NAPERVILLE, Ill. – Wheaton was picked to win the 2017 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) football title according to a preseason coaches’ poll announced Thursday.
The Thunder (11-2, 7-1) won the poll with 61 points and five first place votes as the Thunder are coming off a second place finish in the CCIW and their third-straight NCAA Division III Football Championship appearance. Wheaton, under the direction of head coach Mike Swider, advanced to the quarterfinal round last season, their farthest advancement since a semifinal appearance in 2008. Swider’s teams have won eight CCIW titles including in 2014 and 2015.
Defending CCIW champion North Central (11-1, 8-0) finished second in the poll with 60 points and four first place votes after the Cardinals claimed their 12th conference title in school history last season. North Central, under the direction of head coach Jeff Thorne, earned the CCIW’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Football Championship for the first time since 2013. It was also the first conference title under Thorne, whose father John, led the Cardinals to eight-straight CCIW titles from 2006-2013.
Carthage (7-3, 5-3) and Illinois Wesleyan (7-2, 6-2) tied for third with 46 points apiece. The Red Men finished fourth behind the third place Titans in 2016.
Elmhurst (5-5, 4-4) was fifth with 31 points, followed by Augustana (3-7, 2-6) in sixth with 29 points and Millikin (4-6, 3-5) in seventh with 27 points.
North Park (1-9, 0-8) and Carroll (1-9, 1-7) rounded out the poll with 14 and 10 points respectively.
Voting is done by the CCIW's head football coaches. Each coach votes for the eight other schools in the conference in order of predicted finish. Points are assigned in reverse order of voting (eight points for first, seven for second, etc.). Coaches do not vote for their own teams.
The CCIW football season begins Thursday, August 31 as Millikin hosts Greenville. The rest of the opening weekend slate begins on Saturday, September 2 as Illinois Wesleyan hosts UW-Whitewater, Carthage travels to Aurora, Elmhurst hosts Loras, Carroll travels to Lakeland, North Park is on the road at Anderson, North Central hosts Robert Morris-Chicago, Augustana heads to SUNY Cortland and Wheaton travels to Benedictine.
The CCIW will announce four new conference polls this fall including women’s tennis (August 22), men’s & women’s cross country (August 23) and women’s golf (August 24).
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The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) was founded in 1946 and currently services nine member institutions including Augustana College (Rock Island, IL), Carroll University (Waukesha, WI), Carthage College (Kenosha, WI), Elmhurst College (Elmhurst, IL), Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, IL), Millikin University (Decatur, IL), North Central College (Naperville, IL), North Park University (Chicago, IL) and Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL). During the 2016-17 academic year, the CCIW honored over 1,900 academic all-conference recipients, 10 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, 33 CoSIDA Academic All-District recipients, one CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year and over 100 all-Americans.