Roy F. Kramer (born October 30, 1929)[1] is a former American high school, college football coach and athletics administrator. Kramer was the head football coach for Central Michigan University from 1967 to 1977, compiling a record of 83–32–2 and winning the 1974 NCAA Division II Football Championship. He then served as the athletic director at Vanderbilt University from 1978 to 1990, and later as the commissioner of the Southeastern Conference from 1990 to 2002, where he created the Bowl Championship Series.[2]
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 30, 1929 Maryville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1955 | Battle Creek Central HS (MI) (assistant) |
| 1956 | Hudson HS (MI) |
| 1957 | Dowagiac HS (MI) |
| 1958–1959 | Benton Harbor HS (MI) |
| 1960–1966 | East Lansing HS (MI) |
| 1967–1977 | Central Michigan |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1978–1990 | Vanderbilt |
| 1990–2002 | SEC (commissioner) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 83–32–2 (college) 58–14–3 (high school) |
| Tournaments | 3–0 (NCAA D-II playoffs) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 1 NCAA Division II (1974) 2 IIAC (1967–1968) | |
| College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 2023 (profile) | |
Administrative career
Kramer became the sixth commissioner of the Southeastern Conference on January 10, 1990. Within seven months of his appointment, the conference announced plans for expansion, adding Arkansas and South Carolina officially on July 1, 1991. Following expansion, Kramer guided the conference in formulating divisional play and the first Division I-A conference football championship game.
During his tenure at the helm of the SEC, the conference won 81 national championships, the most ever in a decade by the league. Kramer oversaw the distribution of a then-league record $95.7 million to its member institutions for 2001–02. Kramer negotiated multi-sport national television packages with CBS and ESPN, featuring football and men's and women's basketball, through the 2008–09 season.
Because of his influence, the Men's and Women's SEC Athlete of the year award is presented annually as the Roy F. Kramer Award.
Kramer was succeeded as the SEC's commissioner by Michael Slive.
Awards and honors
- 1964 Michigan Class A "Coach of the Year" at East Lansing High[3]
- 1974 Division II national "Coach of the Year"[3]
- 1987 Central Michigan Athletics Hall of Fame inductee[3]
- 1989 Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame inductee[4]
- 1998 Distinguished American Award by the National Football Foundation
- 2003 Alabama Sports Hall of Fame inductee[5]
- 2008 Awarded the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award[6]
- 2008 Vanderbilt Athletics Hall of Fame inductee as part of its inaugural class[7]
- 2011 NCFAA Contribution to College Football Award[8]
- 2013 East Lansing HS Athletics Hall of Fame inductee[9]
- 2013 Awarded the Duffy Daugherty Award[9][10]
Head coaching record
College
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Michigan Chippewas (Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) (1967–1969) | |||||||||
| 1967 | Central Michigan | 8–2 | 2–1 | 1st | |||||
| 1968 | Central Michigan | 7–2 | 2–1 | 1st | |||||
| 1969 | Central Michigan | 7–3 | 2–1 | 2nd | |||||
| Central Michigan Chippewas (NCAA College Division / Division II independent) (1970–1974) | |||||||||
| 1970 | Central Michigan | 7–3 | |||||||
| 1971 | Central Michigan | 5–5 | |||||||
| 1972 | Central Michigan | 5–5–1 | |||||||
| 1973 | Central Michigan | 7–4 | |||||||
| 1974 | Central Michigan | 12–1 | W NCAA Division II Championship | ||||||
| Central Michigan Chippewas (Mid-American Conference) (1975–1977) | |||||||||
| 1975 | Central Michigan | 8–2–1 | 4–1–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1976 | Central Michigan | 7–4 | 4–3 | T–5th | |||||
| 1977 | Central Michigan | 10–1 | 7–1 | 2nd | |||||
| Central Michigan: | 83–32–2 | 21–8–1 | |||||||
| Total: | 83–32–2 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||