June 22, 2026 · Dead Period · Heritage Window · 2026 Outlook

Elmhurst University

1-9 2025 final

Elmhurst is the Illinois CCIW program competing within Division III tradition, building from a challenging foundation with new coaching leadership.

Quiet weeks in Bluejays country.

Record

1-9

win% .100

Conference

10th of 10

CCIW · 0-9

Index Rating

35.8

D3 #216 of 240

Playoff Path

Win the league

Dead PeriodOffseasonPatientPost-loss — reckoning

The Long Wait·Offseason

Elmhurst is the Illinois CCIW program competing within Division III tradition, building from a challenging foundation with new coaching leadership.

Standard GapA 2,500-student liberal-arts university in suburban Illinois that compet…

Elmhurst went 1-9 in 2025, going 0-9 in CCIW play under new head coach Mike Heffernan. The program is in a difficult stretch and rebuilding from a challenging foundation. Heffernan enters his second year tasked with stabilizing th…

low signal

Read the full program story ↓

Offseason

69 days

until kickoff · Sun Aug 30 · 17:00 UTC

Act I

The 2026 Outlook

DIVISION III · THE PATH TO THE STAGG BOWL

Elmhurst University sits 10th in the CCIW and 216th of 240 in the CFB Zeitgeist — outside the at-large picture — the path runs through the conference title.

CCIW · 2025

	Team	Conf	Overall	Index
1	North Central College	9-0	14-1	76.9
2	Wheaton	8-1	11-3	68.7
3	Washington University (St. Louis)	7-2	8-3	60.8
4	Augustana (IL)	6-3	7-3	59.9
5	Illinois Wesleyan	4-5	4-6	48.8
6	Carroll University (WI)	4-5	4-6	48.3
7	Carthage	3-6	4-6	47.7
10	Elmhurst	0-9	1-9	35.8

35.8 CFB Zeitgeist#216 of 240 D353.0 strength of schedule

Win the CCIW for the automatic berth into the 40-team NCAA Division III bracket. Miss it and the path is an at-large bid, selected by NPI — the metric the CFB Index mirrors. Six wins survive the bracket to the Stagg Bowl.

Source: CFB Zeitgeist — conference records + NPI-style rating from 2025 games · the field is 40 teams, NPI-selected

THE 2025 SEASON · 1-9

Signature win 34-30 over Rockford; toughest day 0-65 against Wheaton.

—

Quiet weeks in Bluejays country.

What moved it — offseason · last 30 days

June Dead-period quiet — official-visit + heritage window —

Camp Fall camp ~40 days out

"Go Elmhurst" — Elmhurst University fanbase · recurring line

0 mentions · awaiting signal

Winning record—

The baseline for a successful season.

Conference title—

The primary goal and national bracket path.

32-team bracket qualifierLocked—

One of 32 national tournament entries.

Stagg BowlLocked—

The Division III national championship game.

Floor 0-12

Base 1-11

Ceiling 4-8

floor0-12Rebuild year. Below .500.

base1-11Mid-table finish.

ceiling4-8Conference title race. Bracket qualifier in range.

Variance assumed at ±2 wins from last-season record. Replace with the season-path projection once preview data is built.

Act II

Who We Are

Home-Field Advantage · Elmhurst University · 2018-present

Strong

23% home win rate vs 5% on the road. margin runs +7.9 better at home.

Home5-16Away1-18

Act III

Last Season Reviewed

2025 season · tap to expand

Recent Form · last 10 games

Hibernating

Zero of five. Reset territory.

Streak L9Last 5 · 0-5Last 10 · 1-9

Schedule Strength · Elmhurst University · 2025

Balanced

Average opponent win rate 50% across 10 finalized games. Balanced slate across the conference slate.

Opp Win %0.505

From the Archive — Elmhurst University

2024: Lost 14-45 vs Carroll University (WI)

In 2024, the program lost 14-45 vs Carroll University (WI) — a stinging home result, 31 points either way.

Go Bluejays.