NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- As the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) continues its 75th anniversary celebration, the conference honors the past student-athletes, coaches and administrators who helped shaped the CCIW during its seven-plus decades of competition.
Each week during the 2020-21 season, CCIW.org will spotlight student-athletes through its Conference Legacy Series.
Today, we highlight the career of former North Park University student-athlete Michael Harper.
Michael Harper
Sport - Men's Basketball
Class - '80
Career Highlights
- Member of the Portland Trailbazers from 1980 to 1982, followed by six seasons as a professional player in Europe
- 2019 inductee into the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame
- Led North Park to three-straight NCAA Division III national titles between 1978 and 1980
- Part of the only program to ever win three-straight Division III men's basketball titles in the division's 47-year history
- Two-time NCAA Tournament Most Valuable Player (1978, 1979)
- Three-time All-American
- Three-time CCIW Fred Young Most Outstanding Player (1978-1980)
- One of only three student-athletes to win the Fred Young Most Outstanding Player award three times, joining Jack Sikma (Illinois Wesleyan - 1975-1980) and Kent Raymond (Wheaton - 2007-2009)
- Three-time CCIW champion (1978-1980)
- North Park record holder in points in a season (699 in 1979), rebounds in a season (442 in 1978), field goals in a season (295 in 1979) and career rebounds (1184).
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).