Celebrating the life of Floyd Kerr

November 20, 1946 – February 4, 2023

Floyd Kerr passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by his loving family, on February 4, 2023. Floyd was kind, thoughtful, humble, and generous in all aspects of his life. Floyd Kerr was the epitome of a gentleman.

Floyd and his twin brother Lloyd were born in Oxford, Mississippi on November 20, 1946, to Lonzo and Leolia Kerr. When he was five years old his family moved from Mississippi to South Bend, Indiana where he grew up. Floyd was a standout athlete in both basketball and football at South Bend’s Washington High School.

Floyd and Lloyd left South Bend to attend Colorado State University (CSU) in Fort Collins, Colorado in 1965. Floyd played collegiately at CSU from 1965 to 1969 alongside his twin brother Lloyd. In his junior year (1967–68) he led the Rams in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 15.9 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. During 1968–1969, the Kerr brothers helped lead the Colorado State Rams to the Elite Eight of the 1969 NCAA tournament. Floyd averaged 14.0 points and 6.9 rebounds for the season. Colorado State finished with a 17–7 record and Floyd was named to the Midwest All–Region team.

After completing his career at Colorado State, Floyd was drafted by the Phoenix Suns in the third round of the 1969 NBA draft, with the 30th overall pick. Despite not playing college football, Floyd was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys as a defensive back in the 16th round of the 1969 NFL/AFL draft Floyd returned to CSU to become the first black assis- tant basketball coach at the university and served in that role from 1974 to 1980. In 1992,he was head coach of the Youngstown Pride of the World Basketball League in the final season of the league.

Floyd went on to a long and successful career as an athletic administrator, winning state championships as a high school coach in both Ohio and New Jersey before moving to the college ranks as an assistant athletic director at Youngstown State in Ohio from 1993 to 2000, Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, from 2000 to 2005 and Morgan State in Baltimore from 2005 until his retirement in 2016.

Floyd Kerr was ranked 75th as one of the 101 most influential minorities in sports by Sports Illustrated magazine. In 2006, he was inducted into the Colorado State University Athletics Hall of Fame.

Floyd and Vivian met at CSU as Freshmen in 1965 and married in 1969 following their graduation. Floyd and Vivian both earned their MEd degree from CSU in 1977. They celebrated 53 years of a happy marriage on August 10, 2022.

Their only child, Kimberley (Dr. Kim) Michele, was born in 1972. She has two sons, Isaiah, and Jabari Stokes. He was preceded in death by his father Lonzo Kerr, Sr., his mother Leolia Kerr, and brother Herman J. Kerr (Alice). He is survived by his wife Vivian Kerr, daughter Kimberley Kerr, grandsons Isaiah and Jabari Stokes, Lloyd Kerr (Maggie), Lonzo Kerr, Jr., (Valvree), Lois Vernice Osborne (Fred), and Raymond Webster Kerr, nieces and nephews and a host of relatives and friends.