National Collegiate Athletic Association
NCAA News Archive - 2000
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The NCAA News
The most comprehensive collection of Division I college football statistics just got better.
A technological handoff from paper to the Internet is allowing the NCAA's statistics service to provide even more access to even more information. Starting this year, member schools, members of the media and the general public can enjoy one-stop gridiron statistical shopping on NCAA Online (www.ncaa.org/stats), where a quick click to the statistics page welcomes users to a world of numbers like never before.
Game-by-game summaries for teams and individual players, team statistical rankings in each category, statistical trends, schedules, strength-of-schedule rankings, attendance figures and more are available this year at the click of a button rather than by mail.
It's the culmination of nearly two years of planning and preparation by the statistics and information technology staffs and Web-site personnel, said the NCAA's Jim Wright, longtime director of statistics. "The information we have now has always been there, but this is a much better system that allows not only for immediate delivery, but also the opportunity to add categories and features we think will be helpful to anyone interested in college football."
Some of the new features include a team/player detail section, which provides complete offensive and defensive game-by-game statistics and season-to-date totals. A game summary section provides complete statistics for any game played in Division I-A or I-AA the entire year, data that haven't been available this easily before.
"In the past, we've been able to provide total stats on players, but not a game-by-game breakdown," Wright said. "We could have compiled that information through previous weekly reports but that would have been a time-consuming effort. Now that information is online right away."
Wright also said the new site has alleviated what used to be chaotic Mondays during past football seasons when his statistics staff would receive hundreds of calls about the past weekend's games. "The new site can answer virtually all the questions we used to get," he said.
Wright said that by the end of the year, the site will include information on about 4,500 to 5,000 players who've touched the ball during the season. "To me, it's stunning that we can provide complete stats on that many individuals," Wright said.
The site also could be a precursor for the way statistics in other sports are delivered in the future. Wright said the staff started with Division I football because it traditionally has been the sport that has generated the most interest statistically over the years, but that within the next several years, other sports in all divisions may follow.
Something else on the way is defensive statistics in football. This is the first year that defensive stats are being compiled in the sport. Wright said there has been a demand for defensive statistics in the past, but what constituted sacks, tackles and passes defended wasn't clearly defined. But conferences wanted the information badly enough to let Wright's staff take the lead on defining those terms.
Defensive stats are being compiled and released periodically this year, but Wright thinks that within the next three to five years, defensive stats will be part of the weekly package. Part of the delay is because many schools have assistant coaches who compile defensive statistics from watching game film on Sunday. Wright, however, believes that offensive and defensive statistics should be compiled straight from the press box during the game. "It may take a couple of years to wean people off the old system," he said. "Schools may choose to still do that, but they need to understand that the stats we will post will be those from the box and not from the coach after game film."
But that's for the future. As for the present, Wright said the new Web site has exceeded even his own expectations.
"It's revolutionized our ability to provide the membership, media and the public with immediate, accurate and comprehensive stats," he said.
Football statistics online
A description of the Division I-A/I-AA football reports on NCAA Online:
Nonconference Report
Lists conference won-lost records against other I-A, I-AA and non-Division I opponents. Selecting a specific league provides a game-by-game listing of all nonconference games with results.
Toughest Schedules
Ranks teams based on the won-lost percentage of their opponents. Leaders can be sorted by games already played, future games or the entire season's schedule.
Attendance
Ranks teams based on total attendance, average attendance per game and percentage of stadium capacity. Games played at neutral sites are listed at the end of each report.
Codebook
Provides a quick listing of uniform numbers for each team.
Conference Reports
Ranks both conference team and individual leaders for all 11 Division I-A and 13 Division I-AA leagues. Also includes rankings for the independent teams, listed as a group. There are 15 individual and 20 team categories.
Team/Player Detail
Provides a game-by-game breakdown of every player's statistics and his season-to-date totals. Also lists the game-by-game team statistics, both offense and defense, for every institution.
National Rankings
Ranks the national leaders in 15 individual and 20 team categories. The top 50 individuals are listed, and all 114 Division I-A and 122 Division I-AA teams are ranked in each team category.
Ranking Summary Report
Lists the specific national-ranking number for any selected team in every team category as well as any individual player on that team ranked in the national top 50. Also lists the actual national leader in each category for comparison purposes.
Recaps
Provides the complete season-to-date cumulative team and individual statistics for every team.
Rosters (By Player Name)
Alphabetical listing of all players in the NCAA database by team. Includes position and class.
Rosters (By Uniform Number)
Listing of all players in NCAA database, sorted by uniform number. Includes position and class.
Schedules
Alphabetical listing of every team with results to date and the remaining schedule.
Single-Game Highs
Lists the single-game highs for 20 individual and 10 team categories.
Team Listing
A complete listing of every Division I team and its conference affiliation, with official NCAA team code numbers.
Trend Reports
Provides statistical totals and per-game averages in every offensive and defensive category, sorted by team, division or conference.
Win/Loss/Tie Report By Win Pct.
Complete listing of every team's won-lost record, sorted by winning percentage.
Win/Loss/Tie Report By Team
Complete listing of every team's won-lost record, sorted alphabetically.
Game Summaries
Complete player and team statistics for all games played to date, sorted by the week, then alphabetically by home team.