 Kramer (left) with his wife Sara Jo,c. 1958 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1929-10-30)October 30, 1929 Maryville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Died | December 4, 2025(2025-12-04) (aged 96) Vonore, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Maryville College University of Michigan |
| 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) |
| 1960–1964 | East Lansing HS (MI) |
| 1965–1977 | 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 | |
| 1NCAA Division II (1974) 2IIAC (1967–1968) | |
| College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 2023 (profile) | |
Roy Foster Kramer (October 30, 1929 – December 4, 2025) was an Americancollege football coach and athletics administrator. Kramer was the head football coach forCentral Michigan University from 1967 to 1977, compiling a record of 83–32–2 and winning the 1974NCAA Division II Football Championship. He then served as theathletic director atVanderbilt University from 1978 to 1990, and later as the commissioner of theSoutheastern Conference from 1990 to 2002, where he created theBowl Championship Series.[1]
Roy Foster Kramer was born inMaryville, Tennessee, on October 30, 1929.[2][3] Kramer played football and wrestled atMaryville College until he was drafted into theKorean War. He served in the military for three years before graduating in 1953. He went on to attend theUniversity of Michigan to earn his master's in both history and education.[4][5]
Kramer began his coaching at various Michigan high schools at the start of his career. His first post was atBattle Creek Central High School in 1955, working as an assistant coach.[6] While coaching, Kramer taught history.[7] He then moved toHudson High School in 1956 for his first head coach position, where the Tigers went undefeated[8] and won a state title in Class C.[9] Kramer brought another undefeated season and state championship to his next head coaching job at Dowagiac High School the following year.[10][8]
His only unsuccessful high school coaching season came in 1958 when he joinedBenton Harbor High School, guiding the team to a 2–7 season. The following season, the team improved to a 7–2 record.[8] Kramer then left to teach atEast Lansing High School for five years from 1960 to 1964, ending in a 33–6–1 record and being voted Class A state champions following an 8–0 record in 1964.[10] He was named "Class A Coach of the Year" in Michigan that season.[9]
After coaching high school football for over a decade, Kramer took his first college coaching job with theCentral Michigan Chippewas football in 1965, serving as an assistant coach.[11] He would later be signed as head coach afterBill Kelly's retirement.[4] He would go on to coach the team from 1967 until 1977, compiling a 83–32–2 win record.[7]
Kramer's first season with the team was referred to as a "new era" for the team.[12] Kramer hiredHerb Deromedi as an assistant coach that season. Deromedi would eventually go from the assistant position to defensive coordinator before taking over head coaching duties when Kramer left the team in 1977.[13]
In 1974, Kramer led the team to a Division II National Championship and was namedNCAA National Coach of the Year for his efforts.[3] The team then moved up to Division I the next season,[14] a decision Kramer spearheaded. They also joined theMid-American Conference that season.[10]
Kramer left his head coaching position at CMU to become the athletic director atVanderbilt University in 1978. He was motivated to make the change by his desire to be closer to his family in Tennessee.[15] He served in this role until 1990.[7] As director, Kramer's main initiative was renovating facilities on campus. During his tenure,Vanderbilt Stadium was reconstructed in 1981.[16] He also helped merge the men's and women's athletic departments at Vanderbilt and sold out the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament in 1984.[17]
During this time, Kramer was chairing meetings with other leaders in theNCAA,[18] where he was established as a leader in the conference.[17] This experience lead to him being tapped to be the next commissioner of the SEC.[19]
Kramer became the sixth commissioner of theSoutheastern Conference on January 10, 1990, after a unanimous decision among the presidents of the ten schools in the conference.[20] The conference added theUniversity of Arkansas and theUniversity of South Carolina in 1991 just a few months after the start of Kramer's tenure.[21] Following expansion, Kramer guided the conference to the creation of the first Division I-A conference football championship game.[3] Kramer lead the conference to winning 81 national championships, the most ever in a decade by the league.[22]
In 1997, Kramer oversaw creation of theBowl Championship Series.[9] This moved college football away from determining the national champion based on an antiquated system of polls.[11] While the system was designed to bring in more revenue, pitting the two best teams of college football against each other, the algorithm designed to decide the match-up was heavily criticized.[23] In a 2002 interview, Kramer jokingly stated that the BCS was "blamed for everything fromEl Niño to the terrorist attacks."[11][23]
Kramer retired from his position in 2002. He was succeeded as the SEC's commissioner byMichael Slive.[24] 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.[3]
Kramer was married to Sara Jo. He had three children and six grandchildren.[2] His son Steve played football at theUniversity of Miami.[4] Sara Jo died in 2013, with the couple being married for 62 years. Kramer died inVonore, Tennessee, on December 4, 2025, at the age of 96.[3][11]
| 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 | WNCAA 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 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
