University of Idaho Athletics Hall of Famer Jerry Kramer is one step closer to joining the Professional Football Hall of Fame. Kramer was named a Seniors Committee Finalist for the Hall of Fame's Class of 2018, Thursday. He needs an 80-percent vote of support from the 48-member Hall of Fame Selection Committee in February to earn a long-awaited induction and remove his name from atop the list of greatest players not enshrined in Canton, Ohio.
 
A star on Idaho's football team from 1954-57, Kramer was a first-team All-American at guard as a senior. He enjoyed an illustrious NFL career with the Green Bay Packers as a five-time NFL Champion and five-time All-Pro selection.
 
Kramer was named to the NFL's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1969, and remains the only member of that team not inducted into the Hall of Fame.
 
Since 1972, the Seniors Committee has selected 57 finalists as nominees to the Hall of Fame and 45 received enough votes to earn induction. Kramer is among the 12 who did not receive the requisite votes. In 1997, he was the lone Seniors Committee finalist but fell short. It was his 10th go-around as a finalist for the Hall of Fame after falling just short nine times between 1974 and 1987.
 
Kramer has been a finalist for the Hall of Fame more times than any player not inducted.
 
The Seniors Committee is comprised of nine members of the Hall of Fame's Selection Committee who consider players whose careers ended at least 25 years ago. Through mail vote, the 2018 senior nominees were reduced to a final list of candidates. Then, on a rotating basis, five of the nine members meet at the Pro Football Hall of Fame to discuss each of the candidates and select the finalists.
 
The committee selected two finalists for consideration in 2018. Robert Brazile was nominated alongside Kramer. To be elected, Brazile and Kramer must receive 80-percent voting support by the entire 48-member Selection Committee on "Selection Saturday." The Hall of Fame Selection Committee, at its annual meeting to be held on Saturday, February 3, 2018 in Minneapolis, Minn., will consider 18 finalists, including two Seniors (Brazile and Kramer), one Contributor (to be named Friday, Aug. 25), and 15 Modern-Era Finalists (to be determined from a preliminary list announced in early-September; trimmed to 25 semifinalists in November and to 15 finalists in January). Current bylaws call for a class no smaller than four or larger than eight. The Senior Finalists will be voted on for election independent of the other finalists.