Frank Kerns
Frank Kerns (1933-2015)
Teams coached: Spring Hill Badgers, Georgia Southern Eagles
Spring Hill record^: 100-103 (.493)
Georgia Southern record: 244-132 (.649)
Overall record^: 344-235 (.594)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 3 (1983, 1987, 1992)
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 0
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 2 (1988, 1989)
- TAAC Regular Season Champion: 4 (1985, 1988, 1989, 1992)
- Southern States (NAIA) Regular Season Champion: 1 (1975)
- TAAC Tournament Champion: 3 (1983, 1987, 1992)
Awards:
- TAAC Coach of the Year: 4 (1983, 1987, 1988, 1992)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
1981-1994 | Georgia Southern |
1979-1981 | Chattanooga (asst) |
1971-1979 | Spring Hill College |
Frank Kerns Facts
- Franklin Phillip Kerns
- Born May 21, 1933
- Died August 3, 2015
- Hometown: Cumberland, Maryland
- Alma Mater: University of Alabama (BA, 1960)
- Started his coaching career at the prep level in Alabama, with stints at Clarke County HS (1961-64), Fairhope HS (1965-68) and the McGill Institute – now known as McGill-Toolen Catholic HS (1969-70)
- Became the head coach at NAIA Spring Hill College in Mobile, AL in 1971, coaching the Badgers for eight seasons
- Went 100-103 overall, highlighted by the 1974-75 season when they won a Southern States Conference title
- Moved up to the NCAA ranks in 1979, spending two seasons as an assistant under Murray Arnold at Chattanooga; was part of the 1980-81 Mocs team that won the SoCon and went to the NCAA Tournament
- Hired in 1981 to be the head coach at Georgia Southern, a position he would hold for the next 12+ seasons
- Went 244-132 overall, winning four TAAC titles, and three TAAC Tournaments to go to the NCAA Tournament three times (plus two NITs)
- Stepped down from Georgia Southern in 1994, one game into the season
- Later coached overseas in China and Austria, plus had a stint at Bulloch Academy in Georgia
- Spent eight years as a color analyst for Georgia Southern Radio
- Kerns passed away in August 2015 at the age of 82 after a brief battle with illness
Frank Kerns Coaching Tree
- Michael Curry (Florida Atlantic)
- Doug Durham (Georgia Southern)
- Robbie Laing (Campbell, Jones County JC)
- Jeff Price (Lynn, South Alabama, West Virginia Wesleyan, Georgia Southern)
- Charlton Young (Georgia Southern)
^ overall record includes head coaching positions at the NCAA Division I and NAIA levels only