CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – After back-to-back national semifinal appearances, the Wartburg College Knights were selected as the favorite again for the 2024 American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) season, as voted on by the league’s head coaches. Read below about the Knights and the entire A-R-C as we get set to kick off an exciting football season. 

The Poll: 

The Wartburg College Knights are the coaches’ choice to win the 2024 A-R-C football title. The Knights have won the conference title the past two seasons and were chosen first on seven ballots (coaches do not vote on their own team) and earned 62 points to earn the No. 1 ranking. Coe College garnered 55 points in the poll and one first place vote. Central College debuts at No. 3 in the coaches’ poll, earning 51 points. The University of Dubuque picked up 46 points and was picked to win it all on one ballot. The Duhawks of Loras College tallied 36 points to put them at the No. 5 spot and Simpson College picked up 25 points to earn sixth. Nebraska Wesleyan University, Buena Vista University, and Luther College finished seventh, eighth, and ninth, respectively. 

New Head Coaches:

Ryan Maiuri - University of Dubuque

National Spotlight: 

Wartburg is entering the season ranked No. 4 in the D3football.com preseason poll after advancing to the NCAA semifinals a season ago. Coe and Central both enter the 2024 season receiving votes. 

The Schedule: 

The 2024 season kicks off with the University of Dubuque hitting the field on Friday, September 6 at 6:00p when they host Aurora University hailing from the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC). Seven more schools hit the ground running on Saturday, September 7. Buena Vista will host Benedictine University from the NACC and Central will host Illinois Wesleyan coming from the Collegiate Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW). Coe will host Cornell College from the Midwest Conference (MWC) in the annual meeting for the Bremner Cup. Loras will head to Michigan to face Hope College from the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) and Nebraska Wesleyan is slated to host Dakota State, an NAIA institution. Simpson hits the road to Illinois to take on Augustana and Wartburg begins their quest back to the NCAA Playoffs under the lights on the road against Monmouth. Luther is the final A-R-C team to begin their season when they travel up north to St. Olaf from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) on Saturday, September 14. 

The eight-game round-robin conference schedule begins on Saturday, September 21, and wraps up on Saturday, November 16. League games on September 21 will feature Wartburg at Central, Luther hosting Coe, Buena Vista at Loras, and Dubuque hosting Simpson. Nebraska Wesleyan will open their conference slate on September 28 when they travel to Wartburg. 

On the Line: 

The American Rivers Conference champion receivers the league’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III playoffs. The NCAA playoffs will expand to 40 teams this upcoming season. 

Preseason No. 1 | Wartburg College Knights

Chris Winter enters his fourth season leading the charge for the Knights football program. He has compiled an impressive 33-5 overall record during his first three seasons, including back-to-back national semifinal appearances. Last season, Wartburg finished 13-1 with the lone loss coming to North Central, the eventual national runner-ups. The Knights have made a total of 16 NCAA playoff appearances. 

The Knights lost some important players, but return key players too including previous all-conference performers: Nate Link, Parker Rochford, Tucker Kinney, Justin Grieff, Ethan Stockwell, Cael O’Neill, Will Conlan, and Jaxon Hoppes. Winter named Kinney, Rochford, Link, Grieff, Carter Henry, and Drake George as returning players to watch this upcoming season. 

Preseason No. 2 | Coe College Kohawks

Coe College enters the 2024 season hopeful following an at-large selection to the NCAA playoffs just a season ago. Tyler Staker is entering his ninth season as the head football coach and has compiled a 51-22 overall mark. During the 2023 season, the Kohawks posted a 9-2 overall record and 7-1 league record, good enough to finish second. Coe has made a total of 10 NCAA playoff appearances in program history. 

Coe will return six offensive starters and eight defensive starters this season. Alex Aitchison, Jay Oostendorp, Noah Theriault, Stone Cummins, Ben Adelsberger, LaDainian Linnear, Ray Seidel, Luke Schumacher, Jeron Senters, Julian Garcia Ayala, and Luke Bradley are returning all-conference performers for the Kohawks. Staker listed Oostendorp, Aitchison, Theriault, and Seidel as returning players to watch during the 2024 season. 

Preseason No. 3 | Central College Dutch

Jeff McMartin is entering his 22nd season guiding the Central College Dutch. During his tenure, he has compiled a 155-48 overall record. The Dutch finished the 2023 season with an 8-2 overall mark and 6-2 conference mark. Central looks to make a return to the NCAA playoffs for the first time since 2021 this season. Overall, Central has made it to the playoffs 22 times in program history. 

Kade Tippet, Logan Sunvold, Hunter Wilkenson, Reid Pakkebier, Ryan Neu, Austin Burns, Tate Hagen, Hunter Hoffman, Grant Nelson, and Max Reitano return this season as previous all-conference honorees. McMartin named Hagen, Reece Miller, Neu, and Pakkebier as returning players to watch for the upcoming season. The Dutch return eight starters on each side of the ball this season. 

Preseason No. 4 | University of Dubuque Spartans

Ryan Maiuri enters his first season as the head coach of the Spartans, but he is knowledgeable about the league coming over from Central. Last season, Dubuque finished 5-5 overall and 5-3 in league action. Dubuque is looking to make it back to the NCAA playoffs for the first time since 2015. The program has made a total of five appearances. 

Dubuque will return Dalton Wood, Jamari Jenkins, Za’Cameron Brice, and Wes Spitzmiller as returning all-conference performers. The Spartans will return seven offensive starters and five defensive starters this season. 

Preseason No. 5 | Loras College Duhawks

Steve Helminiak is entering his 11th season as the head coach at Loras. He has compiled a 37-55 overall record during his time leading the charge for the Duhawks. During the 2023 season, Loras finished 5-5 overall and 4-4 in league play. 

Loras will return seven offensive starters and five defensive starters this season. Evan England and Justin Hayes return for the Duhawks as previous all-conference performers. Helminiak named England, Hayes, Jaheem Haynes, Andrew Hefel, Brandon Phelps, and Zaccheaus Knighton as returning players to watch during the 2024 season. 

Preseason No. 6 | Simpson College Storm

Simpson welcomes back Reed Hoskins for his second season as the head football coach. During his first season, the Storm recorded a 3-7 overall mark and 2-6 mark in A-R-C action. Simpson has made seven NCAA playoff appearances, with the most recent coming in 2003. 

Simpson will lean on experience from their eight offensive starters and nine defensive starters this season. CJ Hangartner and Wyatt Schaben return this year as previous all-conference honorees. Hoskins named Hangartner, Schaben, J Jensen, and Joe Bream as returning players to watch this upcoming season. 

Preseason No. 7 | Nebraska Wesleyan University Prairie Wolves

Brian Keller, entering his 29th year as the head coach for the P-Wolves, has compiled a 129-143 overall record during his tenure. During the 2023 season, Nebraska Wesleyan finished 4-6 overall and 2-6 in league action. 

Nebraska Wesleyan will return eight starters on both sides of the ball this season including previous all-conference honorees Cole Siems, Trystin Myers, and Aashton Kirkland. Keller listed Siems, Nate Athouris, Myers, Hunter Hanke, and Kirkland as returning players to watch this season.

Preseason No. 8 | Buena Vista University Beavers

Austin Dickinson will enter his second season as the Beavers head coach during the 2024 campaign. During year one, he led Buena Vista to a 2-8 overall record and 2-6 A-R-C record. The Beavers have made two NCAA playoff appearances in program history. 

Buena Vista will return eight offensive starters and six defensive starters for the 2024 season. Ema Alaniz and James Facio return as previous all-conference honorees for the Beavers. Dickinson named Alaniz, Keaton Bindel, David Green, and Facio as returning players to watch this season. 

Preseason No. 9 | Luther College Norse

Entering his third season as the head coach of the Norse, Joe Troche has compiled a 2-18 overall record. Last season Luther finished 0-10 overall and 0-8 in league action. 

Luther welcomes back three offensive starters and four defensive starters for this season. Sean Medcalfe returns as a previous all-conference honoree. Troche listed Geremiah Brown, Raul Medrano, Aidan Damiani, Tyler Ragan, and Xavier Capton as returning players to watch. 

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About the American Rivers Conference

The Conference dates back to December 8, 1922, when representatives from 12 colleges got together and formed the "Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Association." Honoring its heritage in Iowa and its expansion outside the state, the American Rivers Conference brand was established on August 9, 2018, to build on the academic and athletic success provided by its legacy, the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The A-R-C has nine full-time members: Buena Vista University, Central College, Coe College, University of Dubuque, Loras College, Luther College, Nebraska Wesleyan University, Simpson College, and Wartburg College.