2002 NAIA football rankings
| Increase in ranking | ||
| Decrease in ranking | ||
| Not ranked previous week | ||
*
|
NAIA National Champion | |
| т | Tied with team above or below also with this symbol |
One human poll made up the 2002
Poll release dates
The poll release dates were:
- August 20, 2002 (Preseason)
- September 10, 2002 (Week 1)
- September 17, 2002 (Week 2)
- September 24, 2002 (Week 3)
- October 1, 2002 (Week 4)
- October 8, 2002 (Week 5)
- October 15, 2002 (Week 6)
- October 22, 2002 (Week 7)
- October 29, 2002 (Week 8)
- November 5, 2002 (Week 9)
- November 12, 2002 (Week 10)
- November 17, 2002 (Final)
- January 12, 2003 (Postseason)
Week by week poll
| Week 0-Preseason Aug 20 | Week Poll 1 Sep 10 | Week Poll 2 Sep 17 | Week Poll 3 Sep 24 | Week Poll 4 Oct 01 | Week Poll 5 Oct 08 | Week Poll 6 Oct 15 | Week Poll 7 Oct 22 | Week Poll 8 Oct 29 | Week Poll 9 Nov 05 | Week Poll 10 Nov 12 | Week Final Nov 17 | Week Postseason Jan 17 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Northwestern (MN) | 25. | ||||||||||||
| Week 0-Preseason Aug 20 | Week Poll 1 Sep 10 | Week Poll 2 Sep 17 | Week Poll 3 Sep 24 | Week Poll 4 Oct 01 | Week Poll 5 Oct 08 | Week Poll 6 Oct 15 | Week Poll 7 Oct 22 | Week Poll 8 Oct 29 | Week Poll 9 Nov 05 | Week Poll 10 Nov 12 | Week Final Nov 17 | Week Postseason Jan 17 | ||
Dropped:
| Dropped:
| Dropped:
| Dropped:
| Dropped:
| Dropped:
| Dropped:
| Dropped:
| Dropped:
| Dropped:
| Dropped: Lambuth (TN) | Dropped: Valley City State (ND) |
Leading vote-getters
Since the inception of the Coaches' Poll in 1999, the #1 ranking in the various weekly polls has been held by only a select group of teams. Through the postseason poll of the 2002 season, the teams and the number of times they have held the #1 weekly ranking are shown below. The number of times a team has been ranked #1 in the postseason poll (the national champion) is shown in parentheses.
In 1999, the results of a postseason poll, if one was conducted, are not known. Therefore, an additional poll has been presumed, and the #1 postseason ranking has been credited to the postseason tournament champion, the Northwestern Oklahoma State Rangers.
| Team | Total #1 Rankings |
|---|---|
| Georgetown (KY) | 23 (2) |
Northwestern Oklahoma State |
12 (1) |
Sioux Falls (SD) |
10 |
| Azusa Pacific (CA) | 3 |
| Carroll (MT) | 1 (1) |