NCAA NQS Changes for 2026

[RedBirdie]

Big changes afoot! Here's the short version:

• Teams must compete in a minimum of 9 competitions, minimum of 5 of which must be away meets
• All away meets are included in NQS
• Up to 5 home meets included in NQS
• If a team has more than 5 home meets, only the 5 lowest scores count towards NQS
• Drop the highest and lowest score of the eligible competitions to determine NQS
• Only 1 neutral site meet within 30 miles of campus can count as an away meet; additional neutral site meets withing 30 miles of campus will be counted as home meets
• Conference championships at neutral sites will be counted as away meets, not subject to the bullet point above

CGN has a bigger write up here, including a link to the NCAA rule changes and examples of how the new NQS will work

BREAKING: Major Changes Coming to National Qualifying Score in 2026 - College Gym News

All the recent articles published on College Gym News, including event coverage, recruiting news, features, data deep dives and more.

collegegymnews.com

 

[RedBirdie]

Glancing through Spencer's 2026 NCAA master schedule, it appears to be way less neutral site meets this year. Although maybe they're just not marked as such yet (like Best of Utah is on the schedule, but not named as such).

2026 NCAA Schedule

to add:George WashingtonKent StateSEMOLIUFiskWest ChesterGreenvilleSpringfield MEET WEEK 1Friday, January 29:00pm ET/6:00pm PTMinnesota, Iowa @ UtahSaturday, January 33:00pm ET/12:00pm PTStout, Gre…

balancebeamsituation.com

 

[irichluck21]

I am shocked that they went away with the 6 scores and went with 9.
I think it is a great idea and is more representative of what a team can actually consistently do.
I wonder how 2925 would have turned out with this format.

I know Greg Marsden was unhappy with the neutral site being 30 miles from the campus because he said it unfairly treated Utah.

 

[RedBirdie]

Utah was totally gaming the system by going to multiple "away" meets a year at the Maverick Center, less than 10 miles away from the Huntsman Center. Greg Marsden's a big crybaby. Good on them for finding a loophole and exploiting it, but this is hardly "unfairly targeting" Utah. It's trying to level the playing field for everyone.

I'm also intrigued by how 2025 would have played out, and I'm very curious to see how this impacts strategy this year. No more having a couple of shit meets and say "oh well, those won't count!" Especially if they're home. I love that NQS can now go up or down from week to week. Should make things more exciting.