Legendary coaches Roy Kramer, Herb Deromedi honored with statues
Roy Kramer and Herb Deromedi are easily the most famous coaching figures in Central Michigan football history.
Deromedi is the winningest coach in program history with 110 wins during his 16-year tenure with the Chippewas. He served as CMU's athletic director for 12 years and is also the only representative from CMU in the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame.
During his 11-year career with CMU, Kramer won 83 games -- third best in school history -- and won a Division II national championship in 1974. He served as the athletic director at Vanderbilt, commissioner of the Southeastern Conference and is considered the "Father of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS)."
Now, two bronze statues commemorate each man in front of the brand new Chippewa Champions Center.
"It's certainly an honor and I'm certainly indebted to the university and the athletic department for the generosity of doing it," Kramer, 91, said. "However, it's a tribute to the young men who came here and played for me. ... They came here without a locker room, without a stadium, they came here without a weight room and represented the Chippewas very successfully."
"It meant a great deal to me because I was able to part of that ceremony that honored both Roy Kramer and myself, and we were able to share that moment with our families," Deromedi, 81, said. "It was very meaningful to me."
The statues were commissioned by Todd Anson -- a CMU Trustee -- and his wife, Terri. Brett Grill was tasked with capturing the coaches essence as the sculptor for the project.
Grill, a sculptor based in Grand Rapids, has created statues of former U.S. President Gerald R. Ford, his wife, Betty, and several legendary college coaches -- including Tennessee's Pat Summitt and Michigan's Bo Schembechler.
In a small ceremony in front of the Champions Center ahead of the Chippewas' season-opening win over Ohio on Wednesday, Anson delivered remarks to the Kramer and Deromedi families to unveil the statues. Anson thanked the two families and referred to the coaches as the "Godfathers of CMU football."
"These two men, so different in personality, united through football and CMU," Anson said. "Together, they put us on the football map and elevated our university. Together they are the patriarchs of football at CMU."
Kramer said sharing the honor with Deromedi -- who was Kramer's defensive coordinator for 10 seasons before taking over as head coach -- meant a lot to him because of the legacy Deromedi built after Kramer departed Mount Pleasant.
"(Deromedi) had a spectacular record here, he won the MAC on several occasions, he had some great bowl wins, he had those unbelievable wins over Michigan State down in Spartan Stadium," Kramer said. "... (Deromedi is) truly one of the great football coaches that came along in this game."
Deromedi said his time at CMU and Mount Pleasant has been a significant chapter in his life.
He and his wife, Marilyn, still live in the area.
"It's my life," Deromedi said. "I came here in 1967 and was part of this football program until I became athletic director in 1993. ... It's been a big part of my life, no question."
Before coming to coach the Chippewas, Kramer spent time coaching several high school teams, including East Lansing High just before he moved to CMU.
The 11 seasons Kramer spent in Mount Pleasant were meaningful to him and his family. He and his late wife, Sara Jo, raised their family in Mount Pleasant.
"Central is very special to me," Kramer said. "... We came here at a time when the school was beginning to grow, we were able to be able to build some facilities, we built the Mid-American Conference during that time, it was a great period of time during my life. I enjoyed living in Mount Pleasant, the whole experience here at Central, it was a very special page in my book of memories."
