CCIW Commissioner Job Description & Application Information
 
NAPERVILLE, Ill. – The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) announced today that long-time conference commissioner Chris Martin will depart his position following the conclusion of the 2018-19 academic year.
 
Martin became the CCIW’s first full-time commissioner on July 1, 2002 after almost five years at the NCAA’s national office in Indianapolis. He succeeded former Millikin athletics director Merle Chapman, who served as the conference commissioner from 1997 to 2002.
 
“The health issues I’ve faced over the last few years now require more of my attention and focus,” Martin said. “In order to do that, I need to step away from the CCIW.”
 
During his tenure, Martin added a second staff member to the conference office, hired officials coordinators in six additional sports, and helped establish the Midwest Football Officiating Alliance to cover football with the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference, Midwest Conference and Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
 
He helped facilitate an increase in CCIW membership including the addition of Carroll as a full member in 2016, and established the Associate Member category, leading to the CCIW’s current six associate members.
 
Since Martin’s hire, CCIW teams have won a combined 22 NCAA Division III national championships and the conference added two new sports with the addition of men’s & women’s lacrosse in the spring of 2015.
 
Martin also introduced three new corporate partners, four additional sports equipment partners, a re-design of the CCIW website and a re-branding of the conference logo.
 
Additionally, he was an active member within the NCAA Division III governance structure. In January 2009, he became a member of the NCAA Division III Management Council following four years as a member of the NCAA Division III Membership Committee. In January 2010, Martin assumed the role of vice chair of the Division III Management Council, eventually serving as chair of the group from January 2011 to January 2012, becoming the first sitting commissioner ever to be elected chair of the Division III Management Council. From 2013 to 2017, he served as a member of the NCAA Division III Football Committee.
 
As part of his Division III Management Council duties, Martin served on the Division III Championships Committee, Strategic Planning & Finance Committee, and the Management Council Playing and Practice Season Subcommittee including as chair of the group.
 
He served on the Division III Commissioner’s Association’s Executive Committee as Vice President and President, becoming the second CCIW commissioner to serve in this role following former Wheaton athletics director and conference commissioner Jack Swartz.
 
“It’s been an honor to lead the CCIW since 2002 following in the footsteps of my predecessors Jack Swartz and Merle Chapman,” Martin said. “Thanks to the support of the CCIW Presidents and administrators, I believe the conference is well positioned for the time ahead and I am incredibly thankful for the honor to work on behalf of the entire conference.  I've loved waving the CCIW flag for nearly 17 years now."

"Chris Martin has served the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin with distinction for 17 years,” said Troy Hammond, President of North Central College (Ill.), and current chair of the CCIW Council of Presidents. “Our member institutions have thrived during his tenure and we are consistently recognized as one of the strongest conferences in Division III athletics. His record of service speaks for itself and he will be missed.” 
 
The search for a new candidate will begin immediately and interested parties may visit the Job Description & Application Information link for more details.

Twitter & Instagram: CCIW_Athletics
 
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). During the 2017-18 academic year, the CCIW honored over 2,100 academic all-conference recipients, 15 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, 28 CoSIDA Academic All-District recipients, and over 100 all-Americans.