WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) - After a long battle with cancer, longtime Butler Community College assistant football coach Steve Braet died on Thursday.

He was 69 years old. Braet spent 42 seasons coaching the Grizzlies. In that time, the program collected six NJCAA national championships.

Braet was inducted into the Butler Athletic Hall of Fame last fall, and he was inducted into the Wichita Sports Hall of Fame in 2017.

Braet's coaching career began in 1979 as an unpaid volunteer assistant and officially ended on February 1, 2022, as the associate head coach/defensive line coach for the Grizzlies. 

He guided the Grizzlies to 22 KJCCC conference titles and the Grizzlies amassed a record of 337-118-2. Braet was widely recognized as one of the top defensive line coaches in the country. In 2001 he was named the AFLAC National Assistant Coach of the Year.

Braet's son Taylor posted on X (formerly Twitter) regarding the news.