Northern Kentucky University Athletics

One of the founding fathers of then-Northern Kentucky State College, Claypool was a major behind-the-scenes factor in the implementation of the athletics program in the early 1970s. Claypool, then the Dean of Students and Admissions at NKSC, hired the first coaching staff for the athletics program. Claypool also insisted that NKSC’s women’s sports programs be given equal scholarship funding as the men, something few schools around the nation did at that time. Claypool also created the school colors and nickname (Norsemen and Norsewomen) in the 1970s, and he oversaw the design and construction of Regents Hall, NKSC’s first sports facility. Claypool administered the athletics programs until 1978, representing Northern at national conventions and serving on various committees.