FIU Hall of Fame: Karl Kremser stands alone as FIU coach, national champion

When it comes to the entire history of FIU coaches, Karl Kremser is the crème de la crème … or, given the spelling of his last name, the krem de la krem.

That’s because Kremser – who is being inducted into FIU’s Sports Hall of Fame on Sept. 12 – is the only Panthers coach ever to win a national championship.

And he did it twice, in 1982 and 1984, when FIU was an NCAA Division II program. Then, a little over a decade later, Kremser and the Panthers nearly did it again, moving up to the Division I level and advancing to the championship game before losing 4-1 to St. John’s.

Munga Eketebi, who was a player on Kremser’s 1984 national championship team, will also be inducted in FIU’s Hall of Fame on Sept. 12 along with ex-NFL star T.Y. Hilton; retired basketball coach Cindy Russo; and track gold medalist Tayna Lawrence.

Eketebi said Kremser was very demanding.

“Like every successful coach, (Kremser) hated to lose,” Eketebi said. “He had no tolerance for players who were not giving 100-perecent effort.”

Kremser, 80, has had a fascinating life story.

He was born in the Soviet-occupation zone of Germany in 1945 -- one month before the end of World War II. His parents, who were from Latvia, moved the family to New Jersey when Kremser was seven years old. One year later they settled in Pennsylvania, where Kremer became a high school state champion in the high jump.

That got him a track scholarship to Army. At one point, though, Army found out about Kremser’s soccer prowess. He ended up playing soccer that season, helping the Black Knights reach the 1965 national semifinals, losing to Michigan State.

After that season, Kremser left Army.

“I was not a good cadet,” he admits.

From there, Kremser landed at the University of Tennessee, where he joined the football team.

Pete Gogolak – who is nearly three years older than Kremser – was at Cornell University at that time. Gogolak is considered the chief figure behind football adoption of soccer-style place-kicking, approaching the ball at an angle instead of straight on and kicking with the instep instead of the toes.

Kremser tried it that spring of 1966 and earned a full scholarship (instead of the partial one he had at Army).

“I was elated,” Kremser.

So was Tennessee football coach Doug Dickey, who watched Kremer set a Southeastern Conference record in 1968 with a 54-yard field goal that helped the Volunteers beat Alabama and legendary coach Paul “Bear” Bryant, 10-9.

“That was an intense environment in Alabama,” Kremser said. “On the way to the game, Alabama fans were pounding on our bus, telling us how they were going to kick our butts.”

Kremser was such a good kicker that the Dolphins drafted him in the fifth round in 1969, and Kremser was Miami’s leading scorer (65 points) as a rookie.

But the Dolphins finished just 3-10-1, and coach George Wilson was fired. Don Shula replaced Wilson and signed Garo Yepremian, a Cyprus native who eventually beat out Kremser.

Yepremian went on to become the kicker on the 1972 Dolphins team that went 17-0.

That could’ve been Kremser’s job. He could’ve been one of the famous kickers in the NFL instead of Yepremian.

“I was disappointed,” Kremser said. “But life isn’t always fair.”

Getting cut essentially was the end of Kremser’s career as an athlete. But he stayed in the Miami area, coaching soccer at Palm Springs Junior School before winning a state championship for Killian High in 1977.

From there, Kremser started coaching in college, first at Davidson (1977 to 1980) and then at FIU (1980 to 2007).

Kremser went 0-15 in his first year at Davidson but then improved to five wins and then eight wins, winning honors as Southern Conference Coach of the Year.

Then, when coach Bill Nuttall left FIU to become a Fort Lauderdale Strikers assistant, Nancy Olson, who was FIU’s athletic director at the time, hired Kremser.

Olson, as it turned out, was a big Dolphins fans.

“She remembered me as a Dolphins kicker,” Kremser said. “That helped.”

At FIU, Kremser led the Panthers to 24 winning seasons in 27 years. FIU reached the NCAA Tournament 13 times, including the two aforementioned national titles and three runner-up finishes.

Kremser still has more wins (324) than any soccer coach in FIU history, and he helped 43 players reach the pro ranks.

Named conference Coach of the Year 10 times, Kremser helped develop pro standouts such as former USA National Team players Robin Fraser and Steve Ralston; MLS All-Stars Tyrone Marshall, Greg Vanney and Bobby Boswell; and goalie Jeff Cassar, the first ex-FIU player to compete in the English Premier League.

Kremser said those players should all be in FIU’s Hall of Fame, but, in actuality, Eketebi is the first Panthers soccer player to earn that distinction.

“That’s inexcusable and incomprehensible,” Kremser said. “I’m honored to get in, but my players should’ve been in there long before me.”

Kremser started his first FIU season with a 1-3 record. But he turned things around, and the Panthers went all the way to the NCAA Division II national championship match in that initial year, losing 1-0 in overtime to Lockhaven.

In 1982, FIU won its first national title, but Kremser still gets upset when thinking about his 1983 squad, which lost in the national championship semifinals to host Tampa on penalty kicks.

“The 1982 title was gratifying,” Kremser said. “We had some breaks go our way.

“But our 1983 teams was probably our most talented team ever. That loss was controversial. We were the No. 1 team in the nation and yet we had to play Tampa on its home turf.”

Another big moment for Kremser came in 2002 when FIU decided to drop soccer in the aftermath of adding football.

Kremser briefly retired but came back when the decision was reversed the next day, following alumni protests.

When Kremser finally retired for real in 2007, he was replaced by Eketebi.

These days, Kremser and his wife Hil split their time between the Florida Keys and Pennsylvania, where they can see their three grandchildren.

Looking back at his career, Kremser has a lot to be proud of, including how his FIU Panthers played.

“We didn’t just kick the ball around,” Kremser said. “We played some beautiful soccer.

“It was a sight to behold.”