5. Charlotte
For smaller schools, breaking into the upper echelon of college golf is nearly impossible. Second-tier programs rarely get invited to tournaments with top teams, and they can't get ranking points without beating top teams. But with a little luck, a gung-ho new coach and some overachieving young talent, Charlotte has managed to break the iron curtain that keeps the rich teams rich and everybody else poor.

Five years ago, Charlotte hired Jamie Green, who had been an assistant at North Carolina. Guided by Green's relentless passion for winning, fun and discipline, the 49ers morphed from doormat to contender. In his second season, the 49ers made their first-ever trip to the NCAAs. Last season, they finished third at the NCAAs. And this season, the 49ers have won all four of their stroke-play events and were the top-ranked team for most of the fall.

A sure sign that Charlotte is now a bona fide national contender is that they're getting premier recruits. Last year, Cory Nagy, above, a Charlotte native, turned down offers from traditional golfing powers to become a 49er.