One human poll made up the 2012 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) football rankings, sometimes called the NAIA Coaches' Poll or the football ratings. Once the regular season was complete, the NAIA sponsored a playoff to determine the year's national champion. A final poll was then taken after completion of the 2012 NAIA Football National Championship.[1]
The poll release dates were:
| 2012 Poll Release Dates | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spring | April 18 | |
| Preseason | August 6 | |
| Week 1 | September 10 | |
| Week 2 | September 17 | |
| Week 3 | September 24 | |
| Week 4 | October 1 | |
| Week 5 | October 8 | |
| Week 6 | October 15 | |
| Week 7 | October 22 | |
| Week 8 | October 29 | |
| Week 9 | November 5 | |
| Week 10 (Final Regular Season) | November 11 | |
| Postseason | December 18 |
| No change in ranking | ||||
| Increase in ranking | ||||
| Decrease in ranking | ||||
| Not ranked previous week | ||||
| NAIA National Champion | ||||
| Italics | Number of first place votes | |||
| (#-#) | Win–loss record | |||
| - style="text-align:center;" | (т) | Tied with team above or below also with this symbol |
Since the inception of the Coaches' Poll in 1999, the #1 ranking in the various weekly polls has been held by only a select group of teams. Through the end of 2012, the team and the number of times they have held the #1 weekly ranking are shown below. The number of times a team has been ranked #1 in the postseason poll (the national champion) is shown in parentheses.
In 1999, the results of a postseason poll, if one was conducted, are not known. Therefore, an additional poll was presumed, and the #1 postseason ranking has been credited to the postseason tournament champion, the Northwestern Oklahoma State Rangers.
| Team | Total #1 Rankings | |
|---|---|---|
| Carroll (MT) | 56 (6) | |
| 55 (3) | ||
| 25 (2) | ||
| 14 (1) | ||
| Northwestern Oklahoma State | 12 (1) | |
| Marian (IN) | 8 (1) | |
| 3 | ||
| Saint Francis (IN) | 3 |