Roy Kramer, who spearheaded the first expansion of the SEC and helped orchestra the formation of the Bowl Championship Series, has been selected as the winner of the prestigious Robert R. Neyland Award for contributions to college football.
Dr. Jerry Punch, who has covered college football for ESPN for 22 years, has been selected as the winner of the Lindsey Nelson Award, which goes to an outstanding broadcaster who has helped advance the game of college football.
Both awards are presented by the Knoxville Quarterback Club.
“It’s very special because of who General Neyland was,’’ said Kramer, a graduate of Maryville College. “There have been some great icons in coaching through the years. … Coach Neyland stands at the top of the group of icons. He was one of the great defensive coaches – if not the greatest – of all time.
“Whoever heard of having an undefeated, untied, unscored on team (1939). That doesn’t happen today. That old 6-2-2-1 was quite a defense.’’
After a stint in the Army, Kramer went to the state of Michigan to get his Masters and got a high school football coaching job at Battle Creek. He coached in high school for 12 years, where he won a state championship, then at Central Michigan for 13 years, where he won a Division II national title in 1974. As a head coach, he was 58-14-3 in high school and 83-32-2 in college.
“I loved coaching in high school,’’ Kramer said. “You take what’s there (personnel wise). You’re kind of a victim to how the genes were running 16-17 years ago. You do more coaching from the standpoint of teaching the game in high school than in college.’’
He served as athletic director at Vanderbilt from 1978-90, then became the sixth commissioner of the SEC, where he served from 1990-2002. Within seven months of taking over as SEC Commissioner, the league announced plans for expansion, adding Arkansas and South Carolina.
During his time overseeing the SEC, the league won 81 national titles – at the time the most ever in a 10-year period.
Asked his highlights as SEC commissioner, Kramer, with his dry sense of humor, said: “I’m not sure. If you read my mail, there weren’t any.’’
Kramer said he was proud of the success of the SEC football championship game and the growth of the conference in all sports.
Kramer felt the BCS was important to college football.
“There was great concern at the time that the college game had taken a back seat, as for as interest, to the NFL,’’ Kramer said. “We needed to add some excitement.’’
The thee-fold goal of the BCS was to match the top two teams in a bowl game, expand interest in the college game and preserve the bowl structure.
“I think it did that successfully,’’ Kramer said.
Kramer joins an elite group of Neyland honorees that includes: Bear Bryant, Woody Hayes, Bobby Dodd, John Vaught, Bud Wilkinson, Shug Jordan, Darrell Royal, Frank Broyles, Vince Dooley, Bobby Bowden, Bo Schembechler, Steve Spurrier, Lou Holtz, Mack Brown, Doug Dickey, John Majors, Phillip Fulmer and David Cutcliffe.
It has been presented annually since 1967.
Punch, a North Carolina State graduate, has worked with ESPN for 34 years, focusing mainly on football and basketball games and NASCAR. He has covered football national championships and such bowl games as the Orange, Sugar, Outback, Alamo, Capital One and Holiday.
“I am humbled, honored and thrilled to be named the recipient of the Lindsey Nelson Award,’’ Punch said. “In my opinion, Lindsey Nelson was not just a broadcast legend — he was an original. When you heard his elegant Tennessee voice and caught a glimpse of that psychedelic sports jacket, you knew instantly this had to be a big game.
“As a youngster growing up watching his Sunday morning replays of Notre Dame football, I never dreamed that I would one day receive an award named in his honor. It is hard to put into words just how special this is to me.
“Also, when I look at the many names of former colleague and broadcast mentors that have won this award in the past, I am even more grateful to be able to join the list of honorees. To have my name listed alongside the likes of Keith Jackson, Verne Lundquist, Brent Musburger, Lee Corso and others is truly a dream come true.’’
Punch, who moved to Knoxville in 2003, won an Emmy Award in 1989 for the Indy 500 telecast. He won the ACE award for cable excellence on ESPN’s NASCAR Speedworld in 1988. He is the 6th longest tenured announcer at ESPN. He was the NC State alumnus of the year in 2005 and the NASCAR Team Player of the Year in 1990.
Kramer and Punch will be honored April 21 at the East Tennessee Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame brunch at The Foundry at 9:30 am. They will also be recognized before Tennessee’s Orange and White game, which begins at 2 p.m.
The Nelson Award was first presented in 1998.
The Distinguished American Award will be presented to Dr. Bill Youmans, former UT team doctor.
State championship coaches will also be honored: Gary Rankin of Alcoa, Steve Matthews of Catholic, Derek Hunt of Maryville, Caine Ballard of Greeneville and Greg Ryan of Greenback.
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