"When the weather became a factor and we knew that we were going to be playing on Monday, (Mattie) still had it in her head that there was no way I was going to get back," said Kramme. "But there was no way I was going to miss her graduation."

Kramme was able to find a flight back to Omaha, Nebraska at 6 a.m. Sunday morning, and made it home by 11:30 a.m., just in time to see his daughter off as she left for the ceremony.

"I surprised her," said Kramme of his arrival home. "I walked into the house before she had taken off for the graduation ceremony and gave her a little whistle, which is how I've always tracked down my kids, and they recognize it. She looked around the corner and she was very, very pleased."

Kramme attended the ceremony and made it back to Decatur by 11 p.m. that night. It had been a long day of traveling in the midst of an exhausting few days of play in the North Alabama heat and humidity, but for this coach-turned-dad-turned-coach again, it was completely worth it.

"I was very pleased to be able to do it," said Kramme. "Not for me at all, but for my daughter."

After talking with Coach Kramme and hearing his story, I was extremely impressed with how easy it had been to make his plan a reality. Kramme credited his college and coaching staff with letting him make the journey home, speaking volumes of how important family is, not only to Kramme, but to the institution and to the NAIA.

In the midst of a time when athletic news is full of one negative thing after another, how wonderful it is to see that are still good and wholesome values alive and well in the world of collegiate sports. There are still girls playing ball for the love of the game, and there are still coaches who go home to their families, leave the glove at the door, and give their daughters "a little whistle" before they bound out the door with cap and gown in hand. 

Story by Mae Margaret Davis, Media Relations student assistant at Auburn University and volunteer at the NAIA Softball National Championship - Story from NAIA Facebook Page -  Click Here for the Story