NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- Wheaton's Corey Kennedy has been selected as the 2020 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Man of the Year as announced by the CCIW on Thursday.

A defensive back on the Thunder football team, Kennedy becomes the second-straight Wheaton student-athlete to win the award following former track & field athlete Leif Van Grinsven in 2019. Kennedy is also the third football athlete to be named CCIW Man of the Year, joining Augustana's Erik Westerberg in 2014 and North Park's Josh Startup in 2012. 

Kennedy was chosen through a voting process conducted by the CCIW's Senior Woman Administrators and Faculty Athletics Representatives. He was selected among a group of eight other nominees including Augustana's Luke Sawicki (football), Carroll's David Lembke (track & field), Carthage's Jacob Allard (men's volleyball), Elmhurst's Jay Militello (men's basketball), Illinois Wesleyan's Nick Figus (baseball), Millikin's Matthew Brown (football), North Central's Anthony Rink (wrestling) and North Park's Peder Olsen (men's soccer). 

The CCIW Man of the Year award honors senior male student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership. The award was established in 2008 to recognize the conference's top male student-athlete, similar to the NCAA's recognition of its top female student-athlete, which the CCIW participates in by submitting a female nominee at the end of each academic year.

Kennedy started all 33 of Wheaton's games during his three seasons with the Thunder after transferring from Northern Illinois University. In those 33 games, he totaled 123 tackles, 10 tackles-for-loss, three forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, seven interceptions and three interceptions returned for touchdowns. He was an All-CCIW selection in 2018 and 2019 and was a two-time D3football.com All-Region selection. Kennedy helped lead Wheaton to a conference title and an NCAA Division III Football Championship quarterfinal appearance in 2019. 

As a Business/Economics major, Kennedy graduated Summa Cum Laude with a 3.97 grade-point average (GPA) and was a member of Wheaton's Dean's List ever semester. He was a three-time member of the CCIW's Academic All-Conference Team, a 2019-20 member of the National Football Foundation (NFF) Hampshire Honor Society, a two-time College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-American (2018, 2019), and was the fall of 2019 male recipient of the CCIW's Jack Swartz Academic All-Conference award. 

Kennedy was a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes where he led high school students through weekly meetings, serving as a mentor. He was also a small group leader where he led discipleship small groups for students on the Wheaton campus and volunteered at Prairie Pals Christian Preschool. Kennedy served on two Wheaton football ministry mission trips (Cuba and Mexico) in 2018 and 2019. 

CCIW Man of the Year
2019-20 – Corey Kennedy – Wheaton (Football)
2018-19 – Leif Van Grinsven – Wheaton (Men's Track & Field)
2017-18 – Sam Totten – Augustana (Men's Tennis) 
2016-17 – Eric Rydell – Illinois Wesleyan (Men's Track & Field)
2015-16 – Max Leonard – Illinois Wesleyan (Men's Track & Field)
2014-15 – David Voland – Augustana (Men's Track & Field)
2013-14 – Erik Westerberg – Augustana (Football)
2012-13 – Tim Ahlberg – North Park (Men's Soccer)
2011-12 – Josh Startup – North Park (Football)
2010-11 – Steve Djurickovic – Carthage (Men's Basketball)
2009-10 – Alex Knobloch – North Central (Men's Cross Country/Track & Field)
2008-09 – Ben Youel – North Central (Men's Wrestling)
2007-08 – Adam Johnson – North Central (Men's Wrestling)  
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 University (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).