Hi there Brandon!
Thanks for your suggestion. While I understand that you might find that extra motivation rewarding, I don't think it's a positive thing. It turns a collective creative effort into a competition and makes most people behave in a different way. It can make some users feel intimidated, push others to crunch and even discourage others from experimenting (among several other things).
There are lots of jams that have a ranking system (like Ludum Dare, which starts tomorrow), I think it's nice that we have both types of jams. This won't be one with a ranking system.