Sweet Home Alabama

Fifty years since winning the NCAA Division III football championship, Central College alumni look back on and celebrate the lessons learned and the significance of the 1974 Dutch football team’s success.

Nov 14, 2024 | 1 Comment

Coach McMartin entering Schipper Stadium with football team

Path to McMartin’s Dreams Led Him Home

Jeff McMartin ’90, Central College head football coach, returned to his alma mater aiming to inspire both athletic excellence and a love for learning among his players.

Jul 12, 2024

Hall of Honor 2023

Three graduates, who shined on the NCAA postseason stage, are the newest inductees in the Central College Athletics Hall of Honor.

Mar 12, 2024

Preserving Iowa Prairie One Fire At A Time

Central College Dutch alumni use their athletics backgrounds in crucial conservation work.

Mar 12, 2024

Keith Jones at Central softball game

Teachers of the Game

Central College faculty members in coaching ranks highlight athletics’ role in educational process. 

Nov 8, 2023

Adam Gregg

Schipper Stadium To The State Capitol

Adam Gregg ’06 shares his journey from Schipper Stadium to the Iowa Capitol and how he uses the skills he learned every day.

Jul 14, 2023

Thea Lunning '23

For the Love of Sports

Central College students have a lot going on. Thea Lunning ’23 is no stranger to involvement opportunities on campus, and it’s her love for all she does that drives her.

Apr 14, 2023

Several of Max “Dubit” Vander Pol’s friends and some former Central student employees at Dubit’s Steak House in the 1960s-70s dropped in to his Pella home in June. Seated, left to right: John Carle ’60, John Danks ’69, Steve Paris ’73, Tom Hall ’61, Herb Blom ’61, Max Vander Pol and Cliff Marlow ’75. Standing: John Goode ’79, Steve Bancroft ’70, Alex Glann ’69, Del Miller ’72, Al Dorenkamp ’75 and Al Paris ’77.

Dubit Did a Lot

Sometimes “doing a little bit” turns into a lifetime of doing a lot.

Jan 13, 2023 | 3 Comments

Matt Glockel '21 makes a play during a football game versus Bethel University.

Decisions, Decisions

The COVID-19 pandemic forced Central College student-athletes to make decisions about their academic, athletics and career goals.

Oct 14, 2022

Lindsay Schultz Janke ’04, Adam Duerfeldt ’06 and Annie Van Wetzinga ’01

Central Adds Three to Athletics Hall of Honor

Three spring sport standouts who embarked on successful postgraduate careers are the newest members of the Central College Athletics Hall of Honor.

Oct 14, 2022

Sam Beatty ’23

Athletics Updates – Fall 2022

Read the Fall 2022 wrap-up for Dutch athletics.

Oct 14, 2022

A Fire for Football on the Gridiron Overseas

Jake Suggett ’20 extended his football career in graduate school for the University of West England.

Jul 14, 2022

Athletics Updates – Summer 2022

Read the Summer 2022 wrap-up for Dutch athletics.

Jul 13, 2022

Don De Waard ’82 on the sidelines of a Central Dutch football game

The Mayor and the Coach

A love of football and Pella helped Don De Waard ’82 tackle challenges and build a winning playbook for Central.

Apr 13, 2022

Gagliardi Trophy-winning Central quarterback Blaine Hawkins ’21 shares some final words with the AFCA Division III Coach of the Year Jeff McMartin ’90 before taking the field for Central’s NCAA Division III football playoff game with Wheaton College (Ill.) Nov. 27.

Athletics Updates – Spring 2022

Read the Spring 2022 wrap-up for Dutch athletics.

Apr 13, 2022

The 10th NCAA Division III Championship trophy won by a Central women’s team was hoisted in 2003 by softball captains Libby Hysell Carlton ’03, Mary Vande Hoef ’03, Kris Hughes Gardner ’03 and April Miller Hicks ’03 in Salem, Virigina.

An Era of Opportunities

Central College is recognized as a leader in women’s athletics.

Jan 13, 2022 | 1 Comment

Jim Fuller, associate head men’s and women’s track coach (right), Kurtis Brondyke ’11 (center) and Will Daniels ’19 enjoyed the thrill of hearing the words “Central College” announced at events more than once during Olympic Trials this summer.

Hurdling Olympic Dreams

Central grads Will Daniels ’19 and Kurtis Brondyke ’11 compete in decathlon trials.

Oct 15, 2021

Exterior of P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium

Making an Impression

New facilities showcase the best of what Central athletics have to offer.

Jul 15, 2021

Former Central presidents David Roe (left) and President Emeritus Ken Weller (center) join current President Mark Putnam at the 2013 NCAA Division III softball championships in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

Weller’s Wisdom

President Emeritus Ken Weller accomplished much in his time at Central. Of those accomplishments, Weller authored the Division III Philosophy, which transformed Division III athletics into what they are today.

Jul 15, 2021 | 1 Comment

Austin O'Brien ’14was the Iowa Conference men’s cross country MVP in 2013, placing 11th at the NCAA Division III Championships. He then won an indoor track and field national title in the distance medley relay.

“Unrealistic” Dreams Lead O’Brien to Olympic Trials

The Olympic dreams of Austin O’Brien ’14 are as improbable as where they were spawned — on a couch in front of a television.

Jul 15, 2021

A drone shot of A.N. Kuyper Athletics Complex showcases many of Central College's updated exterior athletics facilities. Photo by: Andrew Gorman '19

Athletics Updates – Summer 2021

Read the Summer 2021 wrap-up for Dutch athletics.

Jul 15, 2021

Yana Rouse ’21 became Central’s first female minority student senate president in Fall 2020.

Multi-Talented Leader

Central College student body president and track thrower Yana Rouse ’21 balances athletics, academics and campus life.

Apr 7, 2021

In the first phase of the $18 million Forever Dutch® initiative in 2017, P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium was expanded and received an exterior facelift.

Athletics Updates – Spring 2021

Read the Spring 2021 wrap-up for Dutch athletics.

Apr 7, 2021

In the first phase of the $18 million Forever Dutch® initiative in 2017, P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium was expanded and received an exterior facelift.

Victory! Central Completes Fundraising for Forever Dutch® Initiative

In it’s most ambitious athletics capital initiative in its 167-year history, Central College has completed fundraising for the $18 million Forever Dutch® initiative.

Jan 15, 2021

Football practice at Central in a pandemic meant face masks and small-group workouts, like Assistant Coach Austin Mercer put his cornerbacks through.

Pandemic Athletics: Central Navigates a New Way To Play

Central athletics has been a mixture of triumphs and setbacks during a global pandemic. Yet, coaches and athletes continue to find the silver lining.

Jan 15, 2021

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