Rick Willis is an American college administrator and former football, baseball, and softball coach. He was the athletic director at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, from 2005 to 2021, before transitioning to vice president for student recruitment. Willis served two stints as the head football coach at Wartburg, from 1997 to 2005 and again from 2008 to 2021, compiled a record of 185–46. He was succeeded in 2021 by his former player and defensive coordinator Chris Winter. He was the head baseball coach at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio from 1991 to 1996, amassing a record of 150–85. Willis also coached the softball team at Wartburg for one season, in 2003, tallying a mark of 38–10 and reaching the Division III Women's College World Series.
The Wartburg Knights are the athletic teams that represent Wartburg College, located in Waverly, Iowa. The Knights have varsity teams in 27 sports, 13 for men and 14 for women. The teams participate in Division III of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and are members of the American Rivers Conference. Currently, the school's athletic director is John Cochrane.
Chris Winter is an American college football coach. He was named the head football coach in 2021 at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, after serving as an assistant since 2004, under former head football coach Rick Willis. In just his second year at the helm of the Wartburg Knights, he led them to a program record 13 wins and to the first NCAA Division III Semifinal appearance in school history.
The Wartburg Knights baseball program represents Wartburg College in college baseball. The program started in 1958. The team competes in the NCAA Division III and a member of the American Rivers Conference (ARC). The team plays its home games at Harms Stadium at Hertel field in Waverly, Iowa.
The 2022 Wartburg Knights football team represented Wartburg College of as a member of the American Rivers Conference (ARC) during the 2022 NCAA Division III football season. Led by second-year head coach Chris Winter, the Knights compiled an overall record of 13–1 with a mark of 8–0 in conference play, winning the ARC title and earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs. There, the Knights made it to their first ever national semifinal, losing to the eventual national runner up, Mount Union. The team played home games at Walston-Hoover Stadium in Waverly, Iowa.
The 2019 Wartburg Knights football team represented Wartburg College as a member of the American Rivers Conference (ARC) during the 2019 NCAA Division III football season. Led by Rick Willis in his 21st season, the Knights compiled an overall record of 10–2 with a mark of 7–1 in conference play, sharing the ARC title with the Central Dutch and earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs. There, the Knights defeated Hope in the first round before losing to eventual national runner-up, Wisconsin–Whitewater, in the second round. The team played home games at Walston-Hoover Stadium in Waverly, Iowa.
The 2017 Wartburg Knights football team represented Wartburg College as a member of the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 2017 NCAA Division III football season. Led by Rick Willis in his 19th season as head coach, the Knights compiled an overall record of 12–1 with a mark of 8–0 in conference play, winning IIAC title for the first time since 2014 and earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs. Wartburg lost in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs to the Wisconsin–Oshkosh. The team played home games at Walston-Hoover Stadium in Waverly, Iowa.
The 2014 Wartburg Knights football team represented Wartburg College as a member of the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 2014 NCAA Division III football season. Led by Rick Willis in his 16th season as head coach, the Knights compiled an overall record of 12–1 with a mark of 8–0 in conference play, winning IIAC title for the second year in a row and earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs. Wartburg lost in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs to eventual national champion Wisconsin–Whitewater. The Knights held a 17-point lead early in the fourth quarter, but lost 37–33. The team played home games at Walston-Hoover Stadium in Waverly, Iowa.
The 2015 Wartburg Knights football team represented Wartburg College as a member of the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 2015 NCAA Division III football season. Led by Rick Willis in his 17th season as head coach, the Knights compiled an overall record of 9–1 with a mark of 6–1 in conference play, finishing second and missing a chance at a third straight bid to the NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs. The team played home games at Walston-Hoover Stadium in Waverly, Iowa.
The 2016 Wartburg Knights football team represented Wartburg College as a member of the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 2016 NCAA Division III football season. Led by Rick Willis in his 18th season as head coach, the Knights compiled an overall record of 6–4 with a mark of 5–3 in conference play, placing fourth in the IIAC. The team played home games at Walston-Hoover Stadium in Waverly, Iowa.
The 2013 Wartburg Knights football team represented Wartburg College as a member of the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 2013 NCAA Division III football season. Led by Rick Willis in his 15th season as head coach, the Knights compiled an overall record of 9–3 with a mark of 6–1 in conference play, winning the IIAC for the 13th time and first since 2010. The win title earned them an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs. Wartburg lost in the second round of the playoffs to Bethel (MN). The team played home games at Walston-Hoover Stadium in Waverly, Iowa.
The 2012 Wartburg Knights football team represented Wartburg College as a member of the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 2012 NCAA Division III football season. Led by Rick Willis in his 14th season as head coach, the Knights compiled an overall record of 6–4 with a mark of 4–3 in conference play. Wartburg finished tied for second in the conference standings. The team played home games at Walston-Hoover Stadium in Waverly, Iowa.
The 2011 Wartburg Knights football team represented Wartburg College as a member of the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 2011 NCAA Division III football season. Led by Rick Willis in his 13th season as head coach, the Knights compiled an overall record of 8–2 with a mark of 6–2 in conference play, finishing second in the IIAC. Wartburg was unable to defend their conference title and missed a return trip to the NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs. The team played home games at Walston-Hoover Stadium in Waverly, Iowa.
The 2010 Wartburg Knights football team represented Wartburg College as a member of the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 2010 NCAA Division III football season. Led by Rick Willis in his 12th season as head coach, the Knights began the season with high hopes to return to the top of the conference with a veteran team. The Knights compiled an overall record of 10–1 with a mark of 8–0 in conference play, finishing atop the IIAC for the 12th time and completing their first undefeated regular season since 2003. They earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs, losing at home to the eventual national semifinalist Bethel Royal in the first round. During the season head coach Rick Willis earned his 100th career coaching victory with a win against Buena Vista. The team played home games at Walston-Hoover Stadium in Waverly, Iowa.
Dick Peth is the head coach for the Wartburg Knights men's basketball program, in his 27th season at Wartburg and 39th year as a college head basketball coach. He is an alumnus of the University of Iowa, 1979.
Joel Holst is a former American baseball coach, and was the former head baseball coach of the Wartburg Knights. Holst played college baseball and college football at Coe College from 1981 to 1985. He then served as the head coach at West Delaware high school in Manchester, Iowa before making a stop at Northwest Missouri State as an assistant. He got his first head coaching job at Loras College before arriving at Wartburg College in 1996.
Jamie Mueller is an American, former collegiate softball second baseman and current head coach at Wartburg College. She played college softball at Aurora.
The Wartburg Knights women's volleyball team represents Wartburg College and competes in the American Rivers Conference of NCAA Division III. The team is coached by co-head coaches Jen Walker in her 25th year and Doug Frazell in his 10th. The Knights play their home matches in Levick Arena along with wrestling and the men's and women's basketball teams.
The 2023 Wartburg Knights football team represents the Wartburg College as a member of the American Rivers Conference (ARC) during the 2023 NCAA Division III football season. The Knights, led by third-year head coach Chris Winter, play home games at Walston-Hoover Stadium in Waverly, Iowa. The Knights clinched their 19th conference championship on October 28, 2023, with a win over Central College and then capped of the regular season 10–0 following a win at Nebraska Wesleyan. Wartburg ended the season in the national semifinals for the second straight year, losing to North Central 34–27.
Walston–Hoover Stadium, formerly Schield Stadium, is a stadium in Waverly, Iowa. It is primarily used for American football, and track and field and has a seating capacity of 5,000. The stadium has hosted two NCAA track and field National Championships and multiple NCAA DIII football playoff games, including an NCAA Semifinal in 2023, telecast on ESPN.
