On November 17, 2011, Kurt Budke, head coach of Oklahoma State University's women's basketball team, died when the Piper Cherokee light aircraft he was traveling in crashed near Perryville, Arkansas, killing all four people on board.

Olin Branstetter, an 82-year-old former Oklahoma State graduate and contributor to the university, was a certified commercial pilot with over 2,200 flight hours logged, and was the owner of N7746W, a single-engine, four-seat Piper PA-28-180 Cherokee built in 1964.

About two hours after departure, radar data showed the airplane flying level at 7,000 feet over the Ouachita National Forest, Arkansas, on a south-easterly heading.

[3] Hunters on the ground near the accident site reported seeing the airplane flying at a low altitude while making turns, before nosediving into a heavily wooded area.

A memorial was set up inside the Gallagher-Iba Arena, Oklahoma State's basketball venue, bearing semblance to those ribbons.

Following Budke's death, OSU expanded the rule to include coaches and staff, also mandating that pilots and aircraft be reviewed by an aviation consultant.