DIII CONFERENCE · 2026 SEASON

CCIW

#51 overall#9 in DIIIRR50 −13.7Upper strength −11.09 teamsTop 25 teams 0

The weekly grind · 2026

North Central's Naperville Era

Wheaton College, Elmhurst, Illinois Wesleyan, and North Park compete in a conference that spans the Chicago suburbs and downstate Illinois, drawing from one of the country's most productive high school football markets.

Division III9 teamsRace: DIII BracketLeader: North Central College

CCIW · 2026 season

Three things to watch

The Academic Rival

Wheaton: Faith and Football

Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois — the evangelical Christian academic institution that has produced more overseas missionaries than NFL players — has also won CCIW titles and appeared in the DIII bracket. Their program draws from faith-committed students across the country who choose Wheaton's academic profile, competing with a roster of players who are there for reasons that go beyond football. When their talent base aligns with their system, Wheaton is the CCIW's most dangerous opponent to North Central.

Wild CardIllinois Wesleyan: Bloomington's Tradition

Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington-Normal draws from downstate Illinois and the Central Illinois corridor — a recruiting territory that produces linemen and linebackers at a rate that the conference's Chicago-based programs often overlook. Their program has won CCIW titles and appeared in the DIII bracket, competing with a physical style that matches central Illinois's football tradition. In a year when North Central and Wheaton both struggle, IWU is the program most likely to claim the automatic bracket bid.

Conference standings · CCIW · 2026

Standings

# Team Conf Overall Pwr Last 5
1Wheaton (IL)6-08-0-9.9
2North Central College5-17-1-8.2
3Illinois Wesleyan4-26-2-13.0
4Augustana (IL)3-34-4-12.5
5Carroll (WI)3-44-5-14.7
6Millikin3-44-5-15.2
7Carthage2-43-5-15.4
8North Park2-42-6-15.0
9Elmhurst0-61-7-17.5

Conference record determines standing. Power = neutral-field pts vs. all-level average. Last 5 = most recent game results.

Projected standings · CCIW · 2026

Win projection

Odds of winning at least N conference games from current power ratings — full slate played out, not locked to results. Avg = expected wins; W-L = most-likely record.

# Team W-L Pwr Avg ≥8≥7≥6≥5≥4≥3≥2≥1
Favorites
1North Central College5-3+5.35.131540688897✓✓
2Wheaton (IL)5-3+3.64.7192958829599✓
Challengers
3Augustana (IL)4-4+1.04.2141842698998✓
4Illinois Wesleyan4-4+0.54.141639678897✓
The field
5Carroll (WI)4-4−1.23.72102957819599
6North Park4-4−1.53.72102855809599
7Millikin4-4−1.73.6292754799499
Rebuilding
8Carthage4-4−1.93.6292653799499
9Elmhurst3-5−4.03.2151740688998

Conference power · Division III

Where we stand

# Conference Avg power Record Top team
1American Southwest
-10.6
—Hardin Simmons
2Wisconsin
-11.2
0-3Wisconsin Whitewater
3Michigan
-13.5
3-2Calvin
4Presidents'
-13.5
—Washington & Jefferson
5Southern Athletic
-13.6
—Berry
6Old Dominion
-13.6
—Randolph Macon
7USA South
-13.7
—LaGrange
8Centennial
-13.7
—Dickinson
9CCIWYou are here
-13.7
—North Central College
10Minnesota
-13.7
1-0Saint John's (MN)
11Ohio
-13.7
1-0Mount Union
12North Coast
-13.7
—DePauw
13Commonwealth Coast
-13.7
—Endicott
14American Rivers
-13.8
2-0Wartburg
15Northwest
-13.8
—Linfield
16NEWMAC
-13.8
—Springfield
17New Jersey
-13.9
—Salisbury
18Liberty League
-14.0
—Ithaca
19Empire 8
-14.1
—SUNY Cortland
20Mid Atlantic
-14.3
—Delaware Valley
21So. Cal.
-14.3
—Chapman
22NESCAC
-14.4
—Trinity (CT)
23Landmark Conference
-14.4
—Susquehanna
24NACC
-14.4
3-0Aurora
25MSCAC
-14.6
—Bridgewater State
26Heartland
-14.8
0-1Mount St Joseph
27Midwest
-15.0
1-1Lake Forest
28Southern Collegiate Athletic
-15.2
—Texas Lutheran
29Upper Midwest
-15.5
—Northwestern (MN)

Round-robin power = strength of schedule-adjusted conference average, points vs. all-level average team. Record = CCIW's record vs. that conference across all games this season.

Wheaton College, Elmhurst, Illinois Wesleyan, and North Park compete in a conference that spans the Chicago suburbs and downstate Illinois, drawing from one of the country's most productive high school football markets.

Conference Snapshot

RR50−13.7
Upper Strength−11.0
Median Power−14.5
Resume Pulse43.1
Avg ATS--
Wins vs Market+0.00
Top-to-Middle Gap6.5
Combined Record39-35

`RR50`, `Upper Strength`, and `Median Power` are shown on the same public power scale as the rest of the site: points on a neutral field versus the average all-level NCAA team. Very small affiliations are gently regressed toward their subdivision baseline so a one-team outlier does not hijack the entire conference board.

CCIW Team Board

The league stack, sorted by predictive strength. Power is shown as neutral-field points versus the all-level average team, while resume is shown on a 0-100 season score.

Rank Team Record Power Resume ATS Wins vs Market Recent Form
#417 North Central College 7-1 −8.2 84 -- +0.00 3-1 over the last 4 (L6 W7 W8 W9)
#436 Wheaton (IL) 8-0 −9.9 92 -- +0.00 4-0 over the last 4 (W5 W6 W7 W9)
#505 Augustana (IL) 4-4 −12.5 52 -- +0.00 2-2 over the last 4 (L5 W6 W8 L9)
#521 Illinois Wesleyan 6-2 −13.0 67 -- +0.00 3-1 over the last 4 (W5 W6 L7 W8)
#565 Carroll (WI) 4-5 −14.7 19 -- +0.00 0-4 over the last 4 (L6 L7 L8 L9)
#576 North Park 2-6 −15.0 21 -- +0.00 2-2 over the last 4 (L5 W7 L8 W9)
#583 Millikin 4-5 −15.2 33 -- +0.00 2-2 over the last 4 (L6 W7 L8 W9)
#585 Carthage 3-5 −15.4 17 -- +0.00 2-2 over the last 4 (W6 L7 W8 L9)
#640 Elmhurst 1-7 −17.5 4 -- +0.00 0-4 over the last 4 (L6 L7 L8 L9)