Team Rankings Shuffle A Bit After Weekend in D-I

NEW ORLEANS – The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) released week five national computer rankings for NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field on Tuesday. After much grumbling in the top 25 a week ago, the top five remained mostly unchanged this week as Texas A&M’s men and LSU’s women retain their leads. However, in-state rivals Florida and Florida State flipped places as they are now, Nos. 3 and 4, respectively in the men’s rankings.

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

Nebraska’s men reached their season-high with a No. 8 ranking while Oklahoma jumped seven spots to No. 14, their best of the 2011 outdoor campaign. No. 25 New Mexico moved into the top 25 for the first time this outdoor season. After hosting their home Payton Jordan Invitational, Stanford moved up 12 spots to No. 23, inching closer back to their highmark of the season of No. 7 claimed in the preseason rankings.

On the women’s side, Arkansas moved back into the top ten at No. 8. Kansas State rocketed up nine spots to No. 16 after appearing in the top 25 for the first time this season last week.

About the Rankings
For more on the rankings and links to guideline and rationale information visit …
/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.