| Current Coaches Polls | |
|---|---|
| FBS football | 2024 season |
| FCS football | 2024 season |
| Div I men's basketball | 2023–24 season |
| Div I women's basketball | 2023–24 season |
| Div I baseball | 2024 season |
The Coaches Poll is a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football, Division I college basketball, and Division I college baseball teams. The football version of the poll has been known officially as the US LBM Coaches Poll since 2023.
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 Bowl Championship Series (BCS) rankings, a voting system used from 1998 to 2013 to determine the teams to play in the BCS National Championship Game.
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]
Through the 1973 season, the final Coaches Poll was released in early December, after the regular season, but before the bowl games. Beginning with the 1974 season, the Coaches Poll has conducted its final poll in January, after the bowl games.
Although the coaches' football poll has generally been in accord with the Associated Press (AP) Poll there have been years where the polls disagree. Eleven times – in 1954, 1957, 1965, 1970, 1973, 1974, 1978, 1990, 1991, 1997, and 2003 – the Coaches Poll has crowned a different national champion than the AP Poll, causing consternation among some college football fans. Until 1974, the final Coaches Poll was taken before the bowl games, while the final AP poll was taken after the bowls starting with the 1968 season (also in 1965, but not in 1966 or 1967). This was changed after the 1973 season, when Alabama was crowned as the Coaches Poll national champion in December, yet lost the Sugar Bowl to Notre Dame on New Year's Eve. The same situation occurred in 1970, when No. 5 Notre Dame beat No. 1 Texas 24–11 in the Cotton Bowl and Nebraska won the Associated Press national title. In the preceding decade, the UPI coaches poll national champion lost its bowl game three times: 1960 (Minnesota), 1964 (Alabama), and 1965 (Michigan State).
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 Coaches' Trophy in 1986. [5]
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 AFCA National Championship Trophy—from its inception through 2014, the winner of the BCS National Championship Game and its precursors was contractually named the #1 team on the Coaches Poll, and awarded the trophy in a post-game presentation. With the replacement of the BCS by the College Football Playoff in 2014, the trophy will still be awarded, but in a separate ceremony some time following the College Football Playoff National Championship (which chose to award its own trophy), and the Coaches' Poll is no longer obligated to name the winner of the game as its post-season #1. [6]
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]
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 NCAA basketball tournament. From the 1993 to 1997 seasons, the poll was co-sponsored by USA Today, Cable News Network, and the NABC. Finally, in 1997–98, ESPN joined as a co-sponsor of the Coaches Poll along with USA Today and the NABC where selected NABC members serve as the voting block for the poll. ESPN retains its involvement in the basketball poll despite no longer being involved in the football poll.
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.
The USC Trojans football program represents the University of Southern California in the sport of American football. The Trojans compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Big Ten Conference.
The BCS National Championship Game, or BCS National Championship, was a postseason college football bowl game, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), first played in the 1998 college football season as one of four designated bowl games, and beginning in the 2006 season as a standalone event rotated among the host sites of the aforementioned bowls.
The Associated Press poll provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadcasters from across the nation. Each voter provides their own ranking of the top 25 teams, and the individual rankings are then combined to produce the national ranking by giving a team 25 points for a first place vote, 24 for a second place vote, and so on down to 1 point for a twenty-fifth place vote. Ballots of the voting members in the AP poll are publicized.
The 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with an abundance of controversy, resulting in the claim of a split national championship. This was the first claimed split title since the inception of the BCS, something the BCS intended to eliminate. Due to on-field circumstances, the BCS becoming a means of having a single champion going forward, and finally the four-team title playoff system's institution in 2014, as of 2024 this is the most recent Division 1-A season to end with split national champions.
Three human polls and one formulaic ranking make up the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings, in addition to various publications' preseason polls. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a National Championship title. That title is bestowed by one or more of four different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason: the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll. About halfway through the season, two additional polls are released, the Harris Interactive Poll and the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) standings. The Harris Poll and Coaches Poll are factors in the BCS standings. At the end of the season, the BCS standings determine who plays in the BCS bowl games as well as the BCS National Championship Game.
The Coaches' Trophy is the trophy awarded annually by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) to the NCAA Division I FBS college football national champion as determined by the Coaches Poll. The trophy has been presented since 1986 and was contractually given to the winner of the BCS National Championship Game and its predecessors from 1992 to 2013. It will continue to be awarded to the No. 1 ranked team in the final poll of the season.
Three polls and one formulaic ranking make up the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings, in addition to various publications' preseason polls. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship title. That title is bestowed by one or more of four different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason: the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll. About halfway through the season, two additional polls are released, the Harris Interactive Poll and the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) standings. The Harris Poll and Coaches Poll are factors in the BCS standings. At the end of the season, the BCS standings determine who plays in the BCS bowl games as well as the BCS National Championship Game.
The 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
A national championship in the highest level of college football in the United States, currently the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), is a designation awarded annually by various organizations to their selection of the best college football team. Division I FBS football is the only National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sport for which the NCAA does not host a yearly championship event. As such, it is sometimes referred to as a "mythical national championship".
Three human polls and one formula ranking make up the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings, in addition to various publications' preseason polls. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship title. That title is bestowed by one or more of four different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason: the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll. Two additional polls are released midway through the season; the Harris Interactive Poll is released after the fourth week of the season and the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) standings is released after the seventh week. The Harris Poll and Coaches Poll are factors in the BCS standings. At the end of the season, on Sunday, December 6, 2009, the BCS standings determines who plays in the BCS bowl games as well as the 2010 BCS National Championship Game on January 7, 2010 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA.
Three human polls and one formula ranking make up the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings, in addition to various publications' preseason polls. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship title. That title is bestowed by one or more of four different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll. Two additional polls are released midway through the season; the Harris Interactive Poll is released after the sixth week of the season, and the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) standings are released after the seventh week. The Harris Poll and Coaches Poll are factors in the BCS standings. At the end of the regular season, on December 2, 2012, the BCS standings determined who would play in the BCS bowl games as well as the 2013 BCS National Championship Game on January 7, 2013, at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
The College Football Playoff (CFP) is an annual postseason knockout invitational tournament to determine a national champion for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the highest level of college football competition in the United States. It culminates in the College Football Playoff National Championship game. The inaugural tournament was held at the end of the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season under a four-team format. The CFP Board of Managers voted in 2023 to expand the playoff to twelve teams beginning in 2024, an arrangement that will last at least through the end of the 2025 season. After 2025, the current contract between all major players expires and a new contract will be drawn up, with indications that additional expansion may take place as soon as 2026.
Three human polls and one formula ranking made up the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings, in addition to various publications' preseason polls. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship title. That title is bestowed by one or more of four different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll. Two additional polls were released midway through the season; the Harris Interactive Poll was released after the sixth week of the season, and the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) standings were released after the seventh week. The Harris Poll and Coaches Poll were factors in the BCS standings. At the end of the season, on Sunday, December 1, 2013, the BCS standings determined who played in the BCS bowl games as well as the 2014 BCS National Championship Game on January 6, 2014, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
Two human polls and a committee's selections comprise the 2019 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) football rankings, in addition to various publications' preseason polls. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll. One additional poll, the College Football Playoff (CFP) ranking, is released midway through the season after the ninth week. The CFP rankings determine who makes the four-team playoff which determines the College Football Playoff National Champion.
Two human polls and a committee's selections comprise the 2021 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) football rankings, in addition to various publications' preseason polls. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship at the FBS level. Instead, that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll. One additional poll, the College Football Playoff (CFP) ranking, is usually released starting midway through the season. The CFP rankings determine who makes the four-team playoff that determines the College Football Playoff National Champion.
Two human polls and a committee's selections comprise the 2022 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) football rankings, in addition to various publications' preseason polls. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship at the FBS level. Instead, that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll. One additional poll, the College Football Playoff (CFP) ranking, is usually released starting midway through the season. The CFP rankings determine who makes the four-team playoff that determines the College Football Playoff National Champion.
The 2023 Toledo Rockets football team represented the University of Toledo during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Rockets were led by eighth-year head coach Jason Candle and played their home games at the Glass Bowl in Toledo, Ohio. They competed as members of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The Rockets won the West with a perfect conference record. Their quarterback Dequan Finn won Player of the Year and coach Jason Candle won coach of the year. Miami defeated them in the MAC Championship Game with a 23–14 upset victory. They played Wyoming in the Arizona Bowl, where they lost 15–16.
The 2023 Mid-American Conference football season was the 78th season for the Mid-American Conference (MAC), as part of the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Non-conference play began with one game on August 26. Conference play began on September 23 and concluded with the MAC championship game on Saturday, December 2 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. Miami won the East division with a 7-1 conference record with their only loss coming against Toledo. Toledo won the West with a perfect conference record. Their quarterback Dequan Finn won Player of the Year and coach Jason Candle won coach of the year. On October 21, during the regular season game between the division winners, Miami quarterback Brett Gabbert suffered a season ending leg injury. In spite of that, Miami won their first MAC Championship since 2019 with a 23–14 upset victory in the MAC Championship Game.
The USA Today / CNN Top 25 football poll was a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football teams. The poll was published in the nascent national newspaper USA Today, which first launched in 1982, and was distributed on parent company Gannett's newswire. Starting in 1983 the poll took on CNN as a voting and broadcast partner.
Two human polls and a committee's selections comprise the 2023 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) football rankings, in addition to various publications' preseason polls. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship at the FBS level. Instead, that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll. One additional poll, the College Football Playoff (CFP) ranking, is usually released starting midway through the season. The CFP rankings determine who makes the four-team playoff that determines the College Football Playoff National Champion.
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.
