Of the 9 regattas held from March to May, the average participation by a Midwest Collegiate Sailing Association (MCSA) team was 2.58 regattas. For the purpose of evaluation, a cut-off was rounded to 3 events. This means that a team must have participated in 3 MCSA events to be considered for ranking. For those that met that threshold, their ranking score was determined as the average of their 3 best performances. An individual regatta performance by a given college was determined as:
the highest place finish by the college
(number of unique colleges participating)^2
Therefore if a given college/university fielded 3 teams for a given regatta, only the highest place team was considered and the other two remaining were removed from the calculation of the field. The number of teams (in the denominator) is squared to give more weight to the winners of those regattas with a broad and diverse field.
The regattas evaluated for the Spring were: Freshman Ice Breaker, Wittenberg Regatta, Wet Your Willie, OSU Spring Invitational, Hoosier Daddy Regatta, MCSA Coed Qualifiers, Oxford Classic Team Race, Wisconsin's 3 Division Regatta, Gopher Invitational
The results based on above (SailMichigan Rankings for Spring 2013):
| Rank | University | Score |
| 1 | University of Wisconsin | 9.18 |
| 2 | University of Minnesota | 19.70 |
| 3 | Northwestern University | 30.82 |
| 4 | Michigan State University | 33.77 |
| 5 | University of Wisconsin Milwaukee | 35.21 |
| 6 | University of Michigan | 40.23 |
| 7 | University of Notre Dame | 47.06 |
| 8 | Marquette University | 68.21 |
| 9 | Western Michigan University | 74.24 |
| 10 | Miami University | 78.52 |
| 11 | Ohio State University | 90.83 |
| 12 | Denison University | 120.88 |
Comparison with the Fall 2012 SailMichigan Rankings
University of Wisconsin - up 1
University of Minnesota - up 1
Northwestern University - up 1
Michigan State University - up 1
University of Wisconsin Milwaukee - not ranked in Fall
University of Michigan - down 5
University of Notre Dame - up 5
Marquette University - up 6
Western Michigan University - unchanged
Miami University - down 2
Ohio State University - down 4
Denison University - not ranked in Fall
When dealing with small numbers of regattas and wide variations in the number of participants, movement up or down is a bit subjective. Because the rankings are in part participation based, ranking positions are strongly influenced by the inclusion or exclusion of individual teams in prior rankings.
Comparison with Sail-World Coaches Poll
The only other independent ranking of MCSA teams that we are aware of is the Sail-World.com coaches pool. The most recent poll, released May 15, 2013 only places 6 teams:
1. Minnesota
2. Wisconsin
3. Michigan
4. Northwestern
5. Ohio State
6. Dennison
Note that the above is only a ranking within the MCSA. Midwest teams (save for Wisconsin) rarely show up in Sail-World's national poll of collegiate teams. With regards to this regional ranking, the relative placement of Ohio State and Dennison is in common in both rankings, however positions 3 and 4 and 1 and 2 are flipped between the two (with Michigan being under Northwestern and Minnesota under Wisconsin in the SailMichigan rankings).
Unlike a coach's poll, one benefit of SailMichigan's performance-based ranking is the relative distribution of score values and how that can be used to cluster and evaluate similar programs. For example, in our ratings there is clear separation of Universities of Wisconsin and Minnesota from other "upper-tier" programs. These two programs are separated by 10 points from each other, and from the next tier. Contrast this with the next four; Northwestern, Michigan State, UW-Milwaukee and Michigan, which are all 4 within the same 10 point margin.
Obviously, the purpose of such rankings is not for fame, money, or necessarily bragging rights, but just as a region-specific barometer of relative competitiveness. Since the Midwest is generally overlooked by national polls and media, such regional analysis may actually be more informative.
Discussion, critique and analysis of any statements made above is welcomed.
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