# 1946 College Conference of Illinois football season

The 1946 College Conference of Illinois football season was the season of college football played by the member schools of the College Conference of Illinois (CCI) as part of the 1946 college football season. The CCI was formed in May 1946 and was a reorganization of the "Illinois College Conference" that had existed for the prior nine years.
The North Central Cardinals, in their first year under head coach Herb Heilman, won the CCI championship with a 7–1 record. Three teams tied for second place: the Wheaton Crusaders; Illinois Wesleyan Titans; and Lake Forest Foresters.

## Conference overview

| Conf. rank | Team | Head coach | Conf. record | Overall record | Points scored | Points against |
| 1 | North Central (IL) | Herb Heilman | 7–1 | 7–1 | 148 | 22 |
| 2 (tie) | Wheaton (IL) | Harvey Chrouser | 3–1 | 6–2 | 146 | 33 |
| 2 (tie) | Illinois Wesleyan | Melvin Clay | 3-1 | 3-5 | 56 | 111 |
| 2 (tie) | Lake Forest | Ralph Jones | 3–1 | 3–3 | 50 | 104 |
| 5 | Augustana (IL) | John L. Briley | 2–2 | 3–5 | 65 | 89 |
| 6 | James Millikin | Marshall Wells | 1–3 | 2–6 | 53 | 93 |
| 7 (tie) | Illinois College | Albert Miller | 1–4 | 2–5–1 | 60 | 133 |
| 7 (tie) | Elmhurst | O.M. Langhorst | 1–4 | 2–6 | 88 | 162 |
| 9 | Carthage | Paul LaVinn | 0–4 | 0–7–1 | 14 | 178 |

## Team overviews
### North Central

The 1946 North Central Cardinals football team represented North Central College of Naperville, Illinois, during the 1946 college football season. In their first season under head coach Herb Heilman, the Cardinals compiled a 7–1 record, won the CCI championship, and outscored opponents by a total of 148 to 22. The Cardinals' sole loss was by a 10-7 score against Lake Forest. It was North Central's first conference championship in 29 years.
| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
| September 28 | Illinois Wesleyan | Naperville, IL | W 17–0 | |
| October 5 | at James Millikin | Decatur, IL | W 7–6 | 3,000 |
| October 12 | Illinois College | Naperville, IL | W 39–0 | |
| October 19 | at Lake Forest | Farwell FieldLake Forest, IL | L 7–10 | |
| October 26 | at Carthage | Carthage, IL | W 40–0 | |
| November 2 | at Wheaton | Lauson FieldWheaton, IL | W 7–0 | 2,500 |
| November 9 | Augustana | Naperville, IL | W 18–0 | 3,500 |
| November 16 | at Elmhurt | Elmhurst, IL | W 13–6 | |

### Wheaton

The 1946 Wheaton Crusaders football team represented Wheaton College of Wheaton, Illinois, in the College Conference of Illinois during the 1946 college football season. In their third non-consecutive year under head coach Harvey Chrouser, the Crusaders compiled a 6–2 record (3–1 against CCI opponents), tied for second place in the CCI, and outscored opponent by a total of 146 to 33.
| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
| September 28 | Concordia* | | W 31–6 | |
| October 5 | Western Illinois* | Wheaton, IL | W 6–0 | |
| October 12 | at Northern Illinois* | DeKalb, IL | L 0–20 | |
| October 19 | Elmhurst | Wheaton, IL | W 27–0 | 3,000 |
| October 26 | Lake Forest | Wheaton, IL | W 31–0 | |
| November 2 | North Central | Lauson FieldWheaton, IL | L 0–7 | |
| November 9 | Loras* | | W 26–0 | |
| November 16 | at Carthage | Carthage, IL | W 25–0 | |
| *Non-conference game ||||||

### Illinois Wesleyan

| Date | Opponent | Site | Result |
| September 28 | at North Central | Naperville, IL | L 0–17 |
| October 5 | Evansville* | Memorial StadiumBloomington, IL | L 6–20 |
| October 12 | James Millikin | Bloomington, IL | W 12–7 |
| October 18 | at Northern Illinois* | Glidden FieldDeKalb, IL | L 0–20 |
| October 26 | Augustana | Bloomington, IL | W 25–13 |
| November 2 | at Arkansas State* | Kays StadiumJonesboro, AR | L 0–20 |
| November 9 | at Illinois College | Jacksoville, IL | W 13–7 |
| November 16 | Illinois State Normal | Bloomington, IL | L 0–7 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecoming |||||

### Lake Forest

| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
| October 12 | Elmhurst | Lake Forest, IL | W 20–12 | |
| October 19 | North Central | Farwell FieldLake Forest, IL | W 10–7 | |
| October 26 | at Wheaton | Wheaton, IL | L 0–31 | |
| November 2 | Carroll* | Lake Forest, IL | L 0–34 | 2,500 |
| November 9 | Wabash* | Crawfordsville, IN | L 0–20 | |
| November 16 | James Millikin | Lake Forest, IL | W 20-0 | |
| *Non-conference gameHomecoming ||||||

### Augustana

| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
| September 28 | Coe* | Rock Island, IL | L 6–7 | |
| October 5 | Carthage | Rock Island, IL | W 13–0 | |
| October 12 | St. Ambrose* | Rock Island High SchoolRock Island, IL | L 0–19 | 3,500 |
| October 19 | at Knox* | Galesburg, IL | L 0–7 | |
| October 26 | at Illinois Wesleyan | Bloomington, IL | L 13–25 | |
| November 2 | at Monmouth* | Monmouth, IL | W 20–13 | |
| November 9 | at North Central | Naperville, IL | L 0–18 | |
| November 16 | Illinois College | Rock Island, IL | W 13–0 | |
| *Non-conference gameHomecoming ||||||

### Millikin

| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
| October 5 | North Central | Decatur, IL | L 6–7 | 3,000 |
| October 12 | at Illinois Wesleyan | Bloomington, IL | L 7–12 | |
| October 19 | at Eastern Illinois | Charleston, IL | L 0–7 | |
| October 26 | Illinois College | | W 27–0 | 3,500 |
| November 2 | Illinois State Normal | McCormick FieldNormal, IL | L 0–20 | |
| November 9 | Western Illinois | | W 13–7 | |
| November 16 | at Lake Forest | Lake Forest, IL | L 0–20 | |
| November 23 | Northern Illinois | Decatur, IL | L 0–20 | |
| Homecoming ||||||

### Illinois College

| Date | Opponent | Site | Result |
| September 29 | Western Illinois* | | L 6–21 |
| October 4 | Quincy* | Jacksonville, IL | W 21–14 |
| October 12 | at North Central | Naperville, IL | L 0–39 |
| October 19 | Shurtleff | Jackonville, IL | T 0–0 |
| October 26 | at James Millikin | Decatur, IL | L 0–27 |
| November 2 | Elmhurst | Jacksonville, IL | W 26–6 |
| November 9 | Illinois Wesleyan | Jackonville, IL | L 7–13 |
| November 16 | at Augustana | Rock Island, IL | L 0–13 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecoming ||||||

### Elmhurst

| Date | Opponent | Site | Result |
| September 28 | Northern Illinois | Elmhurst, IL | L 6–49 |
| October 5 | at Concordia | River Forest, IL | L 13–27 |
| October 12 | at Lake Forest | Lake Forest, IL | L 12–20 |
| October 19 | at Wheaton | Wheaton, IL | L 0–27 |
| October 26 | Concordia | Elmhurst, IL | W 18–0 |
| November 2 | at Illinois College | Jacksonville, IL | L 6–26 |
| November 9 | Carthage | Elmhurst, IL | W 27–0 |
| November 16 | North Central | Elmhurst, IL | L 6–13 |

### Carthage

| Date | Opponent | Site | Result |
| September 28 | at Wartburg* | Waverly, IA | L 7–32 |
| October 5 | at Augustana | Rock Island, IL | L 0–13 |
| October 12 | Eureka | Carthage, IL | T 7–7 |
| October 19 | at Monmouth* | Monmouth, IL | L 0–28 |
| October 26 | North Central | Carthage, IL | L 0–40 |
| November 2 | Culver-Stockton | | L 0–6 |
| November 9 | at Elmhurst | Elmhurst, IL | L 0–27 |
| November 16 | Wheaton | Carthage, IL | L 0–25 |
| *Non-conference game ||||||