Central Michigan University Athletics
125 Years of CMU Football: Hall of Fame Coach and Legendary Sports Administrator Roy Kramer
8/7/2026 8:52:00 AM | Football, Our Stories
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Kramer, who passed away on December 4, 2025, made his mark nationally as Commissioner of the Southeastern Conference and as head coach of the 1974 national champion Central Michigan Football team; he is known as the "father" of the BCS playoff.
For our fourth content piece to kick off the 125 Years of Central Michigan Football campaign, we profile Chippewas' Hall of Fame coach Roy Kramer.
Kramer, who passed away on December 4, 2025, made his mark nationally as Commissioner of the Southeastern Conference and as head coach of the 1974 national champion Central Michigan Football team. He is known as the "father" of the BCS playoff.
Kramer was inducted into the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame in 2023. During his 11 seasons heading the Central Michigan program (1967-77), Kramer won an impressive 71.8 percent of his games, including a 12-1 record in 1974, when the Chippewas won the Division II National Championship and Kramer was named NCAA National Coach of the Year. Kramer compiled an 83-32-2 record at CMU and led the Chippewas to back-to-back Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships in 1967-68.
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 hired Herb Deromedi as an assistant coach in 1967 and promoted 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.Â
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. He is recognized as the "father" of the BCS playoff.
Kramer graduated from Maryville (Tenn.) College, 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 Jan. 1, 1947, as a freshman for Maryville and lost to Catawba (N.C.), 31-6. During his senior year at Maryville, he was called to serve during the Korean War, delaying his graduation. After his service and graduation from Maryville (1953), Kramer earned his master's degree with a double major in history and education from the Univ. of Michigan in 1954.
Kramer was inducted into the Central Michigan Marcy Weston 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); and the 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.
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Kramer, who passed away on December 4, 2025, made his mark nationally as Commissioner of the Southeastern Conference and as head coach of the 1974 national champion Central Michigan Football team. He is known as the "father" of the BCS playoff.
Kramer was inducted into the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame in 2023. During his 11 seasons heading the Central Michigan program (1967-77), Kramer won an impressive 71.8 percent of his games, including a 12-1 record in 1974, when the Chippewas won the Division II National Championship and Kramer was named NCAA National Coach of the Year. Kramer compiled an 83-32-2 record at CMU and led the Chippewas to back-to-back Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships in 1967-68.
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 hired Herb Deromedi as an assistant coach in 1967 and promoted 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.Â
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. He is recognized as the "father" of the BCS playoff.
Kramer graduated from Maryville (Tenn.) College, 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 Jan. 1, 1947, as a freshman for Maryville and lost to Catawba (N.C.), 31-6. During his senior year at Maryville, he was called to serve during the Korean War, delaying his graduation. After his service and graduation from Maryville (1953), Kramer earned his master's degree with a double major in history and education from the Univ. of Michigan in 1954.
Kramer was inducted into the Central Michigan Marcy Weston 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); and the 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.
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