North Central College - Athletics

Athletics

North Central College's mascot is the Cardinal, in tradition of the bird's habitance in Illinois. The school competes in NCAA Division III and the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW). It sponsors 22 sports and has won 30 team national championships - 26 NCAA and 4 NAIA - and North Central athletes have won 115 individual national championships . The total of number national championships puts the college eighth on the all time list for most national championships. North Central is the only school in the CCIW to win a national championship in four (4) different sports. And since joining the CCIW, North Central has won 164 conference titles along with 14 CCIW postseason tournament titles.

North Central College was a member of the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference from 1927-1937.

The college is best known for its Men's Track and Field and Cross Country teams, which have won 22 national championships. For the 2009-2010 school year, the men's cross country and indoor/outdoor track teams swept the NCAA Division III Championships. North Central is only the second school in Division III history to accomplish this feat . During the 2011-2012 school year, the men's indoor track team three-peated as national champions, and the cross country team repeated as national champions. The campus has also hosted past NCAA Division III national events.

Men's Varsity Sports

Baseball
Basketball
Cross Country
Football
Golf
Soccer
Swimming
Tennis
Track and Field (Indoor/Outdoor)
Wrestling

Women's Varsity Sports

Basketball
Cross Country
Golf
Lacrosse
Soccer
Softball
Swimming
Tennis
Track and Field (Indoor/Outdoor)
Volleyball

Athletic Facilities

Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium, which seats 5,500, was completed in 1999, while the Jay and Dot Buikema track was resurfaced in 1997 and a Safeplay Plus artificial playing surface was installed in 2011.

The Stadium has hosted numerous high-profile events, including the Illinois high school boys and girls soccer state finals and the Wes Spencer Crosstown Classic, the annual showdown between Naperville North and Naperville Central high schools. It also served as the temporary home of the Chicago Fire for two seasons while Chicago's Soldier Field was reconstructed. In summer 2009, the stadium hosted an outdoor concert by the band Lifehouse.

North Central College’s baseball facility, Zimmerman Stadium, which includes Alumni Field, was dedicated in 1999. The home of Cardinal baseball resembles a professional minor league facility, with permanent seating for 750 fans and a fully enclosed and wireless pressbox. The facility has hosted the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association summer state tournament and Major League Baseball’s RBI World Series and Area Code tryouts.

Cardinal softball plays at Shanower Family Field. In April 2002, the field was dedicated to honor the family of Don Shanower, beloved professor emeritus of speech communication and theatre and enthusiastic softball fan. The dedication took on added meaning after the Shanower’s son Dan, a commander in the U.S. Navy, was among the victims of the terrorist attack on the Pentagon. The field has been host to an NCAA III regional tournament and was part of Major League Baseball’s RBI World Series.

Merner Field House is home to Cardinal indoor sports except track and field, with 2,000 seats in Gregory Arena for the basketball and volleyball teams. On the second floor of Merner Field House is Nichols Gymnasium, home to the North Central College wrestling team. The College’s swimming pool is also located in the Field House.

The Residence Hall/Recreation Center opened in fall 2009. This combination residential hall and 91,000-square-foot (8,500 m2) recreational center also contains a regulation NCAA 200-meter running track and is home to the Cardinal indoor track team. The Res/Rec Center has won national acclaim due to its environmentally conscious design. The facility, with its innovative geothermal heating and cooling system and other sustainability features, has been awarded LEED Silver Certification .