By The Associated Press
FOUNDER - Alan J. Gould, sports editor of The Associated Press.
FIRST POLL - Oct. 19, 1936.
FIRST PRESEASON POLL - 1950.
FIRST YEAR OF PANEL VOTING - 1960.
VOTERS - College football writers and broadcasters whose publications, TV and radio stations are members of The AP.
POINTS - A first-place vote is worth 25 points, a second-place vote is worth 24, etc.
SCHOOLS ELIGIBLE - All NCAA Division I-A teams (114 teams for 1999). Teams on NCAA probation are eligible for ranking.
VOTING BREAKDOWN - By state. (1 or 2 schools - 1 voter; 3 or 4 schools - 2 voters; 5 or 6 schools - 3 voters; 7 or 8 schools - 4 voters; 9 or 10 schools - 5 voters)
PRESEASON TIDBITS - Of the 50 previous preseason No. 1 teams, only eight have won the national championship. The last team was Florida State in 1993 ... Only six of the last 50 national champions were unranked in the preseason poll. The last team was Brigham Young in 1984 ... Twenty-one teams have been ranked No. 1 in the preseason poll. Florida State is No. 1 for the fifth time. Oklahoma has been No. 1 eight times.