Budka was recruited by Notre Dame University, heading to South Bend in the fall of 1960, where he was installed as the starting quarterback for the freshman team.
He was moved to the varsity team for the 1961 season, where he was listed as #2 on the depth chart behind future NFL quarterback junior Daryle Lamonica of Fresno, California.
[4] This being the era of the one-platoon system in college football, both starter Lamonica and reserve Budka[5] saw game action throughout the 1961 and 1962 seasons.
Budka would play all ten games in each of those seasons, used as a standard passing quarterback in the former year — going 40-for-95 with three touchdowns against an astounding 14 interceptions as a sophomore.
[6] During his 1962 junior season — during which Daryle Lamonica was a senior — Budka saw far more limited duty, attempting just nine passes for the year, somehow managing to accumulate more interceptions (3) than completions (2).