Coaches Poll
Current Coaches Polls | |
---|---|
FBS football | 2023 season |
FCS football | 2023 season |
Div I men's basketball | 2023–24 season |
Div I women's basketball | 2023–24 season |
Div I baseball | 2023 season |
The Coaches Poll is a weekly ranking of the top 25
The football rankings are compiled by the US LBM Board of Coaches which is made up of 62 head coaches at Division I FBS institutions.[1] All coaches are members of the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). The basketball rankings are compiled by the USA Today Sports Board of Coaches which is made up of 32 head coaches at Division I institutions.[2] All are members of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). The baseball rankings are compiled by the USA Today Sports Board of Coaches which is made up of 31 head coaches at Division I institutions. All are members of the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA).
The football Coaches Poll was an element of the
History
The Coaches Poll began selecting the "Top 20" teams on a weekly basis during the 1950-1951 college football and basketball seasons. For the 1990-1991 football and basketball seasons, the poll expanded to a "Top 25," and it has retained this format since. It was initially published by United Press – known from 1958 as United Press International (UPI) – from 1950 thru 1990, followed by USA Today/CNN from 1991 thru 1996, USA Today/ESPN from 1997 to 2004, and USA Today from 2005 to the present.
In February 2014, Amway was announced as the title sponsor of the college football Coaches Poll, which became known officially as the Amway Coaches Poll.[3] The basketball and baseball polls were not sponsored by Amway and did not adopt this name. In August 2023, US LBM, a distributor of specialty building materials, became the football poll's new title sponsor in a deal that will run through at least the 2026 season.[4]
College football
Year-by-year final Coaches poll football champions
Through the
Although the coaches' football poll has generally been in accord with the
The change to the January final poll was well-timed as the top-ranked team in the UPI coaches poll lost its bowl game five more times in the 1970s: in 1974 (Alabama), 1975 (Ohio State), 1977 (Texas), 1978 (Penn State), and 1979 (Ohio State). The sole exception was undefeated Pittsburgh in 1976.
Since the 1974 season, teams on probation are not recognized in the poll of coaches while the AP permits their inclusion. That year, Oklahoma was serving a second year of probation, went undefeated, and were AP champions; they were unlisted in the UPI coaches' poll, whose champion was USC.
The UPI Trophy, known as the "UPI Cup", was awarded to the Coaches Poll winner prior to the introduction of the
Starting in 1991, USA Today / CNN took over operation of the Coaches Poll from UPI and awarded the Coaches' Trophy.
The team that finishes first in the coaches' poll is currently awarded with the
The Coaches Poll has come under criticism for being inaccurate, with some of the charges being that coaches are biased towards their own teams and conferences, that coaches don't actually complete their own ballots, and that coaches are unfamiliar with even the basics, such as whether a team is undefeated or not, about teams they are voting on.[7][8] In 2012, USC Trojans coach Lane Kiffin resigned as a voter after just one vote amidst controversy over his preseason selection of his school as No. 1. Kiffin told reporters, "I would not vote USC No. 1, I can tell you that much." However, USA Today, citing the need to "protect the poll's integrity", revealed that Kiffin had voted his team for the top spot. Kiffin apologized and explained that his comments were from the perspective of an opposing coach voting for USC.[9]
The American Football Coaches Association began publishing a Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll in 2000 and a Division III Top 25 Coaches' Poll in 1999. Before this poll, regional rankings were used instead.[10]
College basketball
Beginning in 1992–93, USA Today and CNN took over publishing the coaches' basketball poll for UPI. Beginning in the 1993–94 basketball season, the Coaches Poll began publishing its final poll after the
College baseball
USA Today and ESPN also publish a top 25 college baseball poll for NCAA Division I baseball, known as the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 coaches' baseball poll. The poll began in 1992.[11] The poll appears in the preseason, then begins weekly after week 2 of the season through the end of conference tournaments. A final poll is released after the conclusion of the College World Series.
See also
- AP Poll
- Mythical National Championship
- College football national championships in NCAA Division I FBS
- Dickinson System
- FWAA-NFF Grantland Rice Super 16 Poll
- Harris Interactive College Football Poll
- List of NCAA college football rankings
- NAIA Coaches' Poll
References
- ^ "Amway Top 25 Coaches Poll". USA Today. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
- ^ "Men's Basketball Coaches Poll". USA Today Sports. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
- ^ "Amway Coaches Poll to go live for 2014 college football season". USA Today. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
- ^ Meyerburg, Paul (August 30, 2023). "US LBM is the new sponsor of college football's coaches poll". USA Today. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
- ^ Written at Syracuse, New York. "UPI Trophy Given to Syracuse". Madera Tribune. Vol. 68, no. 154. Madera, California. United Press International. December 17, 1959. p. 5. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
The United Press International Trophy, emblematic of the 1959 national collegiate football championship, was formally presented to Syracuse University Wednesday night. Leo H. Petersen, UPI sports editor, presented the trophy to Syracuse Coach Floyd Ben Schwartzwalder as the highlight of an annual banquet tendered the team and its coaches by the Varsity and Touchdown Clubs of Syracuse University. Known as the "UPI Cup," the huge trophy is awarded each year to the team chosen best in the nation.
- ^ "FBS coaches poll will continue every week despite BCS going away". Associated Press. January 13, 2013. Retrieved January 28, 2014.
- ^ Epps, Darren (9 December 2008). "As always, coaches poll shows biases". Chattanooga Times Free Press. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 9 December 2008.
- ^ Volin, Ben (9 December 2008). "Coaches Make a Mockery of Their Poll". Palm Beach Post. Retrieved 9 December 2008.
- ^ Moura, Pedro (August 13, 2012). "Lane Kiffin relinquishes voting duty". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on August 17, 2012. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
- ^ "American Football Coaches Association Coaches Poll". American Football Coaches Association Coaches Poll. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ^ "USA TODAY/ESPN Top 25 coaches' baseball poll". USA Today. 2011-03-28.