Central College8-2The Dutch of Pella, Iowa, who won the 1974 NCAA Division III national championship under legendary coach Ron Schipper and stacked Iowa Conference titles at Schipper Stadium — one of the Midwest's proudest small-college programs.
Central won a national championship and built an Iowa-Conference dynasty, yet the program rarely gets named among Division III's historic powers.
The Dutch are patient.
Central College · Next-Season Outcome Band
Central College · Next-Season Outcome BandFloor / Base / Ceiling
Variance assumed at ±2 wins from last-season record. Replace with the season-path projection once preview data is built.
Recent Form · last 10 games
Mixed
Three of five. Trending up, not yet hot.
Opens Sep 5
vs Gustavus Adolphus · away
Game Week
11 days
until kickoff · at Gustavus Adolphus · Sat Sep 5 · 18:00 UTC
The Dutch of Pella, Iowa, who won the 1974 NCAA Division III national championship under legendary coach Ron Schipper and stacked Iowa Conference titles at Schipper Stadium — one of the Midwest's proudest small-college programs.
Central College sits 3rd in the American Rivers Conference and 32nd of 240 in the CFB Zeitgeist — inside the projected 40-team field on the at-large math.
| Team | Conf | Overall | Index | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wartburg | 8-0 | 10-1 | 71.1 |
| 2 | Coe | 7-1 | 9-3 | 66.3 |
| 3 | Central College | 6-2 | 8-2 | 63.5 |
| 4 | Simpson College (IA) | 5-3 | 6-4 | 55.8 |
| 5 | Dubuque | 4-4 | 4-6 | 47.6 |
| 6 | Loras College | 3-5 | 3-7 | 44.5 |
| 7 | Buena Vista | 2-6 | 3-7 | 42.0 |
| 8 | Nebraska Wesleyan | 1-7 | 1-9 | 36.2 |
Win the American Rivers Conference for the automatic berth into the 40-team NCAA Division III bracket. Miss it and the path is an at-large bid, selected by NPI — the metric the CFB Index mirrors. Six wins survive the bracket to the Stagg Bowl.
Signature win 63-26 over Luther; toughest day 13-28 against Wartburg.
Community pulse
No high-engagement r/cfb discussions tracked for this program in the last year.
The Pulse on Central College
What moved it — fall camp · last 14 days
No player stats logged for this program yet — stats appear once the season is underway.
| Wk | Date | Us | Opp | Line | Opponent | Result | Record | Conf |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Sep 6 | — | — | — | @Illinois Wesleyan | W 27–18 | 1-0 | 0-0 |
| 3 | Sep 13 | #459 | #469 | — | Randolph Macon | W 10–0 | 2-0 | 0-0 |
| 4 | Sep 20 | #460 | #656 | — | @Luther | W 63–26 | 3-0 | 1-0 |
| 5 | Sep 27 | #479 | #504 | — | Dubuque | W 35–16 | 4-0 | 2-0 |
| 6 | Oct 4 | #471 | #572 | — | @Loras College | W 45–27 | 5-0 | 3-0 |
| 8 | Oct 18 | #461 | #563 | — | Nebraska Wesleyan | W 34–13 | 6-0 | 4-0 |
| 9 | Oct 25 | #450 | #449 | — | @Wartburg | L 13–28 | 6-1 | 4-1 |
| 10 | Nov 1 | #452 | #631 | — | Buena Vista | W 52–27 | 7-1 | 5-1 |
| 11 | Nov 8 | #449 | #553 | — | @Simpson College (IA) | W 35–10 | 8-1 | 6-1 |
| 12 | Nov 15 | #444 | #455 | — | Coe | L 7–13 | 8-2 | 6-2 |
Home-Field Advantage · Central College · 2018-present
Above-Average
75% home win rate vs 77% on the road. margin runs +7.0 better at home. Ron and Joyce Schipper Stadium seats 1,000.
73°F average kickoff temp; 10% of games had measurable precipitation; 10 mph average wind.
Based on 20 home games with weather data.
All-Time Record
31-9
since 2022 · 4 seasons · .775 win rate
Moment of the Year · Central College · 2025
Moment of the Year · Central College · 2025Won 63-26 at Luther
Week 4 of 2025. A statement margin. Recruiting boards re-rendered overnight.