Central Michigan University Athletics
Former Chippewa Mentor Retires
March 20, 2002
He was a high school coach, a college coach, a college athletic director and a conference commissioner. And, after last week, Roy Kramer will now be a casual spectator.
The former Chippewa football head coach and current Southeastern Conference Commissioner announced his retirement as commissioner of the SEC in a press conference last week. No time table has been established to replace Kramer and he will remain with the SEC until a replacement is found.
Kramer made a name for himself at Central Michigan, guiding the Chippewa gridders to a 12-1 mark and a Division II National Championship in 1974. He compiled an 83-32-2 (.718) record in his 11-year career at Central. Kramer was the football mentor at CMU from 1967-77.
From Central Michigan, Kramer became the athletics director at Vanderbilt for 12 years before moving on to a 12-year stint as the SEC commissioner. Kramer's accomplishments at the SEC include the creation of the Bowl Championship Series and the first conference championship football game. He also served two terms on the NCAA men's basketball selection committee and chaired it for the 1992 tournament.
Prior to Central, Kramer spent 11 seasons coaching high school football.
His daughter, Sara Gray, is the ticket manager for Central Michigan.