The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Clay Stapleton

Followed Jim Myers. Clay Stapleton moved Iowa State from Regional Program V to Regional Program II in 10 seasons.

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1958–1967 · 1 stint
Iowa State
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Career arc

His real stature score, season by season, across every program he’s coached — so a stretch that stays in one tier the whole way can still climb or sink on the line, not just flatten out. Node color marks the tier reached. Which program a stretch belongs to is carried by the shaded lane behind it.

Stature score reached, by season of his head-coaching careerIOWA STATERegional Programthe building-block levelIowa State, 1958: 4-6, Regional Program V1958Iowa State, 1959: 7-3, Regional Program IV1959Iowa State, 1960: 7-3, Regional Program IV1960Iowa State, 1961: 5-5, Regional Program III1961Iowa State, 1962: 5-5, Regional Program II1962Iowa State, 1963: 4-5, Regional Program II1963Iowa State, 1964: 1-8, Regional Program III1964Iowa State, 1965: 5-4, Regional Program III1965Iowa State, 1966: 2-6, Regional Program III1966Iowa State, 1967: 2-8, Regional Program III1967+11.6One point per coached season, in career order; dashed segments are program changes — spacing is not proportional to calendar time

Reached Regional Program in his 1st career season — faster than 20% of the 925 FBS coaches who have ever reached Regional Program (rank #1 of 925 by seasons-to-arrival).

Iowa State, 10 seasons
+11.6
Regional Program V → Regional Program III.

The big-game ledger

How he does in the games that matter most — rivalry record, performance broken out by real opponent tier, one-score games, and his toughest historical matchup.

Winless in 10 tries against Dan Devine.

One-score games
10–19–4
30.3% · margin ≤8
vs. Blue Blood or better
2–8
20.0%
The toughest matchup
vs. Dan Devine0–9–1
10 meetings, 1958–1967
’58 L’59 L’60 L’61 L’62 L’63 L’64 L’65 L’66 T’67 L
0% win rate across a real, 10-meeting series — short of the bar this site uses before badging a series “Nemesis.” Shown here as the toughest matchup on record, not an algorithmic crown.
Performance by opponent class
Blue Blood
2–8 20.0%
Power Program
0–8 0.0%
National Program
10–19 34.5%
Regional Program
17–18 48.6%

Coaching career

1958–1967
Iowa Statecaretakerborderline
Regional Program V → Regional Program II
Clay Stapleton moved Iowa State from Regional Program V to Regional Program II in 10 seasons.

11th-best Iowa State tenure of 19 by the numbers.

Followed Jim Myers (1957–1957) · succeeded by Johnny Majors (1968–1972).

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