NFF Hall of Fame Release
MARYVILLE – Distinguished Maryville College alumnus Roy Kramer has been selected as part of the 2023 College Football Hall of Fame Class.
Kramer (wearing No. 39, back row, third from left, in the team photo above) graduated from Maryville College in 1951. He played football for the Scots before his senior year was interrupted when called to serve during the Korean War. He returned to Maryville to complete his degree before embarking on a successful football coaching career.
Kramer led three different high school teams to Michigan state championships before moving up to the collegiate level, becoming head coach at Central Michigan University. He guided the Chippewas to an 83-32-2 (.718) record over 11 seasons, earning NCAA Coach of the Year honors in 1974.
That season, Central Michigan went 12-1 and captured the NCAA Division II national championship with a 54-14 victory over Delaware. CMU under Kramer won five conference titles in his 11 seasons.
Vanderbilt University named Kramer its director of athletics in 1978, and he stayed 12 years before taking the reins as Southeastern Conference commissioner from 1990 to 2002. During his time in the SEC office, Kramer created the SEC's divisions and championship football game. He is also known as the father of the NCAA College Football Bowl Championship Series, as well as a gifted speaker and storyteller.
A Maryville native, Kramer already is a member of the Maryville College Athletics Wall of Fame, the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, the Vanderbilt Athletics Hall of Fame and, most recently, the Tennessee Independent College and Universities Hall of Fame in October 2022. He was named the 2016 East Tennessean of the Year by the East Tennessee Historical Society and recipient of the 2015 Good Scout Award by the Great Smoky Mountain Council of Boy Scouts of America.
On-Campus Salutes This Fall
The 2023 College Football Hall of Fame Class earns its official induction during the 65th National Football Foundation Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas on Dec. 5 at the ARIA Resort & Casino Las Vegas. Before then, Kramer and his fellow inductees will be recognized at their respective collegiate institutions with NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salutes, presented by Fidelity Investments, during the fall football season.
Their accomplishments will be forever immortalized at the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, and each inductee receiving a custom ring.
