DIII CONFERENCE · 2026 SEASON

CCIW

#51 overall#9 in DIIIRR50 −13.6Upper strength −11.29 teamsTop 25 teams 0

The weekly grind · 2026

North Central's Naperville Era

North Central College won back-to-back DIII national championships in 2019 and 2021 — their first titles in the modern era — from Naperville, Illinois, a Chicago suburb of 150,000. 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. The CCIW is the DIII conference closest to a Power Four recruiting market, and North Central's championships proved that proximity to Chicago is an asset at the non-scholarship level.

Division III9 teamsRace: DIII BracketLeader: North Central College

CCIW · 2026 season

Three things to watch

The Champion

North Central: Chicago's DIII Program

North Central College in Naperville, Illinois won DIII national championships in 2019 and 2021 by recruiting the Chicago suburban market that Power Four programs prioritize for FBS prospects. The players who don't earn Big Ten offers but are genuinely competitive choose North Central for a reason: the program develops them, the campus is in one of the country's wealthiest suburban corridors, and the CCIW schedule prepares them for the DIII bracket. Their two titles changed how DIII programs think about recruiting proximity to major markets.

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)5-07-0-10.0
2North Central College3-15-1-8.7
3Illinois Wesleyan3-25-2-12.9
4Carroll (WI)3-24-3-14.0
5Augustana (IL)2-23-3-13.0
6Millikin2-33-4-15.2
7Carthage1-32-4-15.4
8North Park1-31-5-15.0
9Elmhurst0-41-5-16.8

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+4.85.02133665869699✓
2Wheaton (IL)5-3+3.54.7192957819599✓
Challengers
3Illinois Wesleyan4-4+0.54.141639678897✓
4Augustana (IL)4-4+0.44.141639668797✓
The field
5Carroll (WI)4-4−0.63.931233618496✓
6North Park4-4−1.63.7292855809599
7Millikin4-4−1.73.6292754799499
Rebuilding
8Carthage4-4−2.03.6282652789499
9Elmhurst3-5−3.33.3161944729199

Conference power · Division III

Where we stand

# Conference Avg power Record Top team
1American Southwest
-10.8
—Hardin Simmons
2Wisconsin
-11.2
0-3Wisconsin Whitewater
3Michigan
-13.4
3-2Hope
4Presidents'
-13.5
—Saint Francis
5USA South
-13.6
—LaGrange
6Southern Athletic
-13.6
—Berry
7Ohio
-13.6
1-0John Carroll
8Centennial
-13.6
—Dickinson
9CCIWYou are here
-13.6
—North Central College
10Old Dominion
-13.6
—Randolph Macon
11Minnesota
-13.6
1-0Saint John's (MN)
12North Coast
-13.7
—DePauw
13Commonwealth Coast
-13.7
—Endicott
14NEWMAC
-13.8
—Springfield
15American Rivers
-13.8
2-0Wartburg
16Northwest
-13.9
—Linfield
17New Jersey
-13.9
—Salisbury
18Liberty League
-14.0
—Ithaca
19Empire 8
-14.1
—SUNY Cortland
20Mid Atlantic
-14.3
—Eastern
21So. Cal.
-14.3
—Chapman
22NESCAC
-14.3
—Trinity (CT)
23Landmark Conference
-14.4
—Susquehanna
24NACC
-14.4
3-0Aurora
25MSCAC
-14.6
—Bridgewater State
26Heartland
-14.7
0-1Mount St Joseph
27Midwest
-14.9
1-1Lake Forest
28Southern Collegiate Athletic
-15.0
—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.

North Central College won back-to-back DIII national championships in 2019 and 2021 — their first titles in the modern era — from Naperville, Illinois, a Chicago suburb of 150,000. 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. The CCIW is the DIII conference closest to a Power Four recruiting market, and North Central's championships proved that proximity to Chicago is an asset at the non-scholarship level.

Conference Snapshot

RR50−13.6
Upper Strength−11.2
Median Power−14.0
Resume Pulse42.7
Avg ATS--
Wins vs Market+0.00
Top-to-Middle Gap5.3
Combined Record31-27

`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
#419 North Central College 5-1 −8.7 80 -- +0.00 3-1 over the last 4 (W3 W5 L6 W7)
#436 Wheaton (IL) 7-0 −10.0 92 -- +0.00 4-0 over the last 4 (W4 W5 W6 W7)
#511 Illinois Wesleyan 5-2 −12.9 59 -- +0.00 2-2 over the last 4 (L4 W5 W6 L7)
#515 Augustana (IL) 3-3 −13.0 48 -- +0.00 2-2 over the last 4 (L3 W4 L5 W6)
#549 Carroll (WI) 4-3 −14.0 35 -- +0.00 2-2 over the last 4 (W4 W5 L6 L7)
#580 North Park 1-5 −15.0 18 -- +0.00 1-3 over the last 4 (L3 L4 L5 W7)
#587 Millikin 3-4 −15.2 28 -- +0.00 2-2 over the last 4 (W4 L5 L6 W7)
#597 Carthage 2-4 −15.4 16 -- +0.00 1-3 over the last 4 (L4 L5 W6 L7)
#635 Elmhurst 1-5 −16.8 8 -- +0.00 0-4 over the last 4 (L3 L4 L6 L7)