NAPERVILLE, Ill. – Carroll University, located in Waukesha, Wis., will join the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) as a full member beginning with the 2016-17 academic year as announced Friday.
With Carroll’s entrance into the CCIW, the conference will now support nine full members, as well as Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, which joined the conference in 2007 as an associate member for men’s and women’s swimming, and the University of Dubuque, which joined as an associate member for men’s & women’s lacrosse earlier this year.
In addition to joining the CCIW as full members, it is anticipated that Carroll will become an associate member for women’s lacrosse beginning in 2015-16, one year before full membership in the CCIW begins.
“It is with excitement that the colleges and universities of the CCIW accept Carroll’s application to join the conference beginning with the 2016-17 academic year,” Augustana College President and CCIW Council of Presidents chair Steven C. Bahls said. “Carroll has played a significant role in the CCIW’s history, having been a member for 37 years. We welcome them back to the CCIW family and look forward to building on that relationship.”
Carroll returns to the CCIW after a 22-year absence, having been a member of the conference from 1955 to 1992. Since then, the institution has been a member of the Midwest Conference.
This announcement marks the first change in full membership since Carroll left the CCIW after the 1991-92 academic year and first change in any CCIW membership since Dubuque.
“We are delighted to return to the CCIW,” Carroll University President Dr. Douglas N. Hastad said. “It is one of the premiere NCAA Division III conferences in the country and is comprised of institutions that are widely recognized for academic excellence. We are especially excited for our student-athletes who will be able to test their skills against some of the finest competition in the country. We look forward to renewing our relationship with these outstanding institutions. It is a great day for the Carroll family.”
Founded in 1846, Carroll University, located in the Milwaukee suburb of Waukesha, serves an enrollment of 3,539 students with an athletics department that sponsors 20 sports (10 men’s and 10 women’s), and is in the process of adding men’s and women’s lacrosse for the 2014-15 season.
“We will begin the process of incorporating Carroll into all of our conference schedules starting in 2016-17,” CCIW Commissioner Chris Martin said. “The task of building Carroll into our conference is one the CCIW welcomes. We are thrilled to have Carroll return home to the conference that they were a part of for a long time.”
Currently, the CCIW sponsors 21 sports and will sponsor men’s & women’s lacrosse beginning in 2014-15. CCIW schools have accounted for 46 NCAA Division III National Championships in its 68-year history.
For information on Carroll University, visit its website at carrollu.edu. For information on Carroll athletics, visit gopios.com.
The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) was founded in 1946 and currently services eight member institutions including Augustana College (Rock Island, IL), 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 2012-13 academic year, the CCIW honored over 1,400 academic all-conference recipients, 15 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-Americans, 30 CoSIDA Academic All-District recipients, 68 all-Americans and one national championship team.