My "Iowa small-college football season"

I want to walk the campuses again, see some of the icons I remember from earlier visits, probably find some new ones, and see how the colleges have changed.

“Touchdown!” says Viktor the Viking at Grand View University in Des Moines.

DES MOINES, Iowa — We RicheBurgers, as my wife Mary Riche and I often call ourselves, do not have tickets for any major college football games this fall. So, I decided to make it an “Iowa small-college football season.”

My idea is to go games at Iowa schools that aren’t playing in football’s bright lights, but they’re still competitive and fun. And I want to take time to walk the campuses, see some of the icons I remember from earlier visits, probably find some new ones, too, and see how the colleges have changed.

Mary, who is very active this fall as a volunteer in politics, says she’ll join me when she can.

I began the season on Thursday evening, Aug. 29, when the Drake University Bulldogs, here in Des Moines, were trying to open at historic Drake Stadium against the visiting Quincy University Hawks from Quincy, Ill.

Drake built a 10-0 lead by halftime, but that was wiped out by a thunderstorm that resulted in the rest of the game being canceled. So, I’ll try to get back to another Drake game later.

When you walk into “historic Drake Stadium,” as I called it, even if there for a football game, you’re going to run into lots of very significant sports — and human — history.

On Saturday, Sept. 14, Mary was politicking with Polk County Democrats at their annual steak fry, so I soloed to Oskaloosa, where the William Penn University Statesmen were hosting the Baker U (of Kansas) Wildcats in a Heart of America Athletic Conference game.

Baker won it 43-21, although the game seemed closer than that.

Big play early in the game, with the William Penn Statesmen, in gold jerseys, trying to stop a Baker touchdown drive. Saturday, Sept. 14, was the first time I’ve been to a William Penn game in more than 20 years, going back to when the Statesmen were playing in the old Iowa Conference. Penn’s history and traditions in sports — for both men and women — are impressive.

I loved the “Pride of Penn” marching band, which entertained pre-game, halftime and as a pep band in the stands during the game. They had only 16 marching musicians and six flag twirlers on Saturday, but their music — which included songs from the band “Chicago” at halftime — was first rate.

“William Penn’s Advice” apparently was given in 1699, but it seems as good in 2024 as it must’ve been back when. The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) founded the Oskaloosa college in 1873, and the religious affiliation continues now. Baker U, Saturday’s football opponent from Baldwin City KS, is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. This has always been one of my favorite campus icons in the state.

On Saturday, Sept. 26, Mary joined me for another game in Des Moines, this one a kind of Vikings holy war.

The host Vikings of Grand View University here, founded by Danish Lutherans, were very impressive in a 24-0 shutout of the visiting Vikings of Missouri Valley College, a Marshall, Mo., school founded by Presbyterians.

I remember a past president — was it Kent Henning? — explaining to me that the religious heritage of Grand View University: “Most experts would say that the Danish Lutherans had two different mindsets.  There were the ‘Holy Danes’ and there were ‘Happy Danes.’  At Grand View, we’re from the Happy Danes.”  And I was happy to hear that.

Grand View fans cheer a touchdown against Missouri Valley in the Heart of America Athletic Conference game.

So much has changed at Grand View since I first started dropping in on it 45 years ago.  It was a small four-year college then — only recently having grown from a junior college — that seemed to be mostly a commuter school. My memory is that for sports back then, it offered only baseball, softball and basketball. 

Now it’s a four-year university, even offering some master’s programs, with 1,800 students — nearly half of them live on campus and about that same number are involved in the 27 sports that the athletics program offers.

Old Main at Grand View University.  Note the flag of Denmark flying with the American flag.  “The Rock” is like a message center where students paint what’s on their mind — and then the school covers it in all-white to start over.

The one sad thing I discovered at the Grand View game was that nobody seems to know the fight song.  In fact, two or three students I asked about it said they don’t think the university has one.  I told them they were wrong, and that they should find it and learn it. They looked at me oddly.

“Tell them why they need to know it,” Mary Riche suggested.

“You should learn it,” I answered to a couple of the students, “because you should not be allowed to graduate from a school until you can sing the fight song.  When I’ve taught, I make it a requirement in my classes that, before the end of the semester, each student has to stand along in front of the class and sing the fight song.”

They looked at me even more oddly.

Here is their homework — from the Grand View University Student Handbook:

School Fight Song – The Viking!

We are Vikings, the Grand View Vikings; shout your cheers proud, from hall to hall.
We are Vikings, the Grand View Vikings; we will fight ’til they sound the call.
We are Vikings, the Grand View Vikings, pressing onward, on to our goal.
Stand united, won’t be divided, we are the Vikings forever more!

You’re welcome.

Post-game, we RicheBurgers got to congratulate Jackson Filer, an outstanding defensive end for the Grand View Vikings, on their victory. Filer is the grandson of our friends Joe and Rosie Cordaro, of Des Moines.

Today, Sept. 28, I’m heading to Indianola, where the Simpson College Storm is (or should it be “are”?) hosting the Loras College Duhawks of Dubuque in an “American Rivers Conference” game. Talk about a Storm — Simpson won it 66-14. Some photos to come.

—

You can comment on this column below or write the columnist directly by email at chuck@offenburger.com.

—

A NOTE TO MY READERS: I write this column, “Iowa Boy Chuck Offenburger,” as a member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. You can subscribe for free. However, if you enjoy my work, please consider showing your support by becoming a paid subscriber at whatever level feels right for you. The cost is less than $2 per column.

Here is a link to the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative Sunday Roundup, where you can get a compilation of our members’ work published the previous week.

Iowa Writers Collaborative Roundup

Linking readers and professional writers who care about Iowa.

The Iowa Writers Collaborative is made up of some of the foremost regional journalists in the country. Each writer is independent and has a Substack of their own.