Wheaton College (Illinois)

==Athletics==
[[File:Wheaton_Thunder.jpg|thumb|The Wheaton Thunder football stadium, at Wheaton College.]]

Wheaton's athletic teams are the Thunder. The college is a member of the [[NCAA Division III|Division III]] level of the [[National Collegiate Athletic Association]] (NCAA), primarily competing in the [[College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin]] (CCIW) since the 1967–68 academic year; which they were a member on a previous stint from 1946–47 to 1959–60. The Thunder previously competed in the [[Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference|Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference]] (IIAC) from 1919–20 to 1936–37.

Wheaton competes in 19 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, and wrestling; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, and volleyball. Wheaton also competes in men's and women's collegiate rowing, lacrosse, and club soccer.

===Accomplishments===
The men's basketball team won the first NCAA Small College National Championship in 1958, defeating Kentucky Wesleyan in the finals, 89–65. The Wheaton men's soccer team captured the [[NCAA Men's Soccer Championship|NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship]] in 1984 and 1997, to go with runner-up finishes in 1999, 2006, and 2014. The women's soccer team won the [[NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship]] in 2004, 2006, and 2007. Wheaton athletes competed in [[basketball at the 1904 Summer Olympics]]. The 1967–68 women's basketball team finished their season undefeated in 11 games, including a victory over the University of Iowa.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://athletics.wheaton.edu/Pdfs/wbball/2007/12/3/WBBYearbook.pdf?path=wbball|title=Wheaton College Women's Basketball 2007–08 Media Guide|access-date=September 1, 2008|publisher=Wheaton College Sports Information}}</ref>

[[Gil Dodds (athlete)|Gil Dodds]] (MA '48), the one-time world record holder for the indoor mile, NCAA cross country champion, and three-time [[Wanamaker Mile]] champion, coached men's track & field at Wheaton in the late 1940s and 1950s.

===Football===
The school's [[college football|football]] team is coached by [[Mike Swider]], who has taken the team to the [[NCAA Division III Football Championship]] playoffs nine times.<ref>{{Cite web
 |last         = DeLassus
 |first        = David
 |title        = Wheaton Thunder Records By Year
 |publisher    = [[College Football Data Warehouse]]
 |url          = http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/div_iii/cciw/wheaton/coaching_records.php
 |access-date   = March 20, 2013
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20140729150035/http://cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/div_iii/cciw/wheaton/coaching_records.php
 |archive-date = July 29, 2014
 |url-status   = dead
 |df           = mdy-all
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://athletics.wheaton.edu/sports/2007/6/26/FB-YBY.aspx?id=46|title=Football year-by-year results|publisher=[[Wheaton Thunder]]|access-date=March 20, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130410000534/http://athletics.wheaton.edu/sports/2007/6/26/FB-YBY.aspx?id=46|archive-date=April 10, 2013|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

In 2008, [[Andrew Studebaker|Andy Studebaker]] was selected in the [[NFL Draft]] by the [[Philadelphia Eagles]]; he subsequently signed with the [[Kansas City Chiefs]].<ref>[https://archive.today/20120709060151/http://athletics.wheaton.edu/News/football/2008/11/17/andy-chiefs.asp?path=football "Wheaton College Athletics"]. Wheaton College.</ref>

===Rowing===
Wheaton College Crew is the official [[College rowing (United States)|collegiate rowing]] club of Wheaton College. Wheaton Crew was established in 1989 by a group of students, alumni, and donors competing with both men's and women's boats; both crews are members of the [[American Collegiate Rowing Association]] (ACRA) in the Great Lakes Region.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://americancollegiaterowing.com/members/greatlakes.html|title=American Collegiate Rowing Association|website=americancollegiaterowing.com|access-date=2019-01-09|archive-date=July 12, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100712235917/http://www.americancollegiaterowing.com/members/greatlakes.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Wheaton College Crew is registered as a club sport affiliated with Wheaton College Thunder Athletics.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wheaton.edu/life-at-wheaton/athletics/club-sports/crew/|title=Crew|website=Wheaton College|language=en|access-date=2019-01-09}}</ref> The club program is currently the highest level of competitive rowing offered at Wheaton College.

The crew team rows on the [[Fox River (Illinois River tributary)|Fox River]] from the dock of Fox Valley Christian Action's Riverwoods Campus<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fvchristianaction.org/rental/|title=» Guest Services|language=en-US|access-date=2019-01-09}}</ref> in [[St. Charles, Illinois]]. The Fox is shared with the St. Charles Rowing Club<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://saintcharlesrowing.com/|title=Home|website=saintcharlesrowing.com|access-date=2019-01-09}}</ref> (SCRC) on a residential, no-wake 7&nbsp;km stretch of river. While no boathouse has been established due to complications with Wheaton College, Wheaton Crew hosts land practices, ergometer training, and tryouts in the Chrouser Sports Complex<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wheaton.edu/life-at-wheaton/athletics/chrouser-sports-complex/|title=Chrouser Sports Complex|website=Wheaton College|language=en|access-date=2019-01-09}}</ref> on Wheaton's campus.

Wheaton Crew competes and trains for [[Head race|Head Races]] in the fall season and 2&nbsp;km sprints in the spring. Wheaton competes in regattas including the [[Head of the Hooch]], [[Head of the Charles Regatta]] and the John Hunter Regatta on [[Lake Lanier]]'s Olympic Park and the Illinois Collegiate Rowing Invitational in [[Farmer City, Illinois]]. It does not compete on Sunday in agreement with Wheaton College and Wheaton College Thunder regulations.

The Wheaton Crew Cheer is a long-standing oral tradition of Wheaton oarsmen at the launch of Wheaton boats at regattas. As a strictly oral tradition, this cheer cannot be written down for any purpose. Memorizing the cheer is a rite of passage for Wheaton rowers.

At the transition of captains, both the Men's and Women's captains are given the first flag and oar of Wheaton Crew as a symbol of power passing from one generation of Wheaton rowers to another. The team introduced the Golden Cox-Tool in 2017 as a similar relic for the Head Coxswain's transition.

The 1939 hymn "Victory in Jesus" is sung at the end of every Wheaton Crew racing event following Wheaton College's affiliations as an Evangelical Christian establishment.