INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.- The Colorado Mesa University women's soccer team is ranked sixth in the South-Central Region and 37th nationally in the NCAA Division II National Power Index or NPI Rankings, which were released Monday morning.
The rankings are being used in Division II team sports for the first time this year and will determine the at-large selections and the seeding for regionals at the NCAA Tournament. Six teams from the Lone Star Conference and Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference will earn a berth in the NCAA tournament, with four automatic bids and two at-large bids.
The NPI rankings have replaced the former regional rankings, which were compiled somewhat subjectively by a regional advisory committee with oversight and using criteria from the NCAA's various national sports committees.
The NPI rankings evaluate a team's season by considering both results and strength of schedules. Each contest produces a value based on whether the team won, lost or tied, and the opponent's NPI. NPI calculations update throughout the season as teams play additional contests, and opponent NPI values change. A team's final NPI is not determined until the final games and rankings of the season are complete.
The calculations are then based on established settings, known as dials, which determine the weighting between winning percentage, strength of schedule and the minimum number of wins a team must retain in its calculation. These dials are pre-determined before the season.
Victories over highly ranked opponents that have a higher NPI rating will net a quality win bonus for that match. The location-- home, away or neutral-- of each match is also factored in to the calculations.
The Mavericks, who were tabbed eighth in the inttial set of rankings (Oct. 12) own an overall record of 9-3-2 and a current NPI of 57.035. This ranking would be enough to get into the NCAA Tournament if the season ended on Monday, providing teams outside of the top six did not win their conference tournament to grab automatic qualification spots.
Dallas Baptist (64.730), Midwestern State (61.181), Texas Women's (60.413), Regis (59.833) and UCCS (57.984) are ranked first through fifth and would all be in the NCAA Tournament field alongside CMU as of Monday.
Colorado School of Mines (56.720) and Fort Lewis (55.991) are sitting behind the Mavs. Black Hills State (54.329) and Oklahoma Christian (53.570) round out the top ten.
The next official NPI ranking will be released next Monday (Nov. 2). The rankings will then be updated daily through the NCAA Tournament selections.
