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TEMPE, Arizona — Arizona State University women’s water polo head coach and Slippery Rock University alumnus Todd Clapper earned the recognition of his peers as the head coaches at Arizona State came together to name the third recipient of the Frank Kush Award.

The award is announced annually on the anniversary of Coach Kush’s passing (June 22, 2017).

There is one vote per head coach — 21 total — and the peer-only vote is the ultimate sign of respect from colleagues, and many factors can go into the final decision. It could be a successful first-year coach, a coach that had a season for the ages, or anything in between. The vote is what each head coach decides is most important in earning the honor, and 2020-21 produced a variety of opinions, as nine coaches earned at least one vote.

Clapper follows in the footsteps of hockey coaches Greg Powers (2018-19) and Trisha Ford (2017-18).

“It is an honor to receive this award named after a Sun Devil legend,” said Clapper. “It is also an incredible honor because it is voted on by my peers. This means a lot to our program.”

Sun Devil water polo had one of its best seasons in program history.

Not only were three top-five upsets for the first time since 2001, it was the first time since 2016 that there had been a Top Five upset.  The Sun Devils had exceptional conference play among a stacked group of the league’s elite teams, and tied the program’s highest placing in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Tournament with a fourth-place finish.

Clapper made winning  the norm, as ASU ended the season with 14 straight weeks of placing in the top five of the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Top 25 Poll. His defensive strategy held the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Champion University of Southern California (USC) Trojans to some of their lowest scoring games of the season. The Sun Devils defeated the University of Michigan for their inaugural NCAA Tournament win in program history, and advanced to the Final Four tying for third in the final NCAA Tournament standings — another program milestone.

ABOUT TODD CLAPPER:  Hired as the head coach of the Sun Devils women’s water polo team in 2005 after serving as an assistant coach for the team for a single season, Todd Clapper has led the Sun Devils to perennial placements in the national Top-10 rankings and two NCAA appearances while playing in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), the toughest league in the nation.

Since 2012, the Sun Devils have compiled a 181-87 record under Clapper.

Since coming to Tempe, Clapper has also been busy working with international teams. He served as the 2005 U.S. Junior National Team assistant coach before being selected as the 2006 U.S. Youth National coach. That year, he led the youth team into the Pan-Am Championships in Montreal, Canada where the team, playing up an age level, brought home gold. For his efforts he was named the 2006 USOC National Water Polo Coach of the Year. In 2008 and 2009 Clapper was the head coach of the New Zealand Women’s National Team.

Clapper came to the Valley of the Sun with a wealth of coaching experience. Following his graduation from Slippery Rock University in 1997, he stayed on with his alma mater and served as an assistant coach for the women’s team for one season before taking on assistant coaching duties at Villanova University with CWPA Commissioner Dan Sharadin.

After a one-year head coaching stint at Wissahickon High School in Ambler, Pa., Clapper took over at Brown University where he mentored a pair of teams as the head coach for both the men’s and women’s water polo squads from 1998-2004. For his efforts at Brown he earned several Coach of the Year awards, including New England (2000), Eastern Championship (2001 and 2003), Northern Division (2002) and Northeastern (2004). He closed out his tenure with the Bears’ women’s program with a record of 105-73 while seeing his team post 18 or more wins in each of his last four seasons, including 22 victories in 2001 and 20 in 2002.

Clapper was a four-year letter winner for The Rock, helping the team attain a Top-15 national ranking. As the starting goalie, he captained the team as a senior in 1996, the same year he was also selected second-team all-conference. A walk-on that became the starter in goal by the end of his sophomore season, he graduated Cum Laude with a BS in Exercise Science (aquatic emphasis) and also attained a minor in Adapted Physical Activity and Rehabilitation.

ABOUT FRANK KUSH:  A Hall of Fame caliber football coach at Arizona State, Frank Kush led the Sun Devils to six victories in seven bowl games, including the 1970 Peach Bowl and 1975 Fiesta Bowl where the team capped off two undefeated seasons. The Peach Bowl marked ASU’s first bowl game in 19 years and the Fiesta Bowl win pushed the Sun Devils to second in the national rankings, the highest ever under Kush. With Kush’s 1975 team finishing second in the national rankings, he was named the National Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association and the Walter Camp Foundation. Aside from producing winning teams, Kush coached nearly 40 All-Americans and more than 125 NFL players, including 10 first-round draft picks and 17 Pro Bowlers.

An Arizona State and College Football Hall of Fame inductee and the winningest coach in Sun Devil Football history, Coach Kush passed away on June 22, 2017, at 88. He started his career at ASU in 1955 as an assistant under former head coach Dan Devine. Three seasons later, on Dec. 22, 1957, Kush became the 15th football coach in Arizona State history and the rest is ASU, Phoenix, college football, Tempe and state of Arizona history. He went on to win 176 games, the most in school history, across 21+ seasons and was elected into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1995. He led his team to seven Western Athletic Conference Championships and guided the Sun Devils to winning seasons in 19 of his 22 years.

Information courtesy Arizona State University Athletics Communications

Collegiate Water Polo Association