Central College Athletics

Don De Waard '82
Football coach

A 1982 Central graduate, De Waard displayed a passionate sideline persona in masterminding some of Central’s stingiest football defenses during a memorable 35-year run as Central’s football defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. The AFCA’s Division III Assistant Coach of the Year in 2000, the Dutch were 302-55 (.801) with 55 shutouts, 18 conference crowns and 18 NCAA berths in his tenure. 
    
A Kanawha, Iowa native, De Waard also helped coach a team of AFCA Division III all-stars at the Aztec Bowl and at the Tazon de Estrellas in Mexico, serving as U.S. head coach for six seasons.
    
De Waard is a longtime certified public accountant and entrepreneur. He was elected as Pella’s mayor in 2020 and has been actively involved in several major city development projects. For more than 15 years, De Waard has also volunteered with Partners Worldwide, sometimes traveling to Honduras twice each year to help residents start and grow businesses. Active in numerous roles at Faith Christian Reformed Church, he was a board member for the Well Resource Center in Pella, which offers assistance to those in need, and for the Cary (Miss.) Christian Center in one of America’s poorest counties.