Kurtz was a rare two-sport letterman at Arizona in basketball and baseball in the mid 1960s. He went on to play six years in the St. Louis Cardinals farm system. He then returned to Tucson and was one of the leading officials in Arizona for 31 years. He officiated basketball in the Pac-10, Big Sky, WAC and WCAC conferences. He coached seven years in a variety of sports at Santa Rita High School.