J. Nort Atkinson

James Northrup Atkinson (October 6, 1877 – March 19, 1939) was an American college football coach and politician. He served as the head football coach at Ottawa University in Ottawa, Kansas from 1901 to 1902, and compiled a record of 12–5–2.

Atkinson attended Ottawa University, receiving his A.B. in 1898, B.Sc. in 1900, and A.M. in 1903. He was president of the Ottawa University Alumni Association in 1902. He also did post-graduate studies at Johns Hopkins University, University of Chicago and Columbia University, studying law at the latter. He was admitted to the bar in Kansas after graduating from the Kansas City School of Law in 1902. He was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. After serving a single term, he moved to Topeka where he worked for the state government. In 1920, he was appointed the State Accountant of Kansas, which he served until 1921. In 1923, he was named an accountant for the Kansas Court of Industrial Relations. He served another stint as state accountant, and later the Kansas Public Service Commission, initially being appointed in 1925, serving until his resignation in 1927. He later worked as an auditor. He died in 1939.