Contact: Chassidy Holloway, Associate Executive Director, holloway@midwestconference.org
GRINNELL, Iowa – After a vote of the league’s ten head coaches, the Foresters of Lake Forest College are the favorites to repeat as Midwest Conference (MWC) football champions.
Seven first-place votes and 79 points propelled the Foresters to the top of the field. In 2021, Lake Forest snapped a nine-year drought to win its program’s sixth MWC title after a perfect 10-0 regular season record (9-0 MWC).
In second place, Monmouth College received 74 points and the remaining three first-place votes. Last season, the Fighting Scots finished 8-2 with their only conference loss coming against the Foresters.
The University of Chicago landed in third place with 65 points, ahead of Ripon College (52) and Illinois College (46) rounding out the top-five.
Picking up 43 points, Cornell College is expected to finish sixth, followed by Knox College (35), Lawrence University (21), Grinnell College (20), and Beloit College.
Illinois College will kick off the 2022 season with a non-conference opponent on Thursday, September 1, followed by seven of the nine remaining MWC teams on Saturday, September 3. League play will open the following week on Saturday, September 10.
The 2022 MWC football champion will receive the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Playoffs.
The MWC football runner-up will be eligible to participate in the inaugural Cousins Subs Lakefront Bowl.
Full preseason coaches’ poll results and quick facts for all ten league teams can be found below:
2022 MWC Football Preseason Coaches’ Poll Results
1. Lake Forest College (7) – 79 points
2. Monmouth College (3) – 74 points
3. University of Chicago – 65 points
4. Ripon College – 52 points
5. Illinois College – 46 points
6. Cornell College – 43 points
7. Knox College – 35 points
8. Lawrence University – 21 points
9. Grinnell College – 20 points
10. Beloit College – 15 points
() – indicates first-place votes
*Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own teams.
Beloit College Buccaneers
Head Coach: Ted Soenksen (4th Season)
2021: 0-10 (overall); 0-9 (MWC)
All-Conference Returnees: N/A
Cornell College Rams
Head Coach: Dan Pifer (3rd Season)
2021: 4-6 (overall); 4-5 (MWC)
All-Conference Returnees: Andrew Corley (Sr)
Grinnell College Pioneers
Head Coach: Brent Barnes (3rd Season)
2021: 2-8 (overall), 2-7 (MWC)
All-Conference Returnees: N/A
Illinois College Blue Boys
Head Coach: Ray DeFrisco (7th Season)
2021: 5-5 (overall), 5-4 (MWC)
All-Conference Returnees: KJ Corley (Sr), Drew Gognat (Sr), Cameron Jones (Sr), Kyle Lane (Sr), Elijah Moscinski (Sr)
Knox College Prairie Fire
Head Coach: Aaron Willits (2nd Season)
2021: 3-6 (overall), 3-6 (MWC)
All-Conference Returnees: Davis Brumbaugh (Sr), Charlie Gibbons (Fifth Year), Creed Justice (Jr), Ean Rau (Fifth Year)
Lake Forest College Foresters
Head Coach: Jim Catanzaro (14th Season)
2021: 10-1 (overall), 9-0 (MWC)
All-Conference Returnees: Alex Bendler (Sr), Damon Bonds (Fifth Year), Dante Esposito (Sr – MWC Defensive Skill MVP), A.J. Jackson (Sr), Logan Persson (Sr), Ian Ramey (Jr), Tre Stewart (Sr)
Lawrence University Vikings
Head Coach: Tony Aker (3rd Season)
2021: 2-7 (overall), 1-7 (MWC)
All-Conference Returnees: N/A
Monmouth College Scots
Head Coach: Chad Braun (8th Season)
2021: 8-2 (overall), 8-1 (MWC)
All-Conference Returnees: Derek Brown (Sr), Addison Fletcher (Sr), Devin Graham (Sr), Korbyn Personett (Fifth Year), Matthew Shimko (Sr), Jake Uryasz (Fifth Year)
Ripon College Red Hawks
Head Coach: Ron Ernst (32nd Season)
2021: 6-3 (overall), 5-3 (MWC)
All-Conference Returnees: Zach Bunders (Sr), Erik Flores (Jr), Brad Guell (Sr), Cormac Madigan (Sr), Dylon Ross (Sr)
University of Chicago Maroons
Head Coach: Todd Gilcrist Jr. (1st Season)
2021: 8-2 (overall), 7-2 (MWC)
All-Conference Returnees: Aidan Cappellino (Jr), Nicholas D’Ambrose (Sr – MWC Offensive Skill MVP), Will Goodman (Jr), Kourosh Hassibi (Jr), DJ Jelin (Sr), Braedon Junker (Sr), Aden Nava (So), Brandon Schillig (Sr), William Skowronski (Jr)