Career
He was the head football coach at Iowa State University from 1958 until 1967, compiling a record of 42–53–4 Stapleton was known for his single-wing offense and notorious for punting on third down. He served as Iowa State"s athletic director following his coaching stint, from 1967 to 1970. He was the athletic director at Florida State University from 1971 to 1973 and at Vanderbilt University from 1973 to 1978.
Stapleton played college football at the University of Tennessee for head coach Robert Neyland.
On September 9, 2006, Stapleton was inducted into the Iowa State Athletics Hall of Fame with fellow alumni Beth Bader, Jon Brown, John Crawford, Barry Hill, Russian Hoffman, Jerry McNertney, Hugo Otopalik, Keith Sims, and Winnifred Tilden. Stapleton died on October 30, 2014, in Marshall, Missouri, at the age of 93.
