March 27, 2006
Release courtesy of Larry Happel, Central College sports information director

PELLA, IOWA . . . Coach Ron Schipper, among the most successful football coaches in America, a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and one of the most influential figures in Central College history, passed away suddenly Sunday evening near his home in Holland, Mich. He was 77.

A funeral service will be at Christ Memorial Church in Holland Friday at 1 p.m. (Eastern Time). Visitation will be at the Dykstra-Mulder Funeral Home Chapel, 188 West 32nd Street in Holland Thursday from 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m.

A memorial service will later be held on the Central College campus but details have not been finalized.

Schipper (SKIP-per) compiled a remarkable 287-67-3 record as Central’s football coach from 1961-96, posting 36 consecutive winning seasons. He ranks second among NCAA Division III coaches in career victories and ranked fourth in Division III in career winning percentage at the time of his retirement with a lofty .808 mark. Schipper also coached high school football in Michigan for nine years at Northville and Jackson. Schipper's combined 45-year record was 320-78-5.

Schipper piloted the Dutch to an NCAA record 36 consecutive winning seasons. His Central teams won a record 18 Iowa Conference championships, including the 1995 title, and claimed 10 crowns in his final 13 years. Central was selected for the NCAA Div. III playoffs 12 times, including 10 appearances from 1984-96. The Dutch won the NCAA Div. III national title in 1974 and advanced to the national finals three times, placing second in 1984 and 1988. Central won the West Region championship in 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, and 1990.

Tributes – Central President David Roe had dinner with Schipper and his wife Joyce at their home in Holland earlier Sunday.

“We’ve lost one of our living legends,” Roe said. “I’m still in a state of shock. Coach Schipper was such an incredible part of the Central tradition. We’ve lost a giant.”

“This is a great loss for his family, for the Central College community and for the college football coaching ranks,” said athletics director Al Dorenkamp, who served as captain under Schipper for the 1974 Central football team which won the NCAA Division III title. “Coach Schipper was a great mentor and friend to countless individuals and impacted so many lives in a positive way. I feel blessed to have been connected with Coach Schipper as a student-athlete, Central colleague and friend.”

Retired Central president Dr. Kenneth J. Weller served as an assistant football coach at Hope College (Mich.) when Schipper played quarterback there before graduating in 1952. Weller was president at Central from 1969-90.

“Ron Schipper has always been one of those ‘bigger than life’ people,” Weller said. “He still is! He lives on in an immense assemblage of people who in their younger years were inspired by his intelligence, his emotion, his ideals and his deep concern for each of them. The wellspring of his phenomenal success as a coach, a teacher and a person lies in the fact that he was always a giver, not a taker.”

Current head football coach Jeff McMartin played two years for Schipper, then served under him as a student assistant coach before graduating in 1990.

“Coach Schipper was one of the first people to introduce me to Central College, back when I was a senior in high school,” McMartin said. “Like many others, from the minute I met him, I was drawn to him and what he represents. He was passionate about football and he was passionate about education. That rubbed off on everyone who came in contact with him.”

McMartin noted that Schipper was heavily involved in fundraising for the $2.5-million first phase of renovations to A.N. Kuyper Stadium. A new version of the Fieldturf competition playing surface is being installed for the upcoming season. He said Schipper was also excited about Central’s game with Hope College at Pella Sept. 9. It will be Central’s first-ever football meeting with Schipper’s alma mater.

“He really stayed connected and was working really hard on this new field project,” McMartin said.

At the time of Schipper’s retirement in 1996, coach Rick Coles of Lawrence University (Wis.) said, “Ron Schipper is a hero to a lot of us in Division III. Not just because he won, but because he is an educator. His teams played with class, and his players are better people for having played for him.

“Some have called him the Joe Paterno or Tom Osborne of Division III,” Coles said. “I disagree. Joe Paterno and Tom Osborne are the Ron Schippers of Division I.”

Athletics director--Schipper also served as the college’s athletics director from 1964-96 He played a pivotal role with Weller in launching Central’s highly successful women’s athletics program and was an enthusiastic and vocal supporter at games and meets. Central's program brought seven NCAA Div. III national team championships to the college during Schipper's tenure. In his final 16 years as athletic director, Central won 18 men's and women's Iowa Conference all-sports titles. During that time, more than 90 Central athletes earned all-American honors, 28 received CoSIDA Academic All-America recognition and nine were named NCAA post-graduate scholarship winners.

College football hall of famer--In 2000, the National Football Foundation inducted Schipper into the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind. He followed one of his former Central players, former NFL star defensive end Vern Den Herder of the Miami Dolphins, who was inducted in 1996. Schipper was inducted as a charter member of the Central College Athletic Hall of Honor in 2002.

AFCA president, national leader--Schipper was president of the 8,000-member American Football Coaches Association in 1994, served on the group's board of trustees from 1985-94 and remained active with the AFCA following his retirement, attending board meetings at the AFCA convention each year, including the 2006 convention in January in Dallas, Texas. He was a member of the AFCA's College Football USA Blue Ribbon Task Force and was named one of the five most influential people in the NCAA Division III in 1994 by College Sports Magazine. In 2004 he was given the Amos Alonzo Stagg Award at the AFCA convention for his contributions to college football.

From 2000-03 Schipper served on Central College’s board of trustees. At the USA III All-Star Game in 1997, Schipper received the inaugural Butterfield Award for outstanding performance as an NCAA Div. III coach. He was also given a Citation of Honor award from the Football Writers Association of America for his service to college athletics and contributions to football. In 1998, Schipper was presented the Johnny Vaught Lifetime Achievement Award from the All-American Football Foundation.

An award given annually to a Central College senior, the Ron Schipper Leadership Award, was created in 1997 by the college's student government. In 1999, Central dedicated its newest athletic facility, the Ron Schipper Fitness Center, in his honor.

For six years Schipper was a member of the NCAA Div. III Football Committee, including a year as chair, and later was a member of the West Region Advisory Committee. He also served six years on the NCAA Football Television Committee, the NCAA Football Rules Commitee, and as chair of the AFCA's College Division All-America Selection Committee.

Schipper had extensive international experience. He took teams to conduct clinics and play exhibitions in Italy, England and Scotland in 1985 and 1989, in Australia in 1994, and in Switzerland, Austria and France in 1998. He also conducted clinics in the Yucatan in Mexico and spent three months coaching a professional squad in England in 1988.

For the past nine years, Schipper served as the head coach of a team of AFCA Div. III all-stars competing at the Aztec Bowl in Mexico against a team of Mexican collegiate all-stars.

Schipper was active in the AFCA’s Club 35, for those who were AFCA members for 35 years or more. In 2000, AFCA Executive Director Grant Teaff appointed him to serve on the National Athletic Testing System Task Force and Schipper played a key role in the birth of the NATS organization, continuing to serve on the NATS board of review.

Michigan roots – Ronald Maurice Schipper was born in Zeeland, Mich., Aug. 7, 1928. Schipper graduated from Hope in 1952. He was named a distinguished alumnus there in 1994 and received a distinguished achievement award from Hope in 1997. He lettered in football, baseball, and tennis at Hope. He earned a master's degree from the University of Michigan. In 1994 Schipper was inducted as a charter member in the Pella Chamber of Commerce Hall of Fame for significant contriubtions to the community. During his years in Pella, he was an active member of Second Reformed Church, where he served on the consistory.

Schipper is survived by his wife, Joyce; three children, Tim, Sara, and Thom, who are all Central graduates; and five grandchildren.

Cards to the family can be mailed to 2406 Orchard, Holland, MI 49424. Memorials have not yet been designated.

Blog site – Notes about Schipper that will be shared with the family and posted on the Central athletics Web site (www.central.edu/athletics) can be e-mailed to eighmys@central.edu. Alumni, friends, fans and colleagues are encouraged to submit their thoughts.

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