Arkansas’ Men Moves to Division I’s No. 1, Oregon Women Hold Top By Wide Margin

NEW ORLEANS – The men’s team at Arkansas is the new No. 1 team in the country according to the latest National Computer Team Rankings released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). The Razorbacks – who were a very close No. 2 in the preseason rankings – took over the top spot from fellow SEC foe Florida who is the two-time defending national champions. Oregon’s women retain No. 1 for the 14th-consecutive week.

National Ranking PDFs: Top 25 | Full by Team | Event-by-Event | Week-by-Week
Regional Index PDFs:Top 15 by Region | Full by Team | Event-by-Event
Previous Rankings

Arkansas’ men were last ranked No. 1 on February 11, 2009 as part of a three-week tour at the top. The Razorbacks were able to eclipse the Gators in the latest ranking due in large part to the performance of freshman Andrew Irwin in the pole vault. The frosh has already leaped over the 18-foot mark (18-½, 5.50m), earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Indoor Championships.

Oregon’s women have mostly sat idle to begin the season, but their lead so far has been enough to hold off No. 2 LSU and No. 3 Arkansas.

The next round of computer rankings will be released on January 31. The 2012 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships will be held in Nampa, Idaho, on March 9-10.

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.