NAPERVILLE, Ill. – The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) announced today the hiring of Maureen A. Harty to serve as the conference’s Executive Director beginning July 1, 2019. In this capacity, she will serve as only the second full-time commissioner in the conference’s history.
Harty, a native of Arlington Heights, Ill., currently serves as the Commissioner of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC), and will replace Chris Martin, who announced in July that he will step down from his position at the end of the 2018-19 academic year.
“On behalf of the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin, I would like to welcome Maureen Harty as the CCIW’s new Executive Director,” North Central College President and CCIW Council of Presidents Chair Dr. Troy D. Hammond said. “Her extensive experience in intercollegiate athletics and higher education are a perfect fit for the conference and its nine member institutions. The CCIW is one of the most competitive conferences in NCAA Division III and Maureen’s addition will no doubt be an integral component to that continued success.
“I would like to thank the search committee and my colleagues on the CCIW Council of Presidents for their efforts in the selection of Maureen. I also want to thank Chris Martin for his 17 years of outstanding leadership and service to the conference.”
“It is bittersweet to be leaving my colleagues in the HCAC at the end of the academic year and I am grateful for the professional relationships and friendships I have formed,” said Harty. “It is an exciting time to be a member of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin and I am honored and humbled to be named Executive Director. I look forward to the opportunities that lie ahead and am excited to guide the league into the next era of academic and athletic achievement.
“I wish to thank Dr. Hammond and the Council of Presidents for their confidence in me. I look forward to working with all the CCIW institutions in helping to provide an outstanding student-athlete experience on each campus. Finally, I would be remiss if I did not thank Chris Martin. Chris has been a tremendous leader and proponent for the conference and DIII and I am honored to succeed him in this position.”
Prior to serving as the HCAC Commissioner, Harty was the NCAA’s Associate Director for Academic and Membership Services for five years. In this role, she was a member of the Division III, Division I and Institutional Performance Program teams and was a staff liaison to the Division III Championships Committee. Harty also served as a liaison to several Division III and Division I conferences, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) and the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA).
Harty was previously at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., where she served for 11 years, most recently as Associate Athletics Director for Compliance, Academic Services and Student Development. Additionally, Harty was a lecturer in Northwestern’s Master of Sports Administration Program.
She was the Assistant Dean of Students, Director of Athletics and Recreation and Coach at Dominican University in River Forest, Ill., and served as the Assistant Director of Athletics and Recreation at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago and Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana.
Harty holds a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Management from Dominican University and a Master of Science in Recreation A.B.T. from the University of Kentucky. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education with a concentration in commercial sports from Colorado State University, where Harty competed as a women’s golf student-athlete.
The 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 allconference recipients, 15 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, 28 CoSIDA Academic All-District recipients, and over 100 all-Americans.