Submitted Photo Curt Kraft contemplates at a track meet during his time at East Carolina University. Photo courtesy of Curt Kraft.

In the Fall of 1980, a college freshman-aged Curt Kraft first set foot on the campus at Minot State University, He says he would not be where he is today if it were not for that decision.

Curt grew up in a tiny town 15 miles east of Velva called Karlsruhe. He was born and raised on his family’s farm in a town with a population of what he says was just about 300 people. He used to play basketball for his high school team, the Karlsruhe Tigers, and made it to state his junior year in 1979. They went 0-2. Curt graduated high school the next year in 1980, when he set his sights on the city of Minot.

“I felt like I was going to the ‘Metropolitan City,’ you know, I was like ‘man, I’m going to Minot, North Dakota, the big city,'” Curt said. “For me to go to Minot, that was a big deal. I thought I was in New York City!”

Coming from such a small town with such a small class, Curt said that it took him some adjusting when he arrived in Minot.

Curt lived in Crane Hall for all four years of his tenure at Minot State University; the very same room in fact, room 202. Curt came to Minot State after the university track & field and cross country coach at the time, a man by the name of Wiley Wilson recruited him to run for the school.

Curt ran track while under Wilson during his time at school under the MSU dome, which had just completed construction 1981.

“It was brand, brand new,” Curt said. “That was a whole ‘nother thing, I thought that was the Metrodome! When you come from a small town, everything looks bigger. Everything looks brighter.”

Curt ran his track meets under the dome all through his tenure at Minot State where he won numerous accolades. He was a track & field letterwinner all four years, NDCAC 400 Meter Hurdle Champion his sophomore year in 1982, track & field team scoring leader in 1983 and 1984, NDCAC Meet Runner Up in 1982, 1983, & 1984 and was track & field team captain his senior year in 1984. During his time at MSU, he also lettered one year in cross country and lettered three years in basketball.

Cross country ran in the Fall, indoor track ran in the Winter and outdoor ran track in the Spring. Basketball also played in the Winter, meaning Curt was trying to split his time between two sports at once.

“I guess I didn’t know any better at the time,” Curt said. “I was just really passionate about sports.”

Curt says he chose Minot State because he wanted to stay near family. Well, that and his high school sweetheart Nancy Edwards were going there. They were married soon after.

After graduating from Minot State, Curt took his love of sports with him into his professional career. He first started out at Carrington High School in Carrington, ND where he would spend the next five years as a coach.

Curt’s first step into the world of collegiate sports coaching came when he started at the University of Nevada. He first started as an assistant coach for the track team in 1991. It was not long before Curt was handed the reins of the team, becoming head coach in 1994. While at the University of Nevada, Curt was named conference coach of the year three times, including winning the title of Big West Coach of the Year in 2000. He served as an assistant coach on the 1993 Men’s Big West Champion squad and guided the women’s teams to titles in 2000, 2003 and 2004.

He coached a number of conference honored athletes during his 14 year tenure in Nevada. In 2004, Curt was inducted into the Minot State Hall of Fame for his time on the track and the court. The very next year, Curt found himself heading to the coast to take over the East Carolina University women’s track & field team. He was soon after promoted to head the entire program in 2007 after ECU Hall of Fame coach Bill Carson retired in 2007. There, he would live out the rest of his career.

At ECU, Curt won three C-USA Championships in women’s track & field, 81 conference event championships and led 25 individuals and three relay teams to NCAA Championships berths. In July of 2024, he hung it all up for good.

He says it was a difficult decision, but he wanted more time for his family.

“I had a 40 year college coaching career,” Curt said. “Now [I’m] spending time with family, spending time with my wife, my two grandkids, so that’s been a big deal. Taking time for myself and taking time for my wife.”

In July of 2025, one year after retiring, Curt Kraft was inducted into the University of Nevada Hall of Fame as part of their class of 2025 in recognition of his achievements at the university.

“I couldn’t be happier, I mean, what a neat honor. I am so excited to be inducted,” said Curt.

He says he still misses the sports life. He still misses impacting the athletes and being around the young people. When he retired, Curt received countless texts, emails and calls thanking him for impacting their lives and making the sport fun.

“We won championships at the University of Nevada and won championships over at East Carolina University, don’t get me wrong, those were very memorable, but I think the most memorable parts of [my career were] the bus rides, it was the locker room chats, the Christmas dinners, the recruiting of the kids, getting to know their parents,” Curt said. “I guess in one word summing it up, it would be the relationships. Those were probably the most memorable things.”

Curt and his wife Nancy still live in Greenville, NC. They have two daughters together and two grandchildren.