Make the Bracket Big Enough for Everyone to Have a Shot

Morgan State University athletic director Floyd Kerr

(New York Times) - Floyd Kerr was halfway back from his trip to Winston-Salem, N.C., on Sunday, on schedule to reach Baltimore just in time for the Selection Sunday broadcast. Kerr is the athletic director at Morgan State University. On Saturday he watched the Bears earn an automatic berth to the N.C.A.A. tournament by defeating South Carolina State in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament championship game. For those of us who attended Morgan, the revitalization of the basketball program has been astounding.

Last season the Bears, coached by Todd Bozeman, earned their first men’s Division I N.C.A.A. bid. Morgan, seeded 15th, was pitted against Oklahoma. The Bears lost, 82-54. On Sunday, Kerr learned that Morgan (27-9) would be seeded 15th again and matched against West Virginia (27-6). “We knew we were going to play a powerhouse team, that’s real,” Kerr said in a telephone interview. “But our approach is that we want to maximize the benefits to Morgan State out of this process. We want to go up against the giants, yes. But we don’t want to focus on that.”

Programs like Morgan’s, with limited budgets, make the strongest argument for why the N.C.A.A. field should be expanded to 96 teams from 65.

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Profile of Morgan's athletic director Floyd Kerr

Morgan's athletic director Floyd Kerr impact goes beyond the greater Baltimore/Washington region. With one ingenious hire (Todd Bozeman), Kerr has advanced the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference further in the past three years, than anything it had accomplished in the past decade in college basketball. Not only are star quality local players making their way to the Morgan campus, but Coach Bozeman is proving he is capability of building the Bears into a Mid-Major powerhouse, whereas others in the MEAC just make excuses.

Coach Bozeman range for recruiting star players goes from the West coast to the East coast. He is quickly proving it is not the name of the school, but great coaching that makes a competitive program. Morgan State will be making its second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance after beating South Carolina State 68-61 for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Championship Saturday. The Bears finished 26-9 and enter the NCAA tournament having won their last seven games dating back to Feb. 22. They have a formidable foe in Big East Champion West Virginia, but the Bears will be prepared to be competitive.

It is very refreshing to watch the transformation of Morgan State's athletic programs and the great works of Mr. Kerr and Coach Bozeman. The Bears are truly now "a Beast in the East."

Who is Floyd Kerr?

Oxford, Mississippi born Floyd Kerr, is a native of South Bend, Indiana. He attended Colorado State University, where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education. He held the position of Assistant Basketball Coach and Assistant Athletic Director at Youngstown State University from 1992 to 2000 and Director of Athletics at Southern University from 2000 to 2005. He was appointed Director of Athletics at Morgan State University on July 17, 2005.

He has coached high school basketball teams to state championships in New Jersey and Ohio. He spent 22 years coaching basketball before moving into athletic administration at Youngstown State, under football coach Jim Tressel, currently the head football coach at the Ohio State University. Kerr is currently pursuing his doctoral degree in Educational Leadership at Youngstown State University. He has also completed a certification as a Sports Marketing Professional (SMP) at the University of Kentucky Gatton School of Business.

Kerr has received many honors. Among them are: one of the Most Influential Minorities in Sports by Sports Illustrated Magazine (May 2004), a Fellow in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Fellows Leadership Program, and recipient of the General Robert R. Neyland Outstanding Athletic Director's Award by the All-American Football Foundation (2004). He has served on the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee and is currently serving on the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subcommittee and the Minority Opportunities Athletic Association (MOAA) Board of Directors.

Kerr has been recognized as an All-American Collegiate Basketball player at Colorado State University, was drafted by three professional sports teams, including the Phoenix Suns (NBA), the Utah Stars (ABA), and the Dallas Cowboys (NFL). Ranked 75th on Sports Illustrated's 101 Most Important Minorities in Sports in June 2004, Kerr has served as a member of two of the NCAA's most prestigious committees, the Division I men's basketball tournament selection committee and the issues committee.

Mr, Kerr has a vision to take the Morgan State Bears program to the next level, create a better image for the university through sports, and build a business model for the athletic department to generate new revenue streams. This all starts with recapturing the competitive edge in sports that Morgan historically enjoyed. No doubt, he has achieved this vision and beyond with the men's and women's basketball program.