NAPERVILLE, Ill. – The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) will become the first NCAA Division III-affiliated conference to join the Collegiate Officiating Consortium for Women’s Basketball (COC-WBB) as announced today by the CCIW.
 
The consortium currently provides women’s basketball officiating oversight for the Big Ten Conference, The Big 12 Conference, Conference USA, Missouri Valley Conference, Mid-American Conference, Horizon League, Summit League and the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
 
The CCIW will be the only DIII conference in the WBB-COC and this announcement comes one year after the CCIW joined the College Officiating Consortium in men’s basketball. The arrangement will be similar on the women’s side as the consortium will identify and train potential officiating candidates, especially women and minorities, and assign officials for non-conference and conference games. Additionally, current officials will receive ongoing training and education as well as performance feedback through video review. The CCIW is also aligned with the Big Ten Conference for football officiating through the Midwest Football Officials Association.
 
“We are thrilled to partner with the WBB-COC to offer the student-athletes and coaches in the CCIW access to some of the best women’s basketball officials in the country. The development and training our officials will receive through the COC is unparalleled at the DIII level,” stated CCIW Executive Director Maureen Harty. “We are grateful to the Big Ten Conference for their continued support of the CCIW through our consortium agreements.”
 
Patty Broderick, a native of Indianapolis, serves as the consortium’s Coordinator of Women’s Basketball Officials. Broderick has officiated seven NCAA Final Fours, six WNBA Championships and the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. She served as the WNBA’s Director of Officials from 2002-2004 and was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008.
 
“Having a Division III conference in the consortium truly rounds out our membership and lengthens our vertical model,” Broderick said. “It’s a progression for our officials and a chance for our program to identify and develop officials at all levels. The CCIW will be able to share in the developmental programs, the education; everything that will help improve officiating in our geographical footprint.”
 
Carthage alum Tony Buyniski, the Big Ten’s Assistant Commissioner of Officiating Services and the consortium’s secretary, sees this partnership as a way to provide more opportunities for officials to enter into the collegiate pipeline.
 
“The CCIW fits perfectly within the Collegiate Officiating Consortium’s geographical footprint and the addition of the conference creates more opportunities for up-and-coming officials, including women and minorities,” Buyniski said. “The addition of the CCIW gives the consortium a true vertical model, with conference representation at the Division I, Division II and now Division III levels of women’s college basketball.”
 
The CCIW wishes to thank Al Raya, who served as the Coordinator of Women’s Basketball Officials for the last 14 years, for all his efforts on behalf of women’s basketball in the conference.  
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 2018-19 academic year, the CCIW honored over 2,200 academic all-conference recipients, 18 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, 43 CoSIDA Academic All-District recipients, and over 100 all-Americans.