Regional Rankings F.A.Q. (frequently asked questions)
Who votes on these rankings?:
Nobody does. These are computerized rankings.
What is a regional game?:
These rankings take into consideration only in-region games. An in-region game is any game that meets one or more of the following criteria:
- A contest between two teams in the same region.
- A contest between two teams in the same conference.
- A contest between two teams that are within the same geographical region determined by the following breakdown:
- Region1: CT, DE, DC, ME, MD, MA, NH, NJ, RI, VT
- Region 2: NY, PA
- Region 3: AL, AR, FL, GA, IN, KY, LA, MI, MS, NC, OH, SC, TN, VA, WV
- Region 4: AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, IL, IA, KS, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NM, ND, OK, OR, SD, TX, UT, WA, WI, WY
- A contest between two teams whose institutions are within 200 miles driving distance of each other. To determine driving distance, Microsoft Map Point's shortest distance option is used.
- A contest against a non division 3 opponent, or provisional NCAA member is not counted as an in-region game.
- Note: The NCAA requires that every team schedule 50% of their games against in-region opponents. Few exceptions are granted.
What is the formula for determining regional point averages?
Regional point averages (RPA) are determined as follows. Note that the RPA is determined based only on in-region games.
- 15 pts for a road win against a team with a regional winning percentage at or above 66.7%
- 14 pts for a home win against a team with a regional winning percentage at or above 66.7%
- 13 pts for a road win against a team with a regional winning percentage at or above 50% but below 66.7%
- 12 pts for a home win against a team with a regional winning percentage at or above 50% but below 66.7%
- 11 pts for a road win against a team with a regional winning percentage at or above 33.3% but below 50%
- 10 pts for a home win against a team with a regional winning percentage at or above 33.3% but below 50%
- 9 pts for a road win against a team with a regional winning percentage below 33.3%
- 8 pts for a home win against a team with a regional winning percentage below 33.4%
- 7 pts for a road loss against a team with a regional winning percentage at or above 66.7%
- 6 pts for a home loss against a team with a regional winning percentage at or above 66.7%
- 5 pts for a road loss against a team with a regional winning percentage at or above 50% but below 66.7%
- 4 pts for a home loss against a team with a regional winning percentage at or above 50% but below 66.7%
- 3 pts for a road loss against a team with a regional winning percentage at or above 33.3% but below 50%
- 2 pts for a home loss against a team with a regional winning percentage at or above 33.3% but below 50%
- 1 pts for a road loss against a team with a regional winning percentage below 33.3%
- 0 pts for a home loss against a team with a regional winning percentage below 33.4%
Note: Neutral games are considered road games for both teams.
To get the RPA, divide the total points by the number of in-region games. Regional rankings are determined by which team has a higher RPA. If two teams have the same RPA, the team with the higher regional winning percentage is ranked higher. If both teams have the same regional winning percentage, they are considered tied.
Why do these rankings take so long to load on my computer?
These rankings are re-computed every time a page is loaded. This means that everytime you look at the regional rankings, our server computes every team's RPA, regional winning percentage, and records. This type of ranking system is known as an "on-the-fly" ranking system, to learn more, read on.
What are "on-the-fly" rankings?
With more than 400 institutions competing in D3 soccer, there are sometimes hundreds of games played every day. The results of these games are submitted to us by hard working sports information directors, as well as the creators of this website. Rather than having rankings released weekly, our rankings change every time a score gets posted. Every time a page is requested by a user, the rankings and winning percentages are recomputed. So, you may notice that <your favorite team here> was ranked at one spot, and when you checked later, they moved.
My team should be ranked higher, who can I complain to?
First and foremost, these rankings should be used only as a guide to give people a better idea of which teams will get pool B, and pool C bids come selection time. In the meantime, they give an impartial attempt at ranking teams regionally. That being said, do not complain to us about these rankings. Instead, post your opinions in our forums, and let other people tell you you are wrong.