(NEW YORK, NY) — The 2012 season's first Golf World/Nike Golf Division I College Coaches’ Poll has been released, combining the resources of Golf World magazine, Nike Golf and the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA). The complete results, including results from Divisions II, III, NAIA and NJCAA will appear in the March 5, 2012 issue of Golf World.  Texas, after winning its spring opener at the Amer Ari Invitational to claim its fourth team title of the season, kept its place atop the Golf World/Nike Golf Division I men’s coaches’ poll.

The Longhorns earned 18 of the 20 available first-place votes in the first spring edition of the poll. Their four-tournament win streak was snapped at last week’s Puerto Rico Classic, but the squad continues to have the best adjusted scoring average of any school in the country.

Thanks to a victory at the Gator Invitational to start the spring, Auburn jumped into the No. 2 spot in the poll. Alabama’s victory at the Puerto Rico Classic moved the Crimson Tide to the No. 3 spot and helped the squad earn the remaining two first-place votes.

Rounding out the top five were two Los Angeles schools: No. 4 USC and No. 5 UCLA. Another Pac-12 school, California, winners at the John Burns in Hawaii, also moved into the top-10 in the ninth spot, the highest ranking the Bears have ever achieved in the Golf World poll since the magazine resumed the poll in 2001-02.

Two new teams joined the top 25: No. 23 Florida and No. 24 Georgia.

Visit Golf World Senior Writer Ryan Herrington’s “Campus Insider” blog to find out the latest on collegiate golf: http://www.golfdigest.com/magazine/blogs/campusinsider.

Division I - February 29, 2012