Associated Press

==Sports polls==
{{main|AP Poll}}

The AP conducts polls for numerous [[college athletics|college sports]] in the [[United States]]. The AP college football rankings were created in 1936, and began including the top 25 teams in 1989. Since 1969, the final poll of each season has been released after all bowl games have been played.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nola.com/lsu/index.ssf/2017/08/post_205.html|title=The best and worst of LSU's AP preseason poll history|work=NOLA.com|access-date=July 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720225231/https://www.nola.com/lsu/index.ssf/2017/08/post_205.html|archive-date=July 20, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The AP released its all-time Top 25 in 2016.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/blakewilliams3012/2016/08/21/what-the-last-five-seasons-of-the-ap-poll-say-about-trending-teams-in-college-football/|title=What The Last Five Seasons Of The AP Poll Say About Trending Teams In College Football|last=Williams|first=Blake|work=Forbes|access-date=July 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720200305/https://www.forbes.com/sites/blakewilliams3012/2016/08/21/what-the-last-five-seasons-of-the-ap-poll-say-about-trending-teams-in-college-football/|archive-date=July 20, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> {{as of|2017}}, 22 different programs had finished in the number one spot of the poll since its inception.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2017-08-21/college-football-rankings-who-has-been-no-1-ap-preseason-poll-most|title=College football rankings: Who has been No. 1 in the AP preseason poll most often and how did they finish?|date=2017-08-21|publisher=NCAA|access-date=July 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720195201/https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2017-08-21/college-football-rankings-who-has-been-no-1-ap-preseason-poll-most|archive-date=July 20, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> In the pre-bowl game determination era, the AP poll was often used as the distinction for a national champion in football.

The AP college basketball poll has been used as a guide for which teams deserve national attention. The AP first began its poll of college basketball teams in 1949, and has since conducted over 1,100 polls. The college basketball poll started with 20 teams and was reduced to 10 during the 1960-61 college basketball season. It returned to 20 teams in 1968-69 and expanded to 25 beginning in 1989–90. The final poll for each season is released prior to the conclusion of the [[NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA tournament]], so all data includes regular season games only. In 2017, The AP released a list of the Top 100 teams of all time. The poll counted poll appearances (one point) and No. 1 rankings (two points) to rank each team.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 29, 2017 |title=AP Top 25 polls highlight Top 100 all-time in college basketball |work=The Denver Post |url=https://www.denverpost.com/2017/03/29/ap-top-100-college-basketball-programs-all-time/ |url-status=live |access-date=July 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720225211/https://www.denverpost.com/2017/03/29/ap-top-100-college-basketball-programs-all-time/ |archive-date=July 20, 2018}}</ref>