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The first RPI rankings of the college men’s volleyball season will be released Monday. Here’s what to know about the RPI with it being first year that the ranking system will be part of the criteria used by the selection committee to determine the NCAA Tournament field.
1. RPI formula — The RPI is a ranking system determined by mathematical formula comprised of three parts — a team’s winning percentage, its combine opponents’ success and its opponents’ strength of schedule. The opponent success will be the heaviest weighted component of the RPI formula at 50 percent, while a team’s winning percentage and opponents’ strength of schedule will each be worth 25 percent of the RPI.
2. RPI ranking not be all, end all — Selection committee chairman Ron Shayka said in an interview with Off the Block that the RPI rankings will be one part of the criteria and not the only factor the selection committee will use to determine the NCAA Tournament field. The selection committee has nine criteria pieces ranging from RPI ranking to head-to-head record and record against teams under NCAA Tournament consideration.
3. Matches equally weighted — Teams throughout the nation listened to the selection committee’s recommendation last year and started scheduling more non-conference matches this season. With the RPI, results from non-conference and conference matches are weighted the same. However, a team that plays a more difficult non-conference schedule can benefit in the opponents’ success and opponents’ strength of schedule components used to determine the RPI rankings.
4. Forget about coaches poll rankings — The national coaches poll is not a component used to determine a team’s strength of schedule. Instead, strength of schedule is based off of a formula that typical uses opponent’s winning percentage is the primarily component.
5. Transparency in rankings — The RPI rankings will be published each week on the NCAA website leading up to Selection Saturday on May 1. The men’s volleyball selection committee in the off-season requested that the NCAA make the RPI rankings available to the public in an effort to promote transparency.