Augustana College Men's Football

Steve Bell was introduced as the 19th head coach in the storied history of Augustana football at a press conference in the Ken Anderson Academic All-America Club on Friday, January 9, 2015. Bell fashioned a 112-44 (.718) overall record as the head football coach at Monmouth College from 2000-2014 and his Vikings have gone 24-39 overall and 18-32 in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin during his first six seasons at Augustana. His 2019 squad posted the program’s best record since 2010, going 6-4 and his 2020 outfit finished 1-2 in a pandemic-shortened season.   Bell’s work at Monmouth was the model of consistency and excellence. When he took over the Scots prior to the 2000 season, he inherited a program that had compiled a record of 8-39 overall and 5-25 in the Midwest Conference over the previous five campaigns. After a 3-7 record in his initial year of 2000, Bell led Monmouth to an 8-2 mark in 2001. That was the best record since the Scots were 8-2 in 1989.   During his tenure at Monmouth Bell’s teams won four Midwest Conference championships (2005, 2008, 2009, 2011) and finished second six times. The Scots were an impressive 100-30 (.769) in league play.   Bell was a five-time Midwest Conference Coach of the Year and he led Monmouth into the NCAA Division III playoffs four times (2005, 2008, 2009, 2011). During his tenure he helped produce a Melberger Award (NCAA Division III “Player of the Year”) winner in 2009, two Gagliardi Award (Division III Heisman) finalists, one Academic All-American and four Academic All-District selections as chosen by CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America). He coached the NCAA Division III career leader in passing yardage (14,249) and the all-divisions touchdown leader (157). He left Monmouth as the winningest coach in school history.   Prior to taking the Monmouth job in 2000 he served as the offensive coordinator at MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Illinois from 1995-99 and was an assistant coach at Bemidji State (Minnesota) from 1992-94.   A native of Virginia, Minnesota, Bell is a 1992 graduate of Bemidji State University with a degree in physical education. He also has graduate credits toward his M.S. in physical education from Bemidji State. A member of the American Football Coaches Association since 1995, Bell has been a highly sought-after clinic speaker in the Midwest.   Bell and his wife Robin have three children: Carter, Chloe and Claire.   BELL’S YEAR-BY-YEAR RECORD Overall Conference Year W L Pct. W L Pct. Finish School 2000 3 7 .300 3 6 .333 8th-MWC Monmouth 2001 8 2 .800 6 2 .750 3rd-MWC Monmouth 2002 5 5 .500 5 4 .556 4th-MWC Monmouth 2003 8 2 .800 8 1 .889 2nd-MWC Monmouth 2004 9 1 .900 8 1 .889 2nd-MWC Monmouth 2005 10 1 .909 9 0 1.000 1st-MWC Monmouth 2006 7 3 .700 7 2 .778 2nd-MWC Monmouth 2007 7 3 .700 7 2 .778 2nd-MWC Monmouth 2008 11 1 .917 9 0 1.000 1st-MWC Monmouth 2009 10 1 .909 9 0 1.000 1st-MWC Monmouth 2010 6 4 .600 6 3 .667 2nd-MWC Monmouth 2011 10 2 .833 9 0 1.000 1st-MWC Monmouth 2012 5 5 .500 5 4 .556 5th-MWC Monmouth 2013 5 5 .500 5 4 .556 6th-MWC Monmouth 2014 8 2 .800 4 1 .800 2nd-MWC South Monmouth 2015 4 6 .400 3 4 .429 5th-CCIW Augustana 2016 3 7 .300 2 6 .250 7th-CCIW Augustana 2017 1 9 .100 1 7 .125 8th-CCIW Augustana 2018 4 6 .400 3 6 .333 7th-CCIW Augustana 2019 6 4 .600 5 4 .556 5th-CCIW Augustana 2020 1 2 .333 Augustana 2021 5 5 .500 4 5 .444 5th-CCIW Augustana 2022 5 5 .500 4 5 .444 6th-CCIW Augustana Augustana Totals 29 44 .397 22 37 .373 Career Totals 141 88 .616 122 67 .646    

A long-time associate of Augustana head coach Steve Bell, Dave Ragone was named associate head coach and offensive coordinator in January of 2015. He left Monmouth College where he served as the assistant head coach, special teams’ coordinator and offensive line coach under Bell.  In addition to coaching football, Ragone was the head men’s golf coach and an instructor of physical education at Monmouth. At Monmouth, Ragone played a vital role in leading the school to four NCAA playoff appearances during his 15 season stint. During his tenure Monmouth achieved an overall record of 112-44 with only one losing season, which was his first year with the Scots.  During his time at Monmouth, he recruited, developed and graduated 28 all-conference offensive linemen, five all-conference tight ends, 10 all-conference kickers, nine all-conference punters, seven all-conference kick returners and eight special teams’ “Players of the Year”.   Before going to Monmouth, Ragone was the offensive line coach and strength and conditioning coordinator at Delaware Valley College from 1997-1999.  At Delaware Valley, Ragone also was the head men’s and women’s track and field coach.  In 1996, Ragone spent a year at Episcopal High School in Jacksonville, Florida.  There he was the offensive and defensive line coach, strength and conditioning coordinator and instructor of physical education.  Ragone also spent time as the offensive line coach, strength and conditioning coordinator and instructor of physical education at Bemidji State University from 1994-1995.  He held the same positions at Manchester College from 1992-1993. Ragone earned a Bachelor of Science in exercise and sport science from Ursinus College in 1992.  He continued his education at Bemidji State University by earning a Master of Science in physical education. Written by Student Assistant Patrick Conniff

Call began coaching the defensive line for the Vikings, a position he has had since 2006. He was a first team all conference performer at defensive end in 2005 and helped lead Augustana to the CCIW title and into the NCAA Division III playoffs.

Coach Wes joined the Augustana coaching staff in 2022 as an offensive assistant helping coach the offensive line. In 2023, he moved over to the defensive side to coach tackles & nose guards. As of 2025, he currently coaches linebackers. Wes has over 25 years of coaching experience at various levels throughout Iowa and Illinois including stints at United Township, Alleman Catholic, and the Davenport school system where every year his team either won the conference championship and/or competed in the IHSA playoffs. Since 2018, Wes has also coached professionally for the Indoor Football League (IFL); currently with the Quad City Steamwheelers and one year with the Bismarck Bucks. He’s held several roles including Offensive and Defensive Line Coach, Run Game Coordinator, Quality Control, and Lead Data Analyst. Wes has exhibited great success while in the IFL clinching consecutive playoff berths, an Eastern Conference Championship, and a National Championship. Coach Wes played football collegiately as a tight end and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from Saint Ambrose University in 1998.

A native of Wilton, Iowa, Call began coaching the defensive line for the Vikings, a position he has had since 2006. He was a first team all conference performer at defensive end in 2005 and helped lead Augustana to the CCIW title and into the NCAA Division III playoffs.

Keegan Jones joined the Augustana staff as running backs coach for the 2018 season. Jones spent the last three seasons at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, where he served as the Special Teams Coordinator and wide receivers coach. Under his direction in 2017, the Duhawks ranked among the nation’s leaders in punting, net punting, kick return yards and touchdowns and field goals. Two of his receivers made over 40 receptions for an offense that averaged 301.6 passing yards and 33.4 points per game.   Prior to his time at Loras, Jones spent four seasons coaching quarterbacks and tight ends at the University at Buffalo in Buffalo, New York. While at Buffalo, he coached two eventual professional tight ends including Matt Weiser (Chargers/Buccaneers) and Mason Schreck (Bengals). During the 2010 season, he was a graduate assistant in charge of defensive backs at East Stroudsburg University in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. He also served briefly under Bell at his alma mater—Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois—working with quarterbacks and wide receivers in the spring of 2010.   A native of Knoxville, Illinois, Jones is a 2010 graduate of Monmouth, where he earned a degree in business administration and played quarterback at tight end for Bell. While there, he also served as a student assistant coach for the Scots’ men’s and women’s basketball teams. He earned his master’s in sports management from East Stroudsburg in 2012. Keegan is married to his wife, Cara.