2016 Athletics Hall of Honor inductees: Al Dorenkamp '75, Candace Wilson DuRegger '01, Rick Perry '89.
Al Dorenkamp '75
Football, baseball
Dorenkamp was the sole captain of Central’s 1974 Stagg Bowl winners and held a series of leadership positions following graduation as well, including 14 years as Central’s athletics director.
The 1974 team and league MVP, Dorenkamp was named to the AFCA Division III All-America team as well after leading the Dutch to an 11-0 season. He spearheaded a Central defense that stymied a high-powered Ithaca (N.Y.) offense in the 10-8 title game win. The triumph was preserved by a dramatic goal-line stand in the game’s final moments and Dorenkamp was in on the pivotal fourth-down stop. He was a two-time all-conference honoree.
He was a four-time letterwinner in baseball as a catcher and part-time pitcher.
While serving as Central’s athletics director from 1998-2012, Dorenkamp servied a four-year term on the NCAA Division III Football Committee and was the national chair from 2005-07. In 2009, he received the Distinguished Iowa Award from the Iowa chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame for his leadership and contributions to the game as a player and athletics administrator. In 2005-06, Dorenkamp took on extra duties as Central’s interim dean of student life.
After leaving Central, Dorenkamp served as athletics director for AIB College of Business in Des Moines, completing duties there this spring.
A Thornton, Iowa native, Dorenkamp received a master’s degree in education administration from the University of South Dakota and was a graduate assistant football coach. He taught and coached for three years at Denison High School, earning conference coach of the year honors three times and district coach of the year recognition once. He then served as a secondary principal at Center Point for three years. In 1987, he became high school principal at Waverly-Shell Rock, then in 1995, joined Rubber Development, Inc. in Waverly for two years before moving to Carroll High School as principal for a year in 1997.
Dorenkamp and his wife Jo Ann ’74 now live in Polk City. They have two adult daughters and four grandchildren.
