Forever Dutch

 

The next phase in a major facilities upgrade at Central College’s A.N. Kuyper Athletics Complex was announced at a campus celebration Jan. 30.

Project costs will exceed $15 million for the initial phases of Forever Dutch, a long-range athletics facilities initiative that began with outdoor field improvements over the past two years. An expansion of P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium is a major component of the next phase, to be followed by a renovation of the existing interior of the building, constructed in 1969. P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium was the first component of the 115-acre A.N. Kuyper Athletics Complex. Additional initiative details can be accessed via the Forever Dutch website at forever.central.edu.

Phase One provided for enhancements of outdoor athletics facilities and is largely completed. Included were improvements at the college’s baseball, soccer and softball fields as well as spectator areas at Ron and Joyce Schipper Stadium, which now features a new main entrance, Heritage Plaza. The Kuyper Gymnasium expansion, part of Phase Two, will be more dramatic. A new south-side entrance will extend towards Independence Street, eliminating the outdoor staircase to improve accessibility. It will include an expansive lobby, a new second-floor atrium and a home for Central’s Athletics Hall of Honor. The building will also expand to the west. The new construction will feature a large varsity locker room on the lower level and, on the upper level, a new wrestling room more than double the size of the current wrestling room to accommodate growing rosters. The current wrestling room will be converted to house hitting cages for softball, baseball and men’s and women’s golf.

The expansion will also include gradual replacement of aging and overtaxed infrastructure in the 45-year-old facility. Groundbreaking is anticipated later this year.

Work will then quickly transition to the other component of Phase Two, the Kuyper Gymnasium renovation. The renovation will likely include additional locker room space, an expanded athletic training room, a new team meeting room, recruitment space and staff offices. Additional projects expanding practice/competition facilities could follow.

Kuyper Gymnasium’s construction in 1969 helped launch Central’s athletics program in its spectacular rise as an NCAA Division III juggernaut. Prior to 1969, the Dutch had claimed 16 Iowa Conference titles with four All-America awards. Since then, Central has captured 11 NCAA national team championships, 152 conference titles, 32 individual NCAA crowns and 413 all-America awards. Central student-athletes have also received 21 NCAA postgraduate scholarships and 52 CoSIDA Academic All-America awards, all since 1969.

Central is a model Division III program and, in fact, president emeritus Ken Weller, who was in office when Kuyper Gymnasium was constructed, authored the original Division III philosophy.

“We are deeply indebted to Central’s 1960s leaders for the keen foresight they displayed in constructing P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium,” said Central president Mark Putnam. “For more than 45 years it has ably served a generation of students, coaches and staff who have authored a record of achievement far beyond what any could have even dreamed.”

“This is the No. 1 priority of the college.” — Mark Putnam, president

But he noted that the Dutch program has outgrown the aging building, which was constructed for an eight-sport men’s program with about 200 athletes. It now must serve a 19-sport men’s and women’s athletics program with 723 athletes in the past year. Team practices start as early as 5 a.m. and can run past 11 p.m. and the facilities receive heavy use by other students for intramurals and recreation. More than 94 percent of Central’s students use it regularly. In addition, some 2,000 junior high and high school students used Central’s athletics facilities last year for summer camps as well as off-season clinics. Ignoring the building’s pressing needs is not an option.

“This is the No. 1 priority of the college,” Putnam said, noting that the initiative was unanimously supported by the college’s board of trustees.

A 13-person steering committee that includes trustees and alumni is assisting college officials with planning and leadership for Forever Dutch. Pete Cartwright ’82, Dennis Hanson ‘07H and Molly Parrott ’02 serve as tri-chairs. Other committee members include Ann (Van Hemert) Allen ’00, Mike Dahlhauser ’94, Jim Danks ’64, Vern Den Herder ’71, John Edwards ’72, Tom Koos ’86, Marc Poortinga ’98, Steve Sikkink ‘83, Harry Smith ’73 and Raegan Schultz Wagner ’04.

Athletics director Eric Van Kley said the Dutch coaching staff is thrilled.

“Incredible people are what make the Central athletics tradition special, not bricks and mortar,” he said. “But we’ve simply outgrown facilities that were designed to accommodate 200 athletes when we now have more than 700. We are so excited and blessed that Forever Dutch will allow us to continue making such a transformational impact on students’ lives.”

Enthusiasm for Forever Dutch in fundraising efforts during the initiative’s quiet phase has been overwhelming, Putnam said, with several alumni and friends pledging their largest personal gifts ever. But broad-based support is critical to the success of Forever Dutch in what he terms a defining moment in the life of the college.