Karl Kremser
Karl Friedrich Kremser was born on August 3, 1945, in Salzwedel, a town in West Germany. He attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he was an accomplished high jumper and soccer player. In 1965, he helped lead the Cadets’ soccer program to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament before transferring to the University of Tennessee.
Tennessee did not field a soccer team, so Kremser became the football team’s soccer-style placekicker. The highlight of his collegiate football career came with a 54-yard field goal that helped the Volunteers defeat Alabama, 10-9, in 1968. That kick set a Southeastern Conference record for distance up to that time and still stands as one of the longest field goals in Tennessee history. Earlier in 1968, at the SEC Track & Field Meet, Kremser won the High Jump with a leap of 6′-9.75″. He went on to place second at the 1968 NCAA Track & Field National Championships in Berkeley, California, with a leap of 7′ 1″, losing to Olympic champ Dick Fosbury, who invented the “Fosbury Flop” technique.
Kremser retired from FIU in 2007 as one of the most successful coaches ever in NCAA Division I men’s soccer history with a 337-210-41 career record.
Following his college graduation, Kremser kicked professionally for the Miami Dolphins and was the team’s leading scorer in 1969. After kicking for the Dolphins again in 1970, Kremser moved into coaching and started a soccer program at Palm Springs (Fla.) Junior High School. He moved on to Miami Killian Senior High School in 1975, and a year later, guided them to a 15-5-2 record and their first-ever state championship. He accepted the head coaching position at Davidson College in 1977 and by his third season, he was selected the league’s Coach of the Year.
Moving on to Florida Imitational University in 1980, Kremser produced two national championship teams at FIU in 1982 and 1984 and three others reached the national finals. Kremser retired from FIU in 2007 as one of the most successful coaches ever in NCAA Division I men’s soccer history with a 337-210-41 career record.
Karl has been married to his wife Hildburg (Hill) for 52 years. They have two sons. Jon lives in Ft. Myers, FL and works for Cummins Diesel. Kurt is a retired Lt. Colonel USAF and now flies corporate jets for Pfizer. Naturally, they have three athletic granddaughters. Elisa, age 14, played soccer, and now is an accomplished lacrosse and volleyball player. Emily, 11, plays ice hockey. And Katherine, 9, plays soccer.