D-I Week One Outdoor Rankings: No Change to Number Ones, LSU Women Move to No. 2

NEW ORLEANS – The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) released week one national computer rankings for NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field on Tuesday. Florida’s men and Texas A&M’s women remain in the top spots, a place both teams held in the preseason. The LSU women took over the No. 2 spot from Oregon who moved down to No. 3.

Clemson’s women are making their first-ever apperance (since rankings began in 2008) in the national outdoor top five. Arizona’s women are in the national outdoor top ten for the first time since rankings began as well.

PDFs: Top 25 | Full by Team | Event-by-Event | Week-by-Week
Previous Rankings | Rankings Guidelines & Rationale
Regional Index Top 15

About the Rankings
For more on the rankings and links to guideline and rationale information visit …
http://www.ustfccca.org/rankings/division-i-rankings

The purpose and methodology of the national team computer rankings is to create an index that showcases the teams that have the best potential of achieving the top spots in the national-title race – not as a method to compare teams head-to-head.

The Regional Index is determined using a similar method as national rankings, but on a smaller scale, comparing teams versus others within the same region. The result is a ranking that showcases squads with better all-around team potential — a group makeup critical for conference or similar team-scored events. A team may achieve a better regional ranking than a counterpart that has a better national ranking. Historically, some teams are better national-championship teams than conference-championship teams, having a few elite athletes that score very well in a diverse environment where teams do not have entries in more than a few events. Some teams are better at conference championships or similar team-scored events where they enter, and are competitive, in many of the events.

How a team fares in a national championship, conference championship, or scored meet with only a couple or few teams (like a dual or triangular) can be very different, given the number of events, competition, scoring, and makeup of entries — thus the rationale behind each of the ranking systems. Similar arguments about team makeup and rankings can also be found in swimming & diving and wrestling as their sports also have a similar trichotomy when it comes to team theory.