville, Bellarmine, Murray State and Kentucky on their way to the title, dominating Kentucky 15-3 and 15-5 in the championship game. EKU placed third in the AIAW Regional tourney. In her sophomore season in basketball, she was named as an Outstanding College Athlete of America for basketball, an award she also achieved in volleyball. EKU again won the KWIC tourney, advancing to the AIAW Regional tournament where the Colonels went 2-2.
Kok’s junior season in volleyball produced a third KWIC crown and second consecutive AIAW region championship, finishing with a 30-11 record. EKU competed that season in the AIAW national tourney in Portland, Oregon. In basketball, she led the Colonels to a fourth straight KWIC title, defeating Kentucky twice in the tournament. Kok had 25 points, 17 rebounds in the first win over Kentucky and 23 points, 11 rebounds in the second matchup with UK.
Her senior season in volleyball and basketball was a “rinse and repeat” of the previous three years – KWIC titles in both sports and AIAW Regional crowns in both sports. Following her senior year in basketball, she was named the 1975-76 College Athlete of the Year in the state by the Louisville Area Chamber of Commerce, averaging 16.7 points and 13.4 rebounds that season. In her four seasons of playing volleyball, EKU compiled a very impressive 165-41 record, won four KWIC titles, three AIAW Region II championships and advanced to the AIAW national tournament three times. Kok’s basketball teams were 61-19 won four straight KWIC titles and competed in four AIAW Regional championships.
Upon graduation from EKU, Kok taught physical education and behavior disorders for 34 years in Kentucky. She coached high school basketball for 22 years and high school volleyball for five years. Kok’s 1977-78 Betsy Layne High School basketball team went 26-2 and she was named Coach of the Year.
