Women’s Panel To Release Ratings Percentage Index

A longtime secret is about to become public this spring when the women’s RPI used to help determine selection and seeding of the 64-team NCAA Tournament is released sometime in April.

RPI stands for Rating Percentage Index and measures a team’s won-lost record against a strength-of-schedule index that factors the performance of opponents and opponents’ opponents. It also penalizes teams for games against non-Division I opponents.

The men’s committee uses the same formula, but the official NCAA ranking is secret. A group in the Midwest publishes a men’s index that is very close to the NCAA figures.

“Our committee decided to release the women’s RPI so people can see where they stand at the end of the season,” said Atlantic 10 commissioner Linda Bruno, the head of the NCAA women’s tournament panel. “It also might help them improve future scheduling. Furthermore, they can see one of the tools we use to create the placement on the bracket. After all, it is their tournament. We feel they have a right to know.

“But people should also understand this is just one device that is used,” Bruno said. “We’ll look at polls, among other factors, although the polls are not as accurate as the RPI. But they are useful to create interest.”