DI Rankings: NCAA Prelims This Weekend — Texas A&M, LSU Enter as No. 1
NEW ORLEANS – The NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championship will begin this weekend with preliminary rounds being held in Austin, Texas (west site) and Jacksonville, Fla. (east site), Thursday through Saturday. Based on entries for the championships, the latest USTFCCCA National Team Computer Rankings have been released and Texas A&M’s men and LSU’s women remain the No. 1 teams in the country. No. 8-ranked Arkansas has the most entries among men’s teams into the championships with 38, followed by No. 1 Texas A&M, No. 4 LSU, and No. 5 Texas with 31. On the women’s side, No. 5 Oregon leads with 32 entries into the postseason with No. 3 Clemson following with 28.
National Championship Central
NCAA Prelim Round Entries: MEN – West | East; WOMEN – West | East
Championship Entries: Leaders by Team | Leaders by Conference
Prelim Round Start Lists released Tuesday by 2pm ET: Official Info Site
National Ranking PDFs: Top 25 | Full by Team | Event-by-Event | Week-by-Week
More Info: All-Time Collegiate Top Ten
Previous Rankings
| Men’s Conference Index Top 10 |
| Rank |
Conference |
Points |
Top 25 Teams |
| 1 |
SEC |
1318.11 |
6 |
| 2 |
Big 12 |
1202.46 |
6 |
| 3 |
Big Ten |
1085.28 |
6 |
| 4 |
Pac-12 |
951.06 |
5 |
| 5 |
ACC |
631.35 |
2 |
| 6 |
Big East |
174.97 |
|
| 7 |
Ivy |
153.92 |
|
| 8 |
Southland |
141.65 |
|
| 9 |
Mountain West |
133.64 |
|
| 10 |
Missouri Valley |
113.54 |
|
| Women’s Conference Index Top 10 |
| Rank |
Conference |
Points |
Top 25 Teams |
| 1 |
Big 12 |
1378.34 |
7 |
| 2 |
Pac-12 |
1112.08 |
5 |
| 3 |
SEC |
1066.65 |
5 |
| 4 |
ACC |
571.56 |
2 |
| 5 |
Big Ten |
533.39 |
2 |
| 6 |
Big East |
493.07 |
1 |
| 7 |
Missouri Valley |
331.82 |
2 |
| 8 |
Conference USA |
317.06 |
1 |
| 9 |
Mountain West |
230.87 |
|
| 10 |
Big Sky |
94.95 |
|
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.
