Central College Dutch athletics

Forever Dutch

The $18 million renovation and expansion of P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium is complete!

Celebrate with us Saturday, Sept. 18.

Fundraising is complete for Forever Dutch®, the most ambitious athletics capital initiative in Central history. A record 2,712 Central alumni and friends provided support for the project, and renovation work in P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium is scheduled for completion in April.

Celebrate with us Saturday, Sept. 18.

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It’s amazing to see how much support we have from our alumni and there aren’t enough words to express how grateful we are. The alumni reflect all of the great things that this place has brought to their lives, and it’s evident they want the same things for us. I think we are all a part of something very special here. Payton Rogers ’22
Women's Basketball
Moravia, Iowa
It’s about more than fundraising. It’s about being a part of the Central family and keeping a tradition alive that’s been thriving since 1853. It’s about being forever Dutch! Thomas Spoehr ’22
Men's Basketball
Bennington, Nebraska

$18 Million P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium Transformation

$12 Million Expansion

Open April 2017

  • New P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium Entrance With M. Joan Farver Atrium
  • New Athletics Hall of Honor
  • New Pacha Family Lobby
  • New Men’s Varsity Locker Room
  • Major Infrastructure Improvements
  • New Wrestling Room

Grid of photos displaying renovations made during the $12 million expansion completed in April 2017.

$3 Million Lower-Level Renovation

Open September 2020

  • New Women’s Varsity Locker Room
  • New Equipment Room
  • Renovated Coaches’ Offices
  • Renovated Athletic Training Room

Renovated women's locker room.

$3 Million Upper-Level Renovation

Open April 2021

  • Team Video Room
  • Recruiting Suites
  • Sikkink-Dykstra Welcome Center
  • Football Coaches’ Suite
  • New Coaches’ Offices

Ongoing renovation work in the upper-level hallway.
We sometimes have up to 150 athletes needing treatment in a two-hour span. Renovating the athletic training room will allow us to provide better rehab on more athletes. We’re excited! Frank Neu ’91
Head Athletic Trainer
There is so much more room in the new locker room. We are able to watch film as a team and at halftime we do not have to squeeze together on the floor. It would mean a lot to have a locker room we can use all year long. Maci Gambell ’22
Women's Basketball
Hedrick, Iowa

Why We're Forever Dutch

Dave ’61 and Ardie Pals Sutphen ’64

Dave ’61 and Ardie Pals Sutphen ’64 are passionate about Central students and the Dutch!

Ardie served the college from 1979-2012, primarily as assistant to the president.

Dave joined the Central staff in 2000 and retired as vice president of advancement in 2013. He continues in retirement as major gifts advisor.

The Sutphens are among the top donors to Forever Dutch.

“It is about facilities, but the most important thing is the people and the difference Central makes in these students’ lives,” Dave says. “I get to see it first-hand. I’ve been involved with Central since I came as a student in 1957. Ardie and I just believe in this place, and we believe in our students and coaches. They are absolutely fantastic and we need to support them.”

The legacy of the Kuyper, Farver and Griffith extended family

The descendants of Pella Corporation founder P.H. “Pete” Kuyper, along with their family foundations, teamed for a transformational $4.2-million gift for the Forever Dutch initiative, the largest gift in Central’s 164-year history.

The donation included a lead gift from the late M. Joan Farver, former chair of Pella Corporation and long-time Central trustee. Joan, who passed away Feb. 27, 2017, at the age of 97, was the daughter of P.H. Kuyper. The new atrium is named in her honor – the M. Joan Kuyper Farver Atrium, adding her name to those of other prominent family members. The A.N. Kuyper Athletics Complex is named for Farver’s grandfather, while H.S. Kuyper Fieldhouse carries the name of her brother.

The Kuyper Family Legacy

The M. Joan Kuyper Farver Atrium.
What sold me on Central was family. I don’t have any blood relatives here, but I have a family here. Jaime Miranda ’17
Aberdeen, Washington
Wrestling, 285 pounds
Central College Baseball Dugout
Forever Dutch