Two families who are connected by football as well as marriage have been recognized as East Central University's 2010 Distinguished Family.
The combined Clements-Compton family was selected for playing an identifiable and significant role in the success of ECU as well as their respective communities.
Since four siblings from each family began the legacy in the 1970s, 15 family members either have attended or graduated from ECU. The two families have produced eight Tiger football players, including a son-in-law who played with his brother-in-law on ECU's 1993 NAIA championship team.
"I felt it compelling to include the Clements family as well as my mother's family, the Comptons, since we are all so intertwined," said Darla (Compton) Clements. "I honestly don't know of another family that has put so many family members through ECU and a family that has been so involved in the ECU football program."
Clements family members with ties to ECU include siblings Bill, Brent, Ronnie and Martha, Brent's wife, and Bill's wife and three children, plus a daughter- and son-in-law.
In the Compton family, Naomi Compton of Shawnee helped put four children, Darla (Clements), Russell, and twins Jerry and Terry, through ECU and is a long-time supporter of the university and its athletic programs. Jerry Compton's wife, Lisa, also attended ECU.
Darla (Compton) Clements and her husband Bill, an all-conference football player, graduated from ECU in the early 1970s and live in Norman. They own Clements Insurance Agency in Lindsay. Their three children, Jason Clements of Norman, Bridget Furnish of Norman and Nick Clements of Moore, also are ECU graduates.
Brent Clements of Norman was an all conference football player at ECU. He is an administrator in the Mid-Del School District in Midwest City. His wife, Donna Clements, also attended ECU.
Ronnie Clements of Frederick also was a letterman on the football team. He is president of Clements Tax & Consulting in Frederick.
Martha (Clements) Eaves of Midwest City was a letter winner on the ECU women's basketball team. She is an administrative coordinator with the Oklahoma State Department of Education in Oklahoma City.
Bill and Darla Clements' son, Jason Clements of Norman, was a member of the 1993 ECU national championship football team, a four-year letterman and an academic all conference selection. He is president of The Clements Group, a professional search and consulting firm in Norman. His wife Sasha (Lambert) Clements, an ECU honors graduate, is the controller at Oklahoma Electric Cooperative in Norman and a founding member of the Norman Music Festival. She is a past president of the ECU Alumni Association.
Bridget (Clements) Furnish and husband Justin Furnish also live in Norman. She is a personal trainer and he is a regional sales representative for Hertz Equipment in Oklahoma City. Justin Furnish was member of ECU's 1993 national championship football team, a four-year letterman and an all-conference selection.
Nick Clements of Oklahoma City was a letterman on the football team and is the area marketing manager with Equity Energy Services.
The three Compton brothers also played football at ECU.
Russell Compton of Shawnee, an all-conference player, recently retired as a teacher and coach in Grand Prairie, Texas. He now teaches in Seminole.
Jerry Compton was an all-conference football player who went on to play in the Canadian Football League and had a short stint in the NFL. He and his wife Lisa, who also attended ECU, live in Owasso where he is president of Image Builders Inc., a petroleum marketing and consulting company.
Terry Compton was a four-year letterman on the ECU football team. He lives in Shawnee with his wife Sherri and is a CPA and the chief financial officer for the Otoe-Missouria tribe's industries corporation.
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