What Happened to Sagarin College Basketball Ratings?

By Sarah Miller · June 29, 2030

Sagarin College Basketball ratings were discontinued in 2023 after USA Today ended its partnership with statistician Jeff Sagarin, halting the official publication of his NCAA basketball rankings that had been a staple since 1985. This marked the end of a nearly four-decade run providing computer-generated power rankings used for team evaluation, tournament prediction, and betting insights. While Sagarin's methodology remains respected, the ratings are no longer updated or officially distributed through media channels.

What Were Sagarin College Basketball Ratings?

The Sagarin College Basketball Ratings were a computer-based ranking system developed by statistician Jeff Sagarin. First introduced in 1985 and published in USA Today, these rankings offered an objective, data-driven assessment of NCAA Division I men's basketball teams.

Key Features of the Sagarin System

Mathematical model based on team performance, margin of victory, strength of schedule, and home/away adjustments
Updated weekly during the college basketball season
Used by analysts, coaches, and sports bettors to evaluate team strength beyond win-loss records
One of the six computer models formerly used in the NCAA Selection Committee's RPI replacement: the NET rankings

Why Did Sagarin College Basketball Rankings Stop?

In early 2023, USA Today ceased publishing Sagarin’s college basketball ratings as part of broader editorial changes. This decision effectively ended public access to updated Sagarin rankings.

Factors Leading to Discontinuation

Media Partnership Ended: USA Today stopped syndicating Sagarin’s work, removing the primary distribution channel.
Shift Toward NET Rankings: The NCAA adopted the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) as its official metric, reducing reliance on third-party systems like Sagarin.
Transparency Concerns: Unlike NET, Sagarin’s formula was proprietary, limiting widespread institutional adoption.
Digital Transformation: Declining print space and shifting priorities in sports journalism reduced space for weekly statistical columns.

Sagarin vs. Modern Ranking Systems

While Sagarin was once a gold standard in predictive analytics, newer systems have gained prominence due to transparency and integration with NCAA processes.

Ranking System	Developer	First Used	Publicly Updated?	Used by NCAA?
Sagarin Rating	Jeff Sagarin	1985	No (discontinued in 2023)	Formerly considered
NCAA NET	NCAA Analytics Team	2018	Yes (weekly)	Yes (primary tool)
KenPom	Ken Pomeroy	2002	Yes	No (but widely referenced)
ESPN BPI	ESPN Analytics	2012	Yes	No
TRank	Seth Griffith	2014	Yes	No

Table data source:1, 2, 3

The table shows a clear shift from proprietary models like Sagarin to transparent, NCAA-integrated systems such as the NET. While Sagarin pioneered computerized rankings, modern alternatives offer greater accessibility and alignment with tournament selection criteria. KenPom and BPI continue to thrive due to open data policies and strong user communities.

Legacy and Continued Influence

Despite no longer being updated, Sagarin’s impact on sports analytics is enduring. His work helped legitimize quantitative analysis in college basketball and influenced later models.

Contributions to Sports Analytics

Pioneered use of margin of victory and opponent strength in predictive modeling
Inspired next-generation analysts like Ken Pomeroy and Bart Torvik
Provided early evidence that computer models could outperform human polls
Served as a benchmark for evaluating team resumes during March Madness

Frequently Asked Questions About Sagarin College Basketball

What happened to Sagarin college basketball rankings?

The Sagarin college basketball rankings were discontinued in 2023 when USA Today stopped publishing them. There has been no official update since then, marking the end of their public availability after nearly 40 years.

Who created the Sagarin college basketball rankings?

The rankings were developed by Jeff Sagarin, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) graduate and renowned sports statistician who began publishing his ratings in 1985 through USA Today.

Are Sagarin ratings still used in NCAA tournament selection?

No, the NCAA no longer uses Sagarin ratings. Since 2018, the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) has replaced all external computer models, including Sagarin, as the primary metric for tournament seeding and selection.

Can I still access old Sagarin college basketball data?

Historical Sagarin data up to 2023 is available through sports analytics archives and fan forums. Some websites maintain snapshots of final seasonal rankings, though no new data is being generated.

What replaced the Sagarin rankings in college basketball?

The NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) is now the official ranking system used by the NCAA. Additionally, independent models like KenPom, ESPN’s BPI, and TRank have become go-to resources for advanced team evaluation and predictive analytics.