Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Director of Athletics Communication, 630-637-5324

2025 CCIW Preseason Football Poll

Aug. 18, 2025 - The North Central College football team has once again been selected as the preseason favorite in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW), as voted on by the league's 10 head coaches. The Cardinals earned all possible first-place votes and topped the poll with 81 points.

North Central captured its 18th CCIW championship last season, finishing with a perfect 9-0 conference record for the fourth consecutive year. The Cardinals went on to win the NCAA Division III national title, defeating the University of Mount Union, 41-25, in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl. North Central has claimed at least a share of the conference title in 15 of the past 18 seasons.

Following the Cardinals in the preseason poll are Wheaton College (73 points, one first-place vote), Washington University in St. Louis (65), Illinois Wesleyan University (53), Carroll University (48), Augustana College (43), North Park University (34), Carthage College (26), Millikin University (14), and Elmhurst University (13).

North Central returns several key players from last year's championship squad, including First Team All-CCIW selections Cortez Jones, Rahmareon Roby, Thomas Skokna, and John Sullivan. Donovan McNeal, the 2024 CCIW First-Year Offensive Player of the Year, also returns.

The Cardinals open the 2025 season on Aug. 13, hosting the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. This marks the third all-time meeting between the programs and the first since 2017.