Michael David Kramer (born July 25, 1955) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

coach and former player, most recently the head football coach at

Idaho State University , mottoeng = "The truth will set you free" , established = , former_names = Academy of Idaho(1901–1915)Idaho Technical Institute(1915–1927) University of Idaho—Southern Branch(1927–1947)Idaho Stat ...

of the

Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference (BSC) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. Member institutions are located in the western United States in the eig ...

. Kramer was previously the head coach at two other schools in the conference: Eastern Washington University (1994–1999) and Montana State University (2000–2006). Kramer has coached teams to four Big Sky championships, one at Eastern Washington (1997), and three at Montana State (2002, 2003, and 2005). Kramer retired from his position at Idaho State on March 30, 2017.

Playing career

A native of Colton, Washington, on the

Palouse The Palouse ( ) is a distinct geographic region of the northwestern United States, encompassing parts of north central Idaho, southeastern Washington, and, by some definitions, parts of northeast Oregon. It is a major agricultural area, prima ...

south of Pullman, Kramer graduated from Colton High School in 1972 and played college football at the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The Universit ...

in nearby

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

. He was a lineman for the

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The Vandals migrated to the area betw ...

for four seasons under head coaches Don Robbins and

Ed Troxel Edward Ross Troxel (November 20, 1925 – January 22, 2001) was a high school and college football coach in Colorado, Idaho, and eastern Washington. His most notable coaching stops were at Borah High School in Boise, the University of I ...

. He started nine games at

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

as a true freshman in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

, and seven on offense at

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

as a sophomore. During his final two seasons he started at guard for offensive coordinator

Dennis Erickson Dennis Brian Erickson (born March 24, 1947) is an American football coach who most recently served as the head coach for the Salt Lake Stallions of the Alliance of American Football league. He was also the head coach at the University of Idaho ...

. Kramer was named most inspirational player (

Hec Edmundson Clarence Sinclair "Hec" Edmundson (August 3, 1886 – August 6, 1964) was an American basketball and track coach. A native of Moscow, Idaho, and a 1910 graduate of the University of Idaho, Edmundson coached at his alma mater (1916–18) and th ...

award) and the team's outstanding blocker as a senior in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

. He was a member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, received his bachelor's degree from UI in 1977, and later earned a master's degree from EWU.

Coaching career

Kramer began coaching in 1976 at his alma mater, Colton High, as an assistant for the 1976 season, then moved to

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

to coach at

Helena High School Helena High School is a public high school for grades 9 through 12 located in Helena, Montana, United States. It is part of the Helena Public School District. Founded in September 1876, it is the oldest high school in the state of Montana.

, as an assistant for three years and as head coach for another three. He moved up to the college level at Montana State in 1983, coaching the defensive line under head coach

Dave Arnold Dave Arnold (born 1971) is the founder and president of the Museum of Food and Drink (MOFAD); the host of the radio show '' Cooking Issues''; an owner of Booker and Dax, a food and drink research lab in New York; a food science writer and editor ...

and the Bobcats won the Big Sky title and the I-AA national championship in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

. He was the defensive coordinator for the next two seasons, which were much less successful, and Arnold and the staff was fired. Kramer coached in western

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

Stadium High School Stadium High School is a public high school in Tacoma, Washington, and a historic landmark. It is part of Tacoma Public Schools, or Tacoma School District No. 10 and is located in the Stadium District, near downtown Tacoma. The original buildin ...

in Tacoma for two seasons, then joined the staff at Eastern Washington in 1989 and coached the defensive line for five years. When head coach Dick Zornes retired, Kramer was promoted and led the Eagles for six seasons, through 1999.

Head coaching record

College

References

External links

Idaho State profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kramer, Mike 1955 births Living people American football defensive linemen American football offensive linemen Eastern Washington Eagles football coaches Idaho State Bengals football coaches Idaho Vandals football players Montana State Bobcats football coaches High school football coaches in Montana High school football coaches in Washington (state) People from Colton, Washington Coaches of American football from Washington (state) Players of American football from Washington (state)