Coaches' Poll

The USA Today Coaches' Poll' is the current name for a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football and Division I college basketball teams.

The football rankings are compiled by the USA Today Board of Coaches which is made up of 59 head coaches at Division I FBS institutions. All coaches are members of the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). The basketball rankings are compiled by the USA Today Board of Coaches which is made up of 31 head coaches at Division I institutions. All are members of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).

The football Coaches' Poll is an element of the BCS rankings, a voting system used to determine who will play in the BCS National Championship Game and be crowned the NCAA Division I FBS national champion.

History

The Coaches' Poll began selecting the top 20 teams on a weekly basis during the 1950-1951 college football and basketball seasons. It was initially published by United Press (after 1958, United Press International). For the 1990-1991 football and basketball seasons, the poll expanded to a top 25, and it has retained this format since.

College football

Through the 1973 college football 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 poll of coaches conducted its final poll after the bowl games. In 1991, USA Today...
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