NCAA President Myles Brand Highlights CCIW’s 60th Anniversary Event

NAPERVILLE, Ill. – NCAA President Myles Brand was in Naperville on the evening of Monday, Feb. 20, at the Holiday Inn Select as a guest of the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin.

The CCIW, an eight-member, NCAA Division III affiliated conference, celebrated its 60th anniversary Monday night with Brand as the keynote speaker for 300 guests including notable alumni, coaches and student-athletes in attendance.

Brand, the NCAA’s leader since January 1, 2003, previously held posts as president of the University of Oregon (1989-1994) and Indiana University (1994-2002). President Brand’s speech highlighted the “collegiate model” as well as touched on global issues in athletics such as integrity, program integration, and commercialism, both good and bad. Brand wrapped up his speech by telling the audience that they should “celebrate their success” after 60 years of excellence.

Guests were also greeted in the lobby of the hotel with pictures of all 31 Division III national championships won by CCIW schools. The CCIW sponsors 21 sports and has won 31 NCAA Division III national championships in nine different sports in its history, the sixth highest total among all NCAA Division III conferences.

The conference was formed on April 26, 1946 in Jacksonville, Ill., and began competing during the 1946-47 season. The eight member schools include Augustana College (Rock Island, Ill.), Carthage College (Kenosha, Wis.), Elmhurst College (Elmhurst, Ill.), Millikin University (Decatur, Ill.), Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, Ill.), North Central College (Naperville, Ill.), North Park University (Chicago, Ill.) and Wheaton College (Wheaton, Ill.).

The conference has also produced a number of academic all-Americans and life leaders including such notables as J. Dennis Hastert, current Speaker of the House and 1964 Wheaton College graduate, Brenda Barnes, current Chief Executive Officer of Sara Lee and 1975 Augustana College graduate, John Bingham, distance running expert and 1970 Millikin University graduate, and Hoyt Harper II, Senior Vice President for Starwood Hotels and 1977 Carthage College graduate who was named as one of the 75 most powerful blacks in corporate America by Black Enterprise Magazine.