NAPERVILLE, Ill. – The Milwaukee School of Engineering will expand its associate membership in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) when the institution joins the conference in women's wrestling beginning in 2024-25, according to a Friday announcement from the league office.
 
MSOE, which has been an associate member of the CCIW in men's wrestling since 2016-17, will become the league's seventh member in women's wrestling and join Aurora as an associate member. MSOE officially added women's wrestling with an announcement on Nov. 2, 2023 as the Raiders' 28th varsity sport. Mike Schmidt, who has been the Raiders' men's wrestling head coach since 2018, was selected last fall to also lead the women's program.
 
"We are excited to add Milwaukee School of Engineering as an associate member in women's wrestling," CCIW Executive Director Maureen Harty said. "They have been a good partner in men's wrestling for many years. The CCIW is committed to growing the sport of women's wrestling at the Division III level and this bolsters that commitment."
 
The CCIW will begin its third year sponsoring women's wrestling in 2024-25 after becoming the first Division III conference to host a conference championship in the sport in 2022-23. Women's wrestling was selected for the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program on August 1, 2020. 
 
"We are thrilled to join the CCIW for women's wrestling," MSOE Director of Athletics Bill Massoels remarked. "The CCIW as a whole is one of the top conferences in all of Division III and in being with them for men's wrestling since the 2016-17 season, it seemed obvious that the fit was there for women's wrestling as well."
 
The addition of MSOE marks the third time the conference membership has grown in women's wrestling since November 2022. Illinois Wesleyan recently completed its first year of competition in 2023-24 and Elmhurst announced the launch of its women's wrestling program last month.

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