Central College Athletics

One of the region’s most successful coaches, Joe Dunham joined the Central staff in 2009 as head men’s and women’s cross country coach and men’s and women’s track and field coach. He gave up his track and field head coaching duties after a record-breaking 10-year run in 2018, focusing on distance events as associate head coach while continuing as head cross country coach.

In 2023, both the men's and women's programs qualified for the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships, the fifth appearance for the men and second for the women in Dunham's tenure. The women finished ninth nationally in 2023, their first top-10 finish since 1981.The men's best national finish was 2013, taking sixth with a pair of All-Americans. He's had nine additional men's runners qualify as individuals and six more individual women's qualifiers. He's had six male runners earn nine all-America awards and three females earn four all-America awards.
    
The Dutch men have won a pair of league titles under Dunham, who has received two conference coach of the year awards. His athletes have tallied 32 all-conference performances in the men's races and 27  in the women's races.
           
As track and field coach, Dunham’s teams claimed 12 men’s indoor and outdoor track and field titles and recorded seven national top-10 team finishes, including a runner-up trophy in the 2011 NCAA indoor meet. Central claimed nine individual national titles in his tenure. The Dutch men gained 49 indoor and outdoor all-America awards and 23 women’s all-America honors.

Prior to coming to Central, Dunham spent three seasons as the head men's cross country coach at St. Norbert College (Wis.) and four seasons as the head men's and women's track and field coach  He piloted the Green Knights to a pair of top-three finishes in men's cross country.  His men’s team finished runner-up five times in indoor and outdoor conference meets and his women’s team had a trio of top-four finishes.During Dunham’s tenure at St. Norbert, the Green Knights broke 41 school records and had numerous NCAA Division III meet qualifiers while capturing an individual national title in the 800 meters. 

A two-time all-America cross country honoree at Denison University (Ohio), Dunham also earned all-America status in cross country and track and field at Keene State College (N.H.). He graduated from Denison with a degree in history in 2002 and has a master's in history from Trinity College (Conn.).

Honors

Central College

• (2) Conference men’s cross country coach of the year – 2012, 2013
• (1) Conference women's cross country coach of the year – 2023
• (6) Conference men’s outdoor track and field coach of the year – 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2018
• (3) Conference men’s indoor track and field coach of the year – 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016
• (1) USTFCCCA Midwest Region women's cross country coach of the year – 2023
• (3) USTFCCCA Central Region men’s indoor track and field coach of the year – 2013, 2014, 2015
• (4) USTFCCCA Central Region men’s outdoor track and field coach of the year – 2011, 2012, 2015, 2018

Achievements

Central College - cross country

• (2) Conference men’s cross country championship – 2012, 2013
• (4) Conference men’s cross country MVP's – 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
• (59) All-Conference performances
• (5) NCAA Division III men’s cross country championship berths – 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2023
• (2) NCAA Division III womens' cross country championship berths – 2009, 2023
• (8) NCAA Division III men’s cross country all-America awards
• (4) NCAA Division III women’s cross country all-America awards
• (3) USTFCCCA Central Region Athlete of the Year awards - 2013, 2015, 2017
• (54) USTFCCCA All-Central/Midwest Region performances

Central College - head track and field coach

• (5) Conference men’s indoor track and field championship – 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016
• (7) Conference men’s outdoor track and field championship – 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2018
• (4) NCAA Division III men’s indoor track and field championship top-10 finish – 2011, 2013, 2014, 2018
• (3) NCAA Division III men’s outdoor track and field championship top-10 finish – 2011, 2012, 2016
• (9) NCAA Division III men’s indoor and outdoor individual championships
• (49) NCAA Division III men’s indoor and outdoor track and field all-America awards
• (23) NCAA Division III women’s indoor and outdoor track and field all-America awards

Athletics career

• NCAA Division III cross country all-America honoree, Denison University, 1998, 1999
• NCAA Division III cross country all-America honoree, Keene State University (N.H.), 2000
• NCAA Division III track and field all-America honoree, 800 meters, Denison University, 1999

Men's cross country results

Women's cross country results

Men's track and field results

Women's track and field results