Collegiate Cycling Team Power Rankings

After some more number crunching I have now compiled a Power Ranking of all the collegiate teams for ROAD. The points are derived from the USAC Ranking System, but are applied with an eye towards how the teams would do head-to-head under the start list restrictions at Nationals (4 riders in Criterium and 6 riders in the Road Race). Version 2 will incorporate the conference standings/results.

The permanent home for the Team Power Rankings is live!

1.  Milligan College - 4157.65 (varsity)

2.  Marian University - 4229.6 (varsity)

3.  University of Colorado Boulder - 5001.95

4.  Lindenwood University - 5222.2 (varsity)

5.  Stanford University - 5354.85

6.  University of California-Davis - 5576.59

7.  Fort Lewis College - 6095.78 (varsity)

8.  Furman University - 6146.74

9.  Virginia Polytechnic University - 6639.73

10.  Midwestern State University - 6721.49 (varsity)

11.  Columbia University-NYC - 7014.62

12.  Colorado State University - 7025.19

13.  Appalachian State University - 7176.2

14.  Colorado Mesa University - 7332.95 (varsity)

15.  University of Arizona - 7444.62

16.  University of California-Los Angeles - 7586.58

17.  Lees-McRae College - 7617.6 (varsity)

18.  US Naval Academy - 7734.22

19.  University of California-San Diego - 7794.33

20.  University of Florida - 8016.05

21.  University of Wisconsin-Madison - 8019.15

22.  University of California-Berkeley - 8402.6

23.  University of Vermont - 8474.83

24.  University of California-Santa Barbara - 8483.83

25.  Ohio State University - 8500.98

An interesting observation is that only 7 of the Top 25 teams are currently designated as varsity programs. This seems to support my thesis that splitting the divisions on varsity/club next season will be a mistake.

The Individual Rankings were updated for this week as well. 

Weekly Collegiate Update: March 23, 2016

The promised upgrades to the 2016 Road Rankings have been completed. We are now showing the Top 100 Men and Women and showing week-to-week changes in both ranking position and points.

Some riders will not be listed in the "right" place on the rankings because they do not have the minimum 5 criteriums and 5 road races. Once those results have been added to the system, the rider's rank will automatically be adjusted. Also recall that the scoring races must be within the last 12 months. So, as races drift out of this window, more recent results form the basis of the ranking points and position.

In the case that USAC doesn't provide a point value, we double-check the results that have been uploaded to the USAC system. If a rider does not have the requisite races, he or she is assigned the maximum value for that discipline (RR, Crit).

Some interesting stats:

For the men, Marian University has the most riders on the list with 11. Here is the Top 10 schools on the list:

1. Marian University: 11
2. Milligan College: 5
3. Virginia Polytechnic University: 5
4. Midwestern State University: 4
5. Furman University: 4
6. University of Colorado Boulder: 4
7. Appalachian State University: 3
8. University of Wisconsin-Madison: 3
9. University of California-Davis: 3
10. University of California-Berkeley: 3

Marian also tops the women's list, with 9 riders making the Top 100.

1. Marian University: 9
2. Milligan College: 7
3. University of Colorado Boulder: 5
4. Stanford University: 5
5. University of California-San Diego: 5
6. Lindenwood University: 5
7. Columbia University-NYC: 4
8. Fort Lewis College: 4
9. Massachusetts Institute of Technology: 3
10. US Naval Academy: 3

The full rankings can be found here:  http://winklercycling.com/collegiate-rankings.html

Weekly Collegiate Update: March 16, 2016

Sam Anderson-Moxley leads the pack at the Spring 2015 UC Berkeley Criterium. Photo courtesy of UCSC cycling club.

The road season is now underway for most conferences. USAC is posting conference recaps on their News Archive (click on "collegiate" on sort by column, actually a filter).

CU Boulder will be racing this weekend in Golden, Colorado. The Oredigger Classic includes a Hill Climb Time Trial and a Criterium hosted by the Colorado School of Mines.

Below are the Top 10 Teams by number of USAC Licensees as of Tuesday March 15, 2016. In total, there are 2,332 active collegiate licensees.

1. University of Colorado Boulder:  57
2. Marian University:  54
3. Stanford University:  52
4. Fort Lewis College:  46
5. University of California-Davis:  44
6. Indiana University-Bloomington:  41
7. University of Arizona:  39
8. Lindenwood University:  34
9. University of California-San Diego:  33
10. Virginia Polytechnic University:  32

The 2016 Individual Road Rankings have been updated as well! This week's update includes the ability to see each riders' separate points and rank in the Road Race and Criterium disciplines (by rolling over the place and point "buttons"). 

Starting next week I will be highlighting movement on the list. Arrows will be included to indicate shifts in both "rank" and "rank points", as applicable.