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The National Collegiate Scouting Association (NCSA) rated Virginia Tech 20^th among NCAA Division I universities and 41^st overall in its annual NCSA collegiate power rankings.

Tech made a dramatic move up the list from a year ago. Last year, the Hokies were 40^th among NCAA Division I universities and 82^nd overall.

NCSA Athletic Recruiting’s Collegiate 2012 Power Rankings assess the academic and athletics standards of all NCAA athletics programs across the country. The power rankings were developed to help prospective student-athletes and their families evaluate the particular strengths of the top colleges and universities at the Division I, II and III levels. Fewer than six percent of colleges and universities earned a spot in NCSA Athletic Recruiting’s Top 100 for 2012, and Tech is in this elite class.

The Collegiate Power Rankings from NCSA Athletic Recruiting are calculated for each Division I, II and III college and university by averaging student-athlete graduation rates, academic rankings provided by U.S. News & World Report, and the strength of athletics departments as determined by the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup.

Tech finished a program-best 35^th in the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup race last year. The Hokies received a majority of points from their men’s track and field team, which finished fifth at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships thanks largely to Alexander Ziegler winning the national championship in the hammer throw. The same team finished eighth at the NCAA’s indoor meet, with Marcel Lomnicky winning the national title in the weight throw.

The Hokies’ golf, softball, women’s soccer and men’s tennis teams also accumulated points because of those sports’ NCAA Championship appearances. The Tech men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams and the wrestling teams accumulated points this winter because of strong individual performances at the NCAA competitions in those respective sports. Both the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams finished a program-best 18^th, while the wrestling team came in 11^th. Also, the football team received points for its strong play last fall.

The Hokies finished 81^st in NCAA graduation rates (among schools at all levels – Division I, II and III), and they claimed 71^st in the U.S. News and World Report ranking. Tech’s scores averaged out to 62, which came out to 20^th among Division I schools and 41^st overall.

Only Duke (No. 1), BC (19^th), Wake Forest (34^th) and North Carolina (35^th) finished ahead of Tech among ACC schools.

For updates on Virginia Tech Athletics, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@hokiesports).