Pictured (L to R): North Central senior linebacker DJ Warkenthien and Illinois Wesleyan junior quarterback Brandon Bauer.

NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- For the second-straight season, North Central and Illinois Wesleyan shared the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) football title following Saturday victories.

The Cardinals (9-1, 8-1) defeated Millikin 55-12 to win their third-straight title and 14th in school history, while the Titans (8-2, 8-1) topped North Park 40-13 to claim their second-straight title and 16th in school history.

North Central earns the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Football Championship by virtue of a 38-20 win over Illinois Wesleyan on November 3. The full 32-team field will be announced at 5:30 p.m. EST on Sunday, November 11 via an NCAA.com Selection Show.

This year's appearance will mark the 11th time that the Cardinals will play in the NCAA Division III Football Championship as all have come since 2005. Their farthest appearance was to the national semifinals in 2013. 

Illinois Wesleyan has now won nine CCIW titles under head coach Norm Eash, who is the longest-tenured and winningest coach in the CCIW with a conference-only record of 150-82-1. 

North Central head coach Jeff Thorne won his third CCIW title with the Cardinals after following his dad John, who led the program to a conference-tying record of eight-straight titles between 2006 and 2013.   
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.