Pictured: North Central head coach Jeff Thorne and the Cardinals won a share of the CCIW football title last season and the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Football Championship. It was the Cardinals' 13th conference title in program history and 10th since 2006. 

NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- North Central was predicted to win the 2018 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) football title according to the results of the conference's annual preseason coaches' poll announced Thursday. 

The Cardinals (10-2, 7-1) won the poll with 78 points and six first place votes following a CCIW co-regular season title in 2017. North Central earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Football Championship and advanced to the second round after defeating Saint John's (Minn.) in their postseason opener. The Cardinals have won 13 conference titles in program history including 10 since 2006. 

Wheaton (8-2, 6-2) finished second with 74 points and three first place votes following a third place finish in the CCIW last season. The Thunder are an 18-time conference champion including back-to-back outright titles in 2014 and 2015. Wheaton has made 10 trips to the NCAA Division III Football Championship including nine since 2002. 

Illinois Wesleyan (9-2, 7-1) placed third with 63 points and one first place vote. The Titans shared the CCIW title with North Central last season, which was their 15th in program history and first since 2009. Additionally, Illinois Wesleyan earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Football Championship, their sixth appearance in school history and first since 2013. 

All three teams were ranked in the D3football.com Preseason Top 25 announced on July 12. 

Carthage (7-3, 5-3) placed fourth with 55 points, while Millikin (7-3, 5-3) was sixth with 52 points. Both teams tied for fourth in the CCIW last season as Carthage finished 7-3 overall and 5-3 in the conference for the second-straight year, while Millikin made a three-game improvement in its overall record, going from 4-6 overall and 3-5 in the CCIW in 2016 to 7-3 and 5-3 in 2017. The Big Blue also earned a spot in the "Others receiving votes" category in the D3football.com Preseason Top 25 on July 12. 

Washington University in St. Louis begins its first season as a CCIW associate member in football as the Bears (3-6 in 2017) placed sixth in the poll with 41 points. 

Elmhurst (2-8, 2-6) was seventh with 30 points, followed by Augustana (1-9, 1-7) in eighth with 26 points. North Park (3-7, 2-6) and Carroll (1-9, 1-7) rounded out the poll with 17 and 14 points, respectively. 
 
Voting is done by the CCIW's head football coaches. Each coach votes for the nine other schools in the conference in order of predicted finish. Points are assigned in reverse order of voting (nine points for first, eight for second, etc.). Coaches do not vote for their own teams.

The 2018 CCIW football season begins Friday, August 31 as Millikin travels to Hope for a 7 p.m. EST kickoff. The complete conference schedule can be found here.
 

2018 Preseason Football Coaches' Poll
Rank	Institution	Points (1st Pl. Votes)
1	North Central	78 (6)
2	Wheaton	74 (3)
3	Illinois Wesleyan	63 (1)
4	Carthage	55
5	Millikin	52
6	WashU	41
7	Elmhurst	30
8	Augustana	26
9	North Park	17
10	Carroll	14

 

2017 CCIW Football Standings
Institution	CCIW	Overall
North Central	7-1	10-2
Illinois Wesleyan	7-1	9-2
Wheaton	6-2	8-2
Carthage	5-3	7-3
Millikin	5-3	7-3
Elmhurst	2-6	2-8
North Park	2-6	3-7
Carroll	1-7	1-9
Augustana	1-7	1-9

Twitter & Instagram: CCIW_Athletics
 
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 2017-18 academic year, the CCIW honored over 2,100 academic all-conference recipients, 15 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, 28 CoSIDA Academic All-District recipients, and over 100 all-Americans.