Wheaton, Ill. – The College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) has released its preseason football coaches' poll. Wheaton, the defending CCIW Champion, was picked first in a poll of the league's eight coaches.

The Thunder finished first in voting for the coaches' poll with 47 points and five first-place votes. North Central finished second in the poll, with 45 points and three first-place votes, Illinois Wesleyan tallied 36 points in third place. Augustana and Elmhurst each garnered 27 points in a tie for fourth place, North Park picked up 18 points in sixth place, Carthage was seventh with 14 points and Millikin was eighth in the voting with 10 points.

Voting for each CCIW preseason poll is done by that sport's respective head coaches from each school. Each coach votes for the seven other schools in the conference in order of predicted finish. Points are assigned in reverse order of voting (seven points for first, six for second, etc.). Coaches may not vote for their own teams.

Wheaton posted a 10-0 record in 2014, marking the fifth time in school history that the program compiled an undefeated and untied record in the regular season. Last year's 10-0 season was the first for the Thunder football program since 2003.