Hall of Fame
Cal U’s gain was West Virginia University’s loss when Robert Lippencott transferred to Cal U from WVU in the early 1960s.
A football and basketball star at nearby Brashear High School (later Brownsville), Lippencott’s return to the area resulted in an outstanding football career. Far more importantly, Lippencott also received an invaluable education that propelled him to a prestigious professional career and a prosperous life.
Lippencott was a star linebacker for Cal during the 1963 and 1964 seasons. In 1963, Lippencott earned NAIA Little All-American honors and the Vulcans compiled a fine 5-2 overall record. This marked the third straight year that Cal football would achieve a five-win season. That consistent trend would not be duplicated until the recent Vulcan teams from 1999 through last fall.
Lippencott’s stellar play helped the 1963 Vulcans limit four of their seven opponents to 14 points or less, including a 34-0 shutout of division-rival Shippensburg.
A head injury forced Lippencott to miss spring drills in 1964. He returned in the fall and helped Cal enjoy a quick 3-1 start before a rash of injuries slowed the Vulcans to a 4-4-1 final record with two shutouts. During both the 1963 and 1964 seasons, Lippencott played against his brother, Barry Lippencott, who was a standout end with longtime nearby rival Indiana.
While completing his degree in education, Lippencott played one year of semi-pro football with the Pennsylvania Mustangs of the North American League. He later spent a season with the Atlantic City Senators of the Atlantic Coast League while teaching science and coaching the ninth-grade football and basketball teams in Bristol, Pa. He began his science and biology teaching career at Thomas Jefferson High School in 1966.
Looking for a career change, Lippencott accepted a position with the U.S. Secret Service’s Philadelphia office in 1969. The move turned into a 26-year career that saw Lippencott work with every U.S. President from Nixon to Clinton. Subsequently, Lippencott’s work took him to Illinois, where he held such impressive titles as the Assistant Director of Investigations for the Chicago Region and the Assistant Special Agent In Charge for the Chicago Field Office. For 10 consecutive years from 1984 through his retirement in 1994, Lippencott was the recipient of the prestigious U.S. Government Outstanding Achievement Award.
Though retired Lippencott remains quite active. He returned to school and earned his master’s degree in criminal and social justice from Lewis University in Romeoville, IL. Lippencott is now an adjunct faculty member at Lewis, where he teaches criminal justice. Bob and his wife, Suzanne Howison Lippencott, participate in the Cal U Foundation’s "Adopt a High School" Scholarship Program. They give two, $500 scholarships annually to deserving Brownsville High School students. The Lippencotts reside in Naperville, IL, and have three grown children (Grif, Amy, and Ray) and four grandchildren.
