Who is REALLY number one? Depending on who you ask that could be - on the women's side - Michigan, Virginia, Stanford or Georgia. When it comes to he men, things get a little clearer what with NC State leading three of the four major college swimming and diving rankings. (That said, SwimSwam's rankings are from October 27th, before the Wolfpack's smackdown of Texas).
In the spirit of college football's multiple polls, here's a comparison of the top four rankings of Division I college swimming and diving - the CSCAA Dual Meet Poll, USA Swimming's Top 16 Scoring, SwimSwam's Power Rankings and CollegeSwimming's own.
All told, thirty-one women's teams and thirty-one men's teams can lay claim to being ranked in the Top 25 - and we think that's a good thing. Each ranking surveyed has a different methedology to measure similar things. Critics will say that NCAA Championship finish is the "only ranking that matters" but it's just one benchmark to gauge teams against.
It is also a limiting benchmark that ignores the success of many, many other programs. Consider these observations. Since 2011:
- It takes a minimum of 16 individual qualifiers to win a NCAA title
- No team with 17 or fewer qualifiers has ever finished lower than second
- No team with 16 or fewer qualifiers has ever finished lower than fourth
- Only six teams have qualified at least 16 individuals
- A team with zero swimmers has finished as high as 13th
Put another way:
Teams with 16 or more qualifiers
- Win a NCAA title 50% of the time
- Win a trophy (top four) 100% of the time
Teams with 14 or fewer qualifiers
- Have a 33% chance of making the Top Ten
- Have 0% chance of winning a NCAA title
NCAA Championship qualifiers are an elite bunch, but let's celebrate the diversity that is college swimming and diving. It takes all kinds of programs to make the sport worth watching and participating, just as there are several benchmarks to compare them.
Women
Overall | Team | CollegeSwimming | CSCAA | USA Swimming | SwimSwam | Median |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Georgia | 4 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 3 |
2 | Michigan | 2 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 4 |
3 | Virginia | 1 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 4.5 |
3 | Texas | 3 | 4 | 5 | 12 | 4.5 |
3 | Stanford | 8 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 4.5 |
6 | NC State | 5 | 5 | 4 | 10 | 5 |
7 | Southern Cal | 7 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 6 |
8 | Texas A&M | 4 | 10 | 11 | 4 | 7 |
8 | Louisville | 10 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 7 |
10 | Wisconsin | 11 | 12 | 9 | 15 | 11.5 |
11 | Auburn | 9 | 11 | 13 | 20 | 12 |
12 | California | 18 | 9 | 17 | 3 | 13 |
13 | Arizona | 13 | 22 | 14 | 11 | 13.5 |
14 | Tennessee | 12 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 14 |
15 | Missouri | 16 | 18 | 30 | 13 | 17 |
15 | Indiana | 26 | 13 | 21 | 7 | 17 |
17 | Minnesota | 20 | 17 | 31 | 16 | 18.5 |
17 | Florida | 22 | 16 | 19 | 18 | 18.5 |
19 | Notre Dame | 14 | 19 | 20 | 19 | |
19 | North Carolina | 19 | 20 | 16 | 19 | |
21 | UCLA | 25 | 21 | 8 | 19 | 20 |
22 | Duke | 21 | 15 | 25 | 21 | |
23 | Virginia Tech | 15 | 25 | 22 | 22 | |
24 | Louisiana State | 17 | 26 | 23 | 23 | |
25 | Princeton | 24 | 24 | |||
26 | Arizona State | 23 | 27 | 29 | 27 |
Men
CollegeSwimming | CSCAA | USA Swimming | SwimSwam | Median | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | NC State | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
2 | Texas | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2.5 |
3 | California | 9 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 |
4 | Georgia | 4 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 4.5 |
5 | Indiana | 5 | 2 | 10 | 6 | 5.5 |
6 | Michigan | 3 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 |
7 | Alabama | 8 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 7.5 |
8 | Auburn | 7 | 5 | 9 | 11 | 8 |
9 | Florida | 13 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 8.5 |
10 | Louisville | 10 | 10 | 5 | 9 | 9.5 |
11 | Stanford | 6 | 18 | 11 | 12 | 11.5 |
12 | Arizona State | 14 | 11 | 12 | 12 | |
13 | Southern Cal | 16 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 14.5 |
14 | Virginia Tech | 15 | 12 | 20 | 15 | |
15 | Virginia | 11 | 16 | 19 | 16 | |
15 | Minnesota | 17 | 15 | 13 | 17 | 16 |
17 | Louisiana State | 18 | 17 | 20 | 18 | |
17 | Arizona | 19 | 25 | 17 | 15 | 18 |
17 | Texas A&M | 24 | 14 | 18 | 18 | |
20 | Tennessee | 22 | 19 | 16 | 19 | |
21 | Wisconsin | 21 | 20 | 14 | 19 | 19.5 |
22 | Kentucky | 12 | 22 | 21 | 21 | |
23 | Missouri | 20 | 23 | 27 | 23 | |
23 | Notre Dame | 23 | 21 | 30 | 23 | |
25 | Georgia Tech | 25 | 24 | 26 | 25 | |
25 | Hawaii | 25 | 25 |