Hall of Fame
Position: Coach
Years: Central Michigan
Place of Birth: Maryville, TN
Date of Birth: October 30, 1929
Record: 83-32-2 (71.8%)
During his 11 seasons heading the Central Michigan program, Roy Kramer won an impressive 71.8 percent of his games, including the 1974 Division II National Championship. The Maryville, Tennessee, native now becomes just the second person from Central Michigan to enter the College Football Hall of Fame.
In his 11 seasons leading the Chippewas, Kramer compiled an 83-32-2 (.718) record. In 1974 Kramer was named NCAA National Coach of the Year after guiding the Chippewas to a 12-1 record and the Division II National Championship. In addition to the 1974 national title, Kramer twice led the Chippewas to IIAC titles in 1967 and 1968.
At CMU, Kramer produced one First Team All-American, defensive lineman Rick Newsome, and three First Team Academic All-Americans. He coached 38 First Team All-Conference selections, and he played an integral role in Central Michigan's move in 1975 to Division I-A as a member of the Mid-American Conference.
Kramer began his coaching career as a high school coach in Michigan, and during a decade in the high school ranks his teams won three state championships. In 1965, Kramer joined the staff at Central Michigan University as an assistant, coaching the freshman team to a 7-1 mark before being bumped up to head coach.
Kramer had hired Herb Deromedi as an assistant coach in 1967, promoting him to defensive coordinator in 1969. When Kramer left in 1977, Deromedi took over from his mentor as the CMU head coach, going on a run that would also land the protégé in the College Football Hall of Fame. In 2022, Central Michigan recognized the close connection between the two coaches and their outstanding contributions to the Chippewa program by officially naming its football venue as the Kramer/Deromedi Field at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
After his coaching career, Kramer served as the athletics director at Vanderbilt University from 1978-1990 and as commissioner of the Southeastern Conference from 1990-2002. He expanded the SEC from 10 to 12 members with the additions of South Carolina and Arkansas, and he created the SEC Football Championship Game, making the SEC the first conference to have a title game. During his time at the SEC, he also led the creation of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS), the precursor to today's College Football Playoff system, pitting the two top-ranked teams in the country in a national title game.
Kramer graduated from Maryville College (TN), and he was a standout lineman on the football team as well as a wrestler. He played in the inaugural Tangerine Bowl (now the Citrus Bowl) on January 1, 1947, as a freshman for Maryville and losing to Catawba (NC) 31-6. During his senior year at Maryville, he was called to serve during the Korean War, delaying his graduation. After his service and graduating from Maryville in 1953, Kramer earned his master's degree with a double major in history and education from the University of Michigan in 1954.
Kramer has been inducted into the Central Michigan Athletics Hall of Fame (1987); Vanderbilt Athletics Hall of Fame (2008 as an inaugural member); Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame (1989); Alabama Sports Hall of Fame (2003). He has been awarded the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award (2008), NCFAA Contribution to College Football Award (2011); Duffy Daugherty Award (2013). The Men's and Women's SEC Athlete of the Year Award is presented annually as the Roy F. Kramer Award in his honor, and the NFF presented him its Distinguished American Award in 1998.
