Franklin Phillip "Frank" Kerns (May 21, 1933 – August 3, 2015) was an American basketball coach. He coached

Georgia Southern Georgia Southern University (GS or Georgia Southern) is a public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia. The flagship campus is in Statesboro, and other locations include the Armstrong Campus in Savannah and the Liberty Campus in Hin ...

from 1981 to 1994. A native of

Cumberland, Maryland Cumberland is a U.S. city in and the county seat of Allegany County, Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its s ...

, Kerns served in the

Marine Corps Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. He later earned a degree in physical education from the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

. Kerns served as coach of

from 1982 to 1994, compiling a record of 244–132. A four-time

Trans America Athletic Conference The ASUN Conference, formerly the Atlantic Sun Conference, is a collegiate athletic conference operating mostly in the Southeastern United States. The league participates at the NCAA Division I level, and began sponsoring football at the Divisio ...

Coach of the Year, Kerns coached the Eagles to NCAA Tournaments in 1983, 1987, and 1992. The Eagles also reached the

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitational Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played at regional sites and traditionally at Madison Square Garden (Final Four) in New York City ...

in 1988 and 1989 under the direction of Kerns. He later coached in China for a year and in Austria for six years. He then coached at Bulloch Academy for several years. Kerns was color analyst for Georgia Southern Radio for eight years. Kerns died on August 3, 2015, at East Georgia Regional Medical Center in

Statesboro, Georgia Statesboro is the largest city and county seat of Bulloch County, Georgia, Bulloch County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States, located in the southeastern part of the state. Statesboro is home to the flagship campus of Georgia Southern ...

. He was 82 years old and had a brief illness. He was buried on August 6, 2015.

Head coaching record

NAIA

NCAA

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerns, Frank 1933 births 2015 deaths American men's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Georgia (U.S. state) College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Georgia Southern Eagles men's basketball coaches Sportspeople from Statesboro, Georgia University of Alabama alumni Military personnel from Cumberland, Maryland Sportspeople from Cumberland, Maryland