Roy F. Kramer (born October 30, 1929) is a former American high school,

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

coach and athletics administrator. Kramer was the head football coach for

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a Public university, public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1892 as a private normal school and became a state institution in 1895. CMU is one of the eigh ...

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 Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

from 1978 to 1990, and later as the commissioner of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

from 1990 to 2002, where he created the

Bowl Championship Series The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was a college football post-season selection system that created four or five bowl game match-ups involving eight or ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of America ...

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 * 1974 Division II national "Coach of the Year" * 1987 Central Michigan Athletics Hall of Fame inductee * 1989 Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame inductee * 1998 Distinguished American Award by the National Football Foundation * 2003 Alabama Sports Hall of Fame inductee * 2008 Awarded the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award * 2008 Vanderbilt Athletics Hall of Fame inductee as part of its inaugural class * 2011 NCFAA Contribution to College Football Award * 2013 East Lansing HS Athletics Hall of Fame inductee * 2013 Awarded the Duffy Daugherty Award

Head coaching record

College

References

External links

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Tough as Nails: 2013 class of The Champions: Pioneers & Innovators in Sports Business
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East Tennessean of the Year

The Complete Book of the I-Formation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kramer, Roy 1929 births Living people Central Michigan Chippewas football coaches Southeastern Conference commissioners Vanderbilt Commodores athletic directors High school football coaches in Michigan College Football Hall of Fame inductees Maryville College alumni University of Michigan alumni People from Maryville, Tennessee Sportspeople from Blount County, Tennessee Coaches of American football from Tennessee