Burzis Kanga, who also happens to be Hoda Kotb’s ex-husband, is the University of New Orleans’ head tennis coach. Hoda, the ex-wife of Kanga, is a broadcast journalist best known for her work on the venerable Today program on NBC.
As the men’s and women’s tennis teams’ head coach at the University of New Orleans, Burzis Kanga has developed a reputation throughout the years.
He began playing tennis professionally in the early 1980s. View those years in the past by clicking on the headings below. During the action, be aware of what went wrong between Kanga and the union of reporters.
Ancestry of Burzis Kanga and His Path to Coaching Career
Kotb’s previous partner and first husband, Burzis, was born and raised in New Orleans and has resided there for more than 40 years.
He has not yet provided any information about his family, but according to some accounts, he is a first-generation American born to Tanzanian parents. The digits related to his birth date are also out in the wilderness.
However, what has been primarily stated is that Kanga was a former Collingswood Senior High student.
As previously indicated, he currently serves as the University of New Orleans Privateers’ head tennis coach. As the tennis faculty’s coach at the University of New Orleans, Kanga has cultivated a group that is known for both setting and achieving high standards for themselves in the classroom and for competing at a very high level on the court.
In February 2008, he joined the Privateers. Burzis, however, was a member of the Privateer from 1980 to 1983, therefore he got his start with the New Orleans tennis program in the 1980s. But in 1984, the year he graduated, he was also a student seeking a Bachelor of Science in Business.
Burzis Kanga (Pinterest)Tennis Program’s Head Coach At The University of New Orleans
Burzis is now beginning his fourth season as the New Orleans Privateers’ head coach.
In 2018–19, Kanga’s first season serving as the head mentor, he guided two doubles teams to conference honors. Samuel Armand and Johannes Klein from two of his teams won the prize for flight two, while Nicolas Kramer and Odysseas Papaioannou shared the prize for flight three.
Since 2016, four student-athletes from the Southerner’s women’s program—Soledad Calderon, Anna Segarra, Anja Luethi, and Trang Dao—have surpassed the 50-win threshold for their careers.
In that season, Kanga coached Rui Silva and Blake Gregor, members of the Southland first-team doubles, and led the senior-heavy Privateers men’s team to a 10-10 overall record.
Recent Season Stats for Him
For the 2020–21 season, Kanga received his first Southland and LSWA Coach of the Year award. This came after he helped the women’s tennis team go 12-3 and share their first regular-season Southland championship.
The East African-American also served as Marcel Volz’s and the women’s team’s Newcomers of the Year coach (Lina Hohnhold).
In 2020–21, the Privateers’ two doubles teams and seven singles players on both sides received–conference honors.
Other Accomplishments of Burzis Kanga
Before moving to New Orleans, Kanga coached at UNO from 1986 to 1989 and then again from 2003 to 2006, just before Hurricane Katrina caused the program to be suspended.
Kanga amassed an 81-9 record while competing for both the UNO and the New Orleans, becoming the only player on either UNO tennis team to receive All-American recognition. He was a senior in college at the time.
Once more, he was the best player in Louisiana for players under the age of 21 while he was a member of the UNO team. Additionally, he was listed as a professional tennis player for the US, European, and Mexican tennis satellite circuits.
Burzis Kanga (Pinterest)Relationship Between Kanga and His Ex-Wife, Hoda Kotb
From 2005 until 2007, Burzis was famously wed to Hoda Kotb, the spokesperson for NBC’s Today.
On Valentine’s Day in New Orleans, Kanga and Kotb first connected at a fundraising event for the American Heart Association. Hoda, who is of Egyptian descent and worked as a news anchor for a small station in New Orleans when they first met, was of that ethnicity. Before being married, Kanga and Kotb dated intermittently for many years.
In May 2005, the strategist proposed the broadcast journalist. The pair got hitched in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, the same year.
Cause of Their Divorce
The anchor filed for divorce on February 15, 2007, ending their union for good.
Later on, the former college athlete admitted that he found the whole divorce situation to be rather upsetting. The Today show host’s ex-husband also discussed what caused their divorce in January 2018 with Radar Online.
“We disagreed on some things. My father was suffering. She was unwell. It was a challenging moment. Those were private matters involving both of us.
Kanga admitted it.
But he kept Kotb’s precise illness a secret. However, his wife later acknowledged that she had received a breast cancer diagnosis in February 2007. Honda revealed she had been diagnosed with breast cancer along with the news of her separation on television.
In March 2007, Kotb reportedly underwent a mastectomy and reconstructive surgery for breast cancer.
On the other hand, Kanga explained that divorce occurred under trying circumstances. He also said that each of them had personal motives. The native of New Orleans also acknowledged that his level of immaturity had a role.
He expressed regret at how quickly his marriage ended and the circumstances surrounding it. Kanga added that he and his ex-relationship wife suffered from traveling to New York from New Orleans to be with her. The Big Apple was overpowering to him.
After their divorce, Burzis Kanga and Hoda Kobt, did Burzis get remarried?
Even though Kanga was “surprised” when his wife filed for divorce, he had nothing but kind things to say about her.
He will always treasure the time they spent together, according to the Cajuns. She was also described by him as the definition of class. On February 6, 2008, Burzis and Hoda formally ended their relationship.
In 2013, the correspondent Hoda began dating New York financier Joel Schiffman following her divorce. Though, after Kotb and Schiffman’s separation in January 2022, this relationship between the West Virginia native also didn’t continue forever. Now the mother of two adopted daughters, Kanga’s ex-girlfriend.
Given that Hoda’s late spouse is not particularly active on social networking sites, it is unclear whether or not he has remarried.
The fact that Burzis has a Facebook handle with the statement that he has been in a relationship since September 7, 2021, is fascinating enough.
But the coach hasn’t yet spoken out on the matter.
Burzis Kanga Net Worth
Hoda Kotb, an Egyptian-born woman, is one of, if not the highest-paid celebrities in the reporting and hosting industries. However, when it comes to her ex-wealth, her husband’s exact figures are only a matter of conjecture and speculation.
The recipient of the Gracie Award reportedly earns a salary of about $8 million on top of a net worth of almost $30 million.
On the other hand, although Kotb’s ex-wife participated in one of the most lucrative sports since the early 1980s, Kanga, at least according to the general sources, never received a significant financial gain.
Despite this, the Louisianan still has a good chance of becoming rich given his continued success in tennis over the past four decades.