BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Following the release on an examination of which East Coast teams have placed highest in the final Men’s Varsity National Top 20 Poll each season during the 21st Century, the league office was asked to look at Division III.
Following some additional sleuthing through the league archives, a list detailing the highest finishing East Coast team and the overall No. 1 in the Division III Top 10 Polls dating back to 2000 follows:
Division III Top East Coast/No. 1 Ranked Team (2000-to-2022)
- 2000 – Massachusetts Institute of Technology (#3)/University of La Verne (#1)
- 2001 – Johns Hopkins University (#2)/University of Redlands (#1)
- 2002 – Johns Hopkins University (#3)/University of Redlands (#1)
- 2003 – Massachusetts Institute of Technology (#1)/Massachusetts Institute of Technology (#1)
- 2004 – Johns Hopkins University (#3)/Whittier College & University of Redlands (#1-T)
- 2005 – Johns Hopkins University (#1)/Johns Hopkins University (#1)
- 2006 – Johns Hopkins University (#4)/University of California-Santa Cruz (#1)
- 2007 – Johns Hopkins University (#3)/University of Redlands (#1)
- 2008 – Johns Hopkins University (#1)/Johns Hopkins University (#1)
- 2009 – Johns Hopkins University (#3-T)/Whittier College (#1)
- 2010 – Johns Hopkins University (#1-T)/Johns Hopkins University & University of Redlands (#1-T)
- 2011 – Johns Hopkins University (#4-T)/Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (#1)
- 2012 – Johns Hopkins University (#1-T)/Johns Hopkins University & Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (#1-T)
- 2013 – Johns Hopkins University (#1-T)/Johns Hopkins University & Whittier College (#1-T)
- 2014 – Johns Hopkins University (#2)/Whittier College (#1)
- 2015 – Johns Hopkins University (#1-T)/Johns Hopkins University & Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (#1-T)
- 2016 – Johns Hopkins University (#4)/Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (#1)
- 2017 – Johns Hopkins University (#2)/Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (#1)
- 2018 – Massachusetts Institute of Technology (#2-T)/Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (#1)
- 2019 – Massachusetts Institute of Technology (#4)/Whittier College (#1)
- Winter 2021 – None (COVID-19 impacted season)
- 2021 – Johns Hopkins University (#5)/Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (#1)
- 2022 – Massachusetts Institute of Technology (#8)/University of Redlands (#1)
Historically, Johns Hopkins (17) and MIT (five) hold the most top rankings among East Coast schools. Among all Division III schools, Johns Hopkins (six), Redlands (six), Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (five), Whittier College (five), Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (two), MIT (one), the University of La Verne (one) and the University of California-Santa Cruz (one) have either shared or claimed the No. 1 position in the season concluding Division III Top 10 poll since 2000.
