NAPERVILLE, Ill. – North Central, the winner of four of the last five regular-season College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) football championships, is the preseason pick by league head coaches to win in 2022, the league announced Friday. The Cardinals were 13-1 a year ago and advanced to the NCAA Division III title game.
2022 Preseason CCIW Football Coaches Poll
| Team (First-place votes) |
Points |
| 1. North Central (9) |
81 |
| 2. Wheaton (1) |
73 |
| 3. WashU |
63 |
| T4. Augustana |
47 |
| T4. Carroll |
47 |
| 6. Illinois Wesleyan |
45 |
| 7. Carthage |
33 |
| 8. Millikin |
31 |
| 9. North Park |
18 |
| 10. Elmhurst |
12 |
The Cardinals logged nine first-place votes for 81 points in the poll. Ranked second nationally according to a preseason D3football.com poll released last month, new head coach Bran Spencer will aim to return NCC to the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season after last fall’s march to the final.
Wheaton snagged the remaining first-place vote and was second in the 2022 poll with 73 points. The Thunder has won eight games or more in each of the last 11 seasons and advanced to the second round of the NCAA postseason last year. Wheaton joined North Central in the preseason 2022 D3football.com top 10, checking in at #8.
The upcoming campaign will be the fourth in the CCIW for WashU, which was picked third in the coaches poll. The Bears, who were one of 24 teams outside the D3football.com Top 25 to appear on at least one voter’s ballot during the 2022 preseason poll, finished third in the league last season with a 7-4 overall mark and participated in the inaugural Culver’s Isthmus Bowl on Nov. 20, 2021 in Madison, Wis.
Augustana and Carroll tied for fourth in the poll with 47 points apiece. Illinois Wesleyan (45 points) was sixth, in front of Carthage (33 points), Millikin (31 points), North Park (18 points) and Elmhurst (12 points).
After the NCAA playoffs bracket is finalized, the top remaining team in the CCIW standings will advance to the 2022 Culver’s Isthmus Bowl against an opponent from the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference on Saturday, Nov. 19 in Madison, Wis.
More information is available at isthmusbowl.com.
The Division III football regular-season kicks off on Thursday, Sept. 1, followed by five CCIW teams in action two days later on Saturday, Sept. 3. Following two weeks of non-league competition, the CCIW schedule begins with five matchups on Saturday, Sept. 17.