A History of Clayton State Athletics
Founded in September of 1989 with the hiring of Mason Barfield as the first Director of Athletics and head men's basketball coach, Clayton State Athletics began competition as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in 1990 before becoming a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in 1997.
Starting with just men's basketball that first year, the program expanded to include women's basketball a year later and men's soccer in 1992. With the proposed move to the NCAA, first begun in 1994 at the behest of new president Rick Skinner, the Lakers sport offerings grew to include women's soccer, women's tennis, men's golf and men's and women's cross country by the fall of 1995, just under a year long process from start to finish.
With the major changes already underway with the program, another came that same fall as the entire athletics program was granted membership in the Peach Belt Conference. Clayton State was a provisional member from 1995-1997 before gaining eligibility to compete for league championships and automatic berths in NCAA Tournament competition beginning in the Fall of 1997. In 1998 and 2005, respectively, the addition of men's and women's outdoor and indoor track & field would bring the program to its current complement of 12 intercollegiate sports.
In just 30 years of having having an athletics department, Lakers student-athletes have produced an incredible 138 NCAA Tournament Appearances, 22 Peach Belt Conference Regular Season Championships, 65 PBC Tournament Titles (50 by individuals) and 91 All-Americans, all with just 12 sports. Highlighting these performances is the 2010-11 women's basketball program, which claimed the first NCAA Division II National Championship in program history, doing so with a commanding 69-50 victory over Michigan Tech on March 25, 2011 in St. Joseph, Missouri.
Clayton State Championship History
In just 30 years, Clayton State Athletics has produced a rich championship tradition. In that time they have earned a total of 87 titles and every program has had at least four champions. Women's basketball has delivered an amazing 17 championships, including the only NCAA Division II title in the history of the Southeast Region.
View a full history of Clayton State's championship history here.
Clayton State National Postseason History
Over the course of its first 30 years, Clayton State Athletics has reached a national postseason championship a total of 148 times (138 during the NCAA era) among 12 sports. Every program has had at least three appearances with men's cross country with 30 appearances and women's cross country with 29 appearances.
They are followed by men's golf with 17, women's basketball (15), men's indoor/outdoor track & field (15), women's tennis (13), women's indoor/outdoor track & field (13), men's soccer (8), men's basketball (4) and women's soccer (3).
Most recently, the men's soccer team reached the Elite Eight in the 2024 DII Men's Soccer Tournament for the second time in their program history.
View a full history of Clayton State's national postseason history here.
History of Clayton State Sport Sponsorship
1990-91 - Men's Basketball
Inaugural Schedule/Results
1991-92 - Women's Basketball
Inaugural Schedule/Results
1992 - Men's Soccer
Inaugural Schedule/Results
1995 - Men's and Women's Cross Country
Men's Inaugural Schedule/Results
Women's Inaugural Schedule/Results
1995 - Women's Soccer
Inaugural Schedule/Results
1995-96 - Men's Golf
Inaugural Schedule/Results
1996 - Women's Tennis
Inaugural Schedule/Results
1998 - Men's and Women's Outdoor Track
Men's Inaugural Schedule/Results
Women's Inaugural Schedule/Results
2005 - Men's and Women's Indoor Track
Men's Inaugural Schedule/Results
Women's Inaugural Schedule/Results
Updated - 4/3/2025
