Wartburg Knights football

Wartburg Knights football
Wartburg Knights football
	2026 Wartburg Knights football team
First season	1935; 91 years ago
Athletic director	John Cochrane
Head coach	Chris Winter; 5th season, 53–8 (.869)
Location	Waverly, Iowa
Stadium	Walston-Hoover Stadium; (capacity: 5,000)
NCAA division	Division III
Conference	ARC
Colors	Orange and Black;
All-time record	508–318–7 (.614)
Conference championships
	21
Consensus All-Americans	6
Mascot	Knights
Website	go-knights.net

The Wartburg Knights football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Wartburg College located in Waverly, Iowa. The team competes in the NCAA Division III and a member of the American Rivers Conference (ARC).^[2] Wartburg's first football team was fielded in 1929 with varsity play starting in 1935.^[3] The team plays its home games at Walston-Hoover stadium in Waverly, Iowa.

First season1935; 91 years ago

Head coachChris Winter
5th season, 53–8 (.869)

Quick facts First season, Athletic director ...

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Season	Coach	Playoff	Opponent	Result
1982	Don Canfield	First round	Bishop	L 7–32
1993	Bob Nielson	Regionals	Wisconsin–La Crosse	L 26–55
1994		Regionals	Central (IA)	W 22–21
1994		Quarterfinals	Saint John's (MN)	L 14–42
1999	Rick Willis	Regionals	Pacific Lutheran	L 14–49
2002		First Round	Lake Forest	W 45–0
2002		Second Round	Linfield	L 15–52
2003		First Round	Bethel	W 21–7
2003		Second Round	Linfield	L 20–23
2004		First Round	Concordia–Moorhead	L 14–28
2008		First Round	Wisconsin–Stevens Point	W 26–21
		Second Round	Monmouth	W 30–28
		Quarterfinals	Wisconsin–Whitewater	L 17–34
2010		First Round	Bethel	L 20–28
2013		First Round	Illinois Wesleyan	W 41–7
2013		Second Round	Bethel	L 27–34
2014		First Round	St. Thomas	W 37–31
		Second Round	Saint John's (MN)	W 21–10
		Quarterfinals	Wisconsin–Whitewater	L 33–37
2017		First Round	Franklin	W 35–34 ^OT
		Second Round	Trine	W 49–7
		Quarterfinals	Wisconsin–Oshkosh	L 27–41
2018		First Round	Bethel	L 14–41
2019		First Round	Hope	W 41–3
2019		Second Round	Wisconsin–Whitewater	L 28–41
2022	Chris Winter	First Round	Wisconsin–LaCrosse	W 14–6
		Second Round	Saint John's (MN)	W 23–20
		Quarterfinals	Aurora	W 45–17
		Semifinals	Mount Union	L 31–34
2023		First Round	Illinois College	W 49–14
		Second Round	Whitworth	W 42–20
		Quarterfinals	Wisconsin–Whitewater	W 31–28
		Semifinals	North Central (IL)	L 27–34
2024		Second Round	Wisconsin–Platteville	W 19–14
2024		Third Round	Bethel (MN)	L 14–24
2025		Second Round	Wheaton	L 24–28

Year	Coach	Overall record	Conference record
1958	Norman Johansen	8–0–1	7–0–1
1959	Norman Johansen	8–1	8–0
1968	Lee Bondhus	7–1–1	6–0–1
1982	Don Canfield	8–2	7–0
1983†	Don Canfield	8–1	6–1
1993	Bob Nielson	9–2	8–1
1999	Rick Willis	10–1	10–0
2002†		10–2	8–1
2003		11–1	8–0
2004†		8–3	6–2
2008		10–3	7–1
2010		10–1	8–0
2013		9–3	6–1
2014		12–1	7–0
2017		12–1	8–0
2018		8–3	7–1
2019†		10–2	7–1
2022	Chris Winter	13–1	8–0
2023		13–1	8–0
2024		10–2	8–0
2025		10–1	8–0

Year	Player	Type
1968	Murray McMurray	Most Valuable Player
1969	Connie Hellerich	Most Valuable Player
1982	Mike Ward	Most Valuable Player
1983	Scott Fritz	Most Valuable Player
1984	Gary Walljasper	Most Valuable Player
1995	Vince Penningroth	Most Valuable Player
1999	Matt Wheeler	Most Valuable Player
2014	Logan Schrader Spencer Capitani	Offensive Most Valuable Player Defensive Most Valuable Player
2015	Logan Schrader	Offensive Most Valuable Player
2017	Matt Sacia	Offensive Most Valuable Player
2018	Matt Sacia	Offensive Most Valuable Player
2022	Hunter Clasen Owen Grover	Offensive Most Valuable Player Defensive Most Valuable Player
2023	Hunter Clasen Owen Grover	Offensive Most Valuable Player Defensive Most Valuable Player
2024	Parker Rochford	Defensive Most Valuable Player
2025	Keenan Tyler Sam Heither	Defensive Most Valuable Player Rookie of the Year

Tenure	Coach	Years	Record	Pct.	Con. Titles
1935–1937, 1944–1945	Elmer Hertel	5	9–18–0	.333	0
1938–1939	Ralph McKinzie	2	0–12–0	.000	0
1940–1942	CC Van Dyke	3	6–13–0	.316	0
1946	Stanley Hall	1	2–5–0	.286	0
1947–1950	Melvin Nelson	4	15–18–1	.456	0
1951	Earnest Oppermann	1	2–5–0	.286	0
1952–1964	Norm Johansen	13	53–54–4	.495	2
1965–1972	Lee Bondhus	8	24–47–1	.340	1
1973–1990	Don Canfield	18	97–71–1	.577	2
1991–1995	Bob Nielson	5	39–14–0	.736	1
1996	Steve Hagen	1	7–3–0	.700	0
2006–2007	Eric Koehler	2	16–4–0	.800	0
1997–2005, 2008–2020	Rick Willis	21	185–46–0	.801	11
2021–present	Chris Winter	5	53–8–0	.869	4
Totals	14 coaches	89 seasons	508–318–7	.614	21 titles

Year	D3 ranking	AFCA ranking	Record
1999	NR	No. 12	10–1
2000	NR	No. 18	9–1
2002	NR	No. 15	10–2
2003	No. 4	No. 6	11–1
2004	No. 24	NR	8–3
2007	No. 20	No. 25	8–2
2008	No. 10	No. 11	10–3
2010	No. 12	No. 11	10–1
2013	No. 14	No. 15	9–3
2014	No. 4	No. 4	12–1
2015	No. 24	NR	9–1
2017	No. 10	No. 8	12–1
2019	No. 14	No. 13	10–2
2022	No. 3	No. 4	13–1
2023	No. 3	No. 3	13–1
2024	No. 13	No. 12	10–2
2025	No. 12	No. 14	10–1

Conference affiliations