NAPERVILLE, Ill. – North Central claimed its 12th College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) football title with a 59-17 victory over Elmhurst on Senior Day.
 
This is the first title under head coach Jeff Thorne, who took over the program after his dad John retired in 2014. The elder Thorne was the head coach when North Central (10-0, 8-0) won eight-straight conference football titles between 2006 and 2013, which tied Augustana’s conference record of eight-straight titles between 1981 and 1988. The Cardinals also won CCIW football titles in 1946, 1947 and 1960.
 
Last week, North Central clinched the CCIW’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Football Championship with a 34-21 win at Carthage. This will be the program’s ninth appearance in the NCAA’s postseason tournament and first since 2013 when North Central advanced to the national semifinal game.

Saturday's win also clinched the fourth 10-0 regular season finish in program history.
 
The NCAA will announce the pairings for the 2016 NCAA Division III Football Championship on Sunday, November 13 at 5 p.m. CST via an NCAA.com selection show.
 
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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 2015-16 academic year, the CCIW honored over 1,600 academic all-conference recipients, 14 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, 36 CoSIDA Academic All-District recipients and over 100 all-Americans.