The Central Illinois Collegiate League ( CICL ) was a collegiate wooden bat summer baseball league. It was composed of five teams from Illinois and Indiana . The CICL was founded in 1963 as a charter member of National Collegiate Athletic Association certified summer baseball. Although the NCAA dropped Summer baseball program in 2005, The CICL is one of ten summer collegiate baseball leagues affiliated with the National Association of Summer Collegiate Baseball (NASCB), which now takes over the duties of the NCAA and follows all NCAA requirements. The league was also is one of four summer college baseball leagues supported by Major League Baseball .
29-616: The Springfield Sliders ran away with the CICL's final Championship Title. The Sliders won the First Half, Regular Season and Playoff Championship. The 2008 season was the inaugural season for the Sliders and the final season of the CICL. On November 11, 2008, the CICL announced it was merging with the Prospect League . The Hannibal Cavemen were set to join the CICL for the 2009 season, but joined
58-782: A 2-division format after having 3 divisions in 2010. Richmond was moved to the six-team Eastern Division, while Danville, Nashville, Terre Haute, and Dubois County were moved to the eight-team Western Division. Before the 2012 season, the Nashville Outlaws folded, and the DeKalb County Liners left the league to join the Midwest Collegiate League , leaving the Prospect League with twelve teams in two, six-team divisions. The 2012 schedule consisted of 60 games with no "cross-over" games; with all games played among teams from
87-479: A one-game play-in for the right to go to the Championship Game. Championship Series held at Chillicothe, Ohio . Teams in italics qualified for that season's playoffs as a wild card entry under that particular season's playoff format. 2011: 56-game schedule divided in two halves. Winners from each half in each division faced each other in a one-game playoff (home field to team winning the first half). Where
116-408: A one-game playoff (home field to team with best overall record). Where the same team won both halves in a division, the team with the next-best overall record from that division was declared the wild card. Championship Series was a two-game affair with the divisional playoff winner with the best overall record receiving a bye into the Championship Game. The remaining two divisional playoff winners met in
145-635: Is a collegiate summer baseball league consisting of teams in Indiana. It was named the Midwest Collegiate League (MCL) from 2010 to 2021. Formed in 2010, as a four-team summer collegiate wood bat league, MCL played their first season in the summer of 2011. The original four members were the Chicago Zephyrs, Rockford Foresters, Southland Vikings and Will County CrackerJacks. Teams play a 45 game schedule with league playoffs. The league all-star game
174-867: Is described on the pages listed at Northern League . For the 2023 season, the Joliet Generals relocated from Illinois to Griffith, Indiana as the Griffith Generals; the Crestwood Panthers moved to Highland, Indiana as the Indiana Panthers; and the Chicago American Giants were replaced by the Elkhart County Miracle in Nappanee, Indiana . With these changes, all of the league's teams are located in Indiana. Championship series are
203-513: Is played sometime around mid-season. The league expanded to eight teams for their second season in 2012, with the addition of the DeKalb County Liners, DuPage County Hounds, Illinois Lincolns and Northwest Indiana Oilmen. Two of the teams (Illinois and Will County) failed to complete the season schedule. Six teams made up the 2013 season as the league welcomed the Lexington Snipes, replacing DeKalb County. MCL stayed steady with six teams with
232-678: The Butler BlueSox , and Duke Ward, former owner of the Frontier League's Richmond Roosters worked with the ownership of the CICL to form the Prospect League. The Prospect League began its inaugural season in summer 2009 with the original CICL teams forming the Western Division. Five expansion teams formed the Eastern Division. Three of the Eastern Division teams began play in markets previously served by Frontier League teams. Besides
261-624: The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) summer collegiate baseball program. The league existed under NCAA rules and guidance for 41 years. In 2005, the NCAA ended its official association with summer collegiate baseball; however, the CICL continued to preserve the amateur status of its member athletes by abiding by the rules and regulations of the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball (NACSB). In 2009,
290-784: The West Virginia Miners ( Beckley, West Virginia ), the DeKalb County Liners ( Sycamore, Illinois ), and the Nashville Outlaws ( Nashville, Tennessee ). Due to a change in team ownership in 2010, the North Coast Knights became the Lorain County Ironmen. In 2011 the DuPage Dragons franchise folded after five years with the CICL (2006–08) and Prospect League (2009–10). As a result, the league returned to
319-558: The CICL planned to expand to six teams by adding the Hannibal Cavemen , but in winter 2008, the league ownership voted against further expansion. Dr. Chris Hanners, owner of the Chillicothe franchise and one of the founders of the independent professional Frontier League , wanted to keep a Paints baseball team in Chillicothe. Dr. Hanners, Leo Trich , former Frontier league director of development; General Manager and majority owner of
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#1732852102988348-699: The Cape Catfish, DuPage Pistol Shrimp, Hannibal Hoots , Normal CornBelters, Quincy Gems and the Springfield Sliders . The East Division consisted of the Champion City Kings , Chillicothe Paints , Danville Dans , Lafayette Aviators , Terre Haute REX and the West Virginia Miners . On May 29, 2020, the Prospect League announced cancellation of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic . In January 2020,
377-685: The Chillicothe Paints, the Richmond RiverRats ( Richmond, Indiana ) played in the previous home of the Frontier League's Richmond Roosters, which are now the Traverse City Beach Bums . The Slippery Rock Sliders ( Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania ) played in the previous home of the Frontier League team of the same name . In 2010, the Prospect League expanded adding four new franchises: the Terre Haute Rex ( Terre Haute, Indiana ),
406-464: The Division Series. Each division champion plays in the best-of-three Prospect League Championship Series. Game one is held at the home of the team representing the division that lost that year's All-Star Game. Games two and three (if necessary) are held at the home of the team representing the division that won that year's All-Star Game. 2017–present: After a 60-game schedule, the top two teams in
435-531: The East Division and the West Division play each other in the first round in a best of 3 series with the first place teams getting home field advantage. The winner of the East Division and West Division series face off in a best-of-three Prospect League Championship series with the team with the best record getting home field advantage. Northern League (collegiate summer baseball) The Northern League
464-630: The Jamestown Jammers moved to the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League after just one season in the Prospect League. The league stayed at 12 total teams for the 2016 season by adding the new Lafayette Aviators ( Lafayette, Indiana ) and DuPage Drones ( Lisle, Illinois ). For the 2017 season, the league contracted to 10 teams, as the Hannibal Cavemen and DuPage Drones both ceased operation. Hannibal reentered
493-647: The Michigan City Lakers before the 2017 season. Before the 2018 season, the Joliet Admirals became the Joliet Generals. During the 2020 season, the MCL Minutemen made their debut and stayed in the league for two seasons. After the 2021 season, the Midwest Collegiate League rebranded itself to the Northern League. The Northern League was a name used by several baseball leagues between 1902 and 2010 as
522-514: The Prospect League along with the rest of the CICL roster. This is a list of some players that played in the Central Illinois Collegiate League: A list of all players that have made appearances on major league ballclubs can be accessed on the CICL website. Prospect League The Prospect League is a collegiate summer baseball league comprising teams of college players from North America and beyond. All players in
551-715: The West Virginia Miners would be dormant for the 2023 season. In September 2023, the Dubois County Bombers announced they will rejoin the Prospect League for the 2024 season playing their home games at the historic League Stadium . Charter members: Butler BlueSox, Champion City Kings (as the Slippery Rock Sliders), Chillicothe Paints, Danville Dans, DuPage Dragons, Hannibal Cavemen, Richmond RiverRats, Springfield Sliders, Quincy Gems The Cape Catfish , DuPage Pistol Shrimp and Normal CornBelters joined
580-477: The addition of the Joliet Admirals (2014) and Michigan City Lakers (2015) replacing two teams (Rockford in 2014; Chicago in 2015) who ceased operations. Before the 2016 season, the Lexington Snipes announced that they would sit out the season. The league continued with six teams with the addition of the Bloomington Bobcats. The Crestwood Panthers, the newest team in the Midwest Collegiate League, replaced
609-526: The first-half champions in each division. If the same team wins both halves, the team with the best overall record from that division will be declared the wild card. Winners of each divisional playoff game will meet in a best-of-three Championship Series, with home advantage given to the division that wins the annual All-Star Game (to be held in Butler, PA). Game One of the Championship Series will be played at
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#1732852102988638-535: The home field of the team from the losing division at the All-Star Game, with Game Two and Game Three (if necessary) held at the home field of the team from the winning division at the All-Star Game. 2013–2016: 60-game schedule divided into two halves. Winners from each half in each division to face each other in a best-of-three with game one being held at second-half winner and games two and three (if necessary) at home of first-half winner. There are no travel days in
667-647: The league announced adding a new team in Alton, Illinois for the 2021 season. In September 2020, the league announced adding a new team in Johnstown, Pennsylvania for the 2021 season. In February 2021, the league announced the addition of two new teams in Iowa, the Clinton LumberKings and Burlington Bees . Both teams are former Midwest League teams displaced in the 2021 realignment of the minor leagues . In December 2021,
696-715: The league announced the addition of the Jackson Rockabillys for the 2023 season, playing home games in Jackson, Tennessee at West Tennessee Baseball Stadium (formerly known as The Ballpark at Jackson ). In August 2022, the league announced that a Southern Illinois team would begin play in 2023 at Rent One Park in Marion, Illinois ; in February 2023, the team was named the Thrillville Thrillbillies. The league announced that
725-948: The league for the 2018 season as the Hannibal Hoots . The league returned to a twelve team league for the 2019 season with the addition of the Cape Catfish in Cape Girardeau, Missouri , the departure of the Kokomo Jackrabbits to the Northwoods League , the addition of the Normal CornBelters from the Frontier League and the addition of the DuPage Pistol Shrimp in Lisle, Illinois . The 2019 league featured two divisions, each with six teams. The West Division consisted of
754-515: The league in the 2019, replacing the Kokomo Jackrabbits , who left for the Northwoods League , and the Butler BlueSox , who suspended operations. 2009: After 56-game schedule, teams with best record in each division faced each other in a best-of-three series for the Championship. 2010: 56-game schedule divided in two halves. Winners from each half in each division faced each other in
783-477: The league must have NCAA eligibility remaining in order to participate. So as to maintain their college eligibility, players are not paid. Beginning in 2012, the league added four games to the season, making a total of 60 games per team (30 home and 30 road). In 1963, the Central Illinois Collegiate League (CICL), the precursor league to the Prospect League, was formed as a charter member of
812-554: The same division only. The only time teams from opposite divisions meet is in the Championship Series. For the 2015 season, the league added its easternmost team yet, the Jamestown Jammers ( Jamestown, New York ). The Kokomo Jackrabbits ( Kokomo, Indiana ) were also added to the league to play in the new Kokomo Municipal Stadium , set to open for the 2015 season. After the 2015 season, the Richmond RiverRats folded, and
841-422: The same team won both halves in a division, the team with the next-best overall record from that division was declared the wild card. Divisional playoff winners met in one-game playoff with home field awarded to the team with the best overall record from the regular season. 2012: 60-game schedule divided in two halves. Winners from each half in each division to face each other in a one-game playoff to be hosted by
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