Western Colorado University Athletics

It's rare that two siblings go to the same college at the same time.  It's even more rare that the two siblings would both be tremendous athletes.  It's still even more rare that these two siblings would be identical twins and play two different sports.  However, from 1993-97 Ken and Kurt Clay did just that.  Ken was one of the most clutch basketball players in Western history while brother Kurt was a feared free-safety on the gridiron.  Both earned conference championships and both will enter the Mountaineer Sports Hall of Fame.

Ken Clay is one of the most prolific basketball players in Mountaineer hoops history.  As the primary ball handler for the Mountaineers all four years, Ken led the team in assists in all four of those years and is second all-time in assists at Western.  Ken also holds the record for best free-throw percentage in a season (.889), third best career free-throw percentage (.829) and is fifth all-time in career steals with 118.  Ken ended his career winning more games as a starting point guard than any other in Western's history.

While brother Ken was a star on the court, Kurt Clay took his talents to the field.  As a sophomore, Kurt led the Mountaineers in tackles with 106 and ended his career with the 10th most tackles in Western history (273).  Not only a great tackler, Kurt's ability to read the quarterback and make plays on the ball led him to lead the team in interceptions in three years and is tied for third all-time in career interceptions with 15.  Kurt was a three-time all-conference selection and a first team all-conference selection in 1995 and 1996.  Also in 1996, Kurt was named an American Football Coaches Association First Team All-American and a Don Hansen Football Gazette Third Team All-American.

While both were leaders of their sports, Ken and Kurt were also leaders in the classroom and community.  Ken earned conference all-academic honors in 1996-97 and was also the recipient of the Brian Kiefer Memorial Scholarship and the Paul Wright Memorial Scholarship.  Kurt also made a name for himself in the classroom by earning the William Charlesworth Scholarship for math and natural sciences in 1996-97.

"During their years at Western, Kurt and Kenny were often mentioned in conversations as student-athletes who represented Western extremely well," Leila Calkins said in her nomination letter.  "There were student-athletes who were leaders of their teams and in the classroom as well as possessing wonderful personalities, showing respect to all."