How the college track and field Power Rankings work
The PR Power Index ranks every NCAA D1, D2, D3, NAIA, NJCAA and NWAC program from two TFRRS sources: the wind-legal national performance list and the national championship results. National meet points count 30%, projected points 20%, event-group squads 25% and qualifiers 15%. After the national meet, the official team scores set the final order.
The four parts
- National meet points (30%): the official TFRRS team scores from the NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA or NWAC championship, 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 for places 1 to 8, relays included.
- Projected points (20%): the same scoring applied to the top 8 on each wind-legal national list, so in-season rankings reward the marks that would score.
- Event-group squads (25%): sprints, hurdles, distance, jumps, throws and multi-events for men and women. Each squad counts its best four athletes, weighted 1.0, 0.75, 0.5 and 0.25. After the national meet, each event-group and event ranking is half squad strength and half the points that group scored at the national meet.
- Qualifiers (15%): individual entrants at the national meet (in season: athletes inside each event's championship field on the list).
How an athlete is scored
Each athlete's score is half place and half mark. The place score compares their spot on the wind-legal national list with that event's real championship field size F (counted from the championship results): 100 at #1, 50 at #F, 0 at twice the field, straight-line in between. The mark score compares the mark itself with that division's average marks since 2016 for the #1 athlete, the last qualifier and twice the field depth (100, 50 and 0), so a faster, deeper year scores higher than a slow one at the same list place. A mark better than the average #1 can score up to 110. Wind-aided marks are replaced with the athlete's legal best, or dropped if there is none. Each athlete counts once per event, and B and C squads count for their school.
Ratings out of 99
Each part is scaled against the division leader and combined with the weights above. The best team in a division is 99; everyone else is 60 + 39 × (their score ÷ the leader's)^0.6, and a rating never rises as you go down a list. 90+ elite, 80s national-level, 70s strong, 60s ranked.
Worked example: the top NCAA D1 men's hurdle squad, 2026 Outdoor
North Carolina A&T ranks #1 on these athletes (wind-legal national list place and the championship field size F for that event):
- Jason Holmes, 110m hurdles: #5 of a field of 24, mark 13.16. Place score 91.3, mark score 98.4, athlete score 94.8 × weight 1 = 94.8
- Isaiah Taylor, 400m hurdles: #5 of a field of 22, mark 49.00. Place score 90.5, mark score 81.4, athlete score 85.9 × weight 0.75 = 64.4
- Xzaviah Taylor, 400m hurdles: #9 of a field of 22, mark 49.28. Place score 81, mark score 75.3, athlete score 78.1 × weight 0.5 = 39.1
Combined with the points its hurdlers scored at the national meet, that ranks #1 in NCAA D1, so the squad is rated 99.
Data sources
Every number comes from TFRRS, the official results system of college track and field: the final national qualifying lists and the national championship results, 88 division seasons from 2016 on. Each ranking page links the exact list and meet it uses. Seasons with no national meet on TFRRS (2020, cancelled; a few 2016 and 2021 meets) are ranked on the lists and labelled.
What changed in v3 (November 2026)
Athlete scores now count the mark as well as the list place, so faster and deeper seasons count for more; event-group and event rankings now count national meet points after the meet; and an athlete listed twice under different spellings is counted once.
What is coming next
Conference championship results (being added for 2016 to 2026) will join as a small part, weighted by each conference's measured depth on the national lists.
Rankings
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Common questions
How are college track and field teams ranked?
By the PR Power Index: national meet points (30%), projected points from the wind-legal national list (20%), event-group squads (25%) and national qualifiers (15%), all from TFRRS. After the national meet, the official team scores set the order.
Where does the data come from?
TFRRS national qualifying lists and national championship results for NCAA D1, D2, D3, NAIA and the NJCAA and NWAC junior colleges, every season from 2016.
Are wind-aided marks counted?
No. An aided mark is replaced with the athlete's best legal mark, or left out if there is none.
Sharing these rankings
Schools, coaches and journalists are welcome to share a ranking with a link to its page. Every number behind a rank is on the page.