I receive numerous PMs inquiring about how NCAA individual and team rankings work. Leaving aside the former for a much broader conversation, team rankings are updated, as they are for other NCAA sports, throughout the regular season. Other than for bragging rights or perhaps some fun analysis, these standings are absolutely meaningless. Fencing programs are not vying for “bowl” invitations or invites to the Sweet 16. The most competitive teams in NCAA fencing have pretty much always been the same (certainly over the past 20 years or so and, yes, I know St. John’s won one about 2 decades ago): Columbia, Harvard & Princeton among the Ivies; OSU, Notre Dame, and PSU, among the “big box” schools. Regular season tournaments are test-runs for these top teams which are often works-in-progress. Injuries, gap years (e.g., during Olympic qualifying seasons), and the evolution of individual fencers very often determines the final berths to Regionals and, ultimately, to NCAA Championships. There will be anomalous results on occasion, due in part I believe to the much greater uncertain 5-touch format, but also because the top teams and their fencers are “working it out” in these regular season events. There will also be individual stand-outs on less competitive teams. Finally, there will also be inflated results in less competitive tournaments. In the end, for those who attend NCAA Championships, it will be an opportunity to watch great fencers, in all weapons, from most schools. However, it will probably be Columbia, Notre Dame and Penn State vying for the top spot.