Tune your television to any sports channel in the months of December and January, and you will undoubtedly hear talk of college football and the BCS.
What you won't hear is Kirk Herbstreit or Lee Corso discussing the newest collegiate squash rankings published by the College Squash Association. Maybe they should, though, since they are definitely intriguing.
On Jan. 4, when the most recent rankings came out, the Quakers leapfrogged three teams to take control of the No. 1 spot. If they hold the position for the rest of the season, it will mark the team's first national championship since 1999-2000 and just their third since 1976.
This season, the Quakers beat then-No. 2 ranked Yale, a huge accomplishment.
What's interesting, though, is that none of the other top five teams had lost any matches since the previous rankings came out.
Aside from beating Yale, Quakers freshman Kristen Lange captured the Under-19 U.S. Junior Open Championship. The two events, taken together, may have convinced the selection committee that Penn was better than Princeton, Harvard, or Trinity.
But who makes up this selection committee?
It was described by Paula Pearson, a senior and captain of the Quakers team, as a consensus reached on the part of coaches and others involved in the collegiate squash community.
"But some people have more pull than others," she added.
And the current chair of the ranking committee is none other than Penn coach Jack Wyant.
Before overzealously jumping to conclusions, however, one should note that coaches make up almost the entire CSA board.
Craig Thorpe-Clark, the coach of the men's squash team at Penn, is the president of the men's executive board. His squad beat Yale, too, and they aren't No. 1.
When asked about Penn's recent ascent to the top spot, Wyant said that he was "surprised to have lucked out over Princeton and Trinity."
CSA rules govern that the committee must include the chair and at least three other coaches, to prevent any nebulous ethical decisions.
Going into the season, the women were ranked No. 4. But that was before the ranking committee had a chance to see Penn's strong recruiting class in collegiate action. Two freshmen, Lange and Sydney Scott, have worked their way to the top spots on the Quakers' ladder.
Wyant said that he'll "gladly take" the No. 1 ranking.
As for his players? They see it as validation of what they already know, according to junior Elizabeth Kern.
"You have to believe that you're the best," she said, "to become the best."
