College football national championships in NCAA Division I FBS

National championships in NCAA Division I FBS
Current System	BCS (since 1998)
National Championship Trophies	AFCA (since 1986), AP (since 1936), MacArthur (since 1959), Grantland Rice (since 1954)
Longest Continuous Selector	Associated Press (1936–present)
First Season Awarded	1869
Last Completed Season	2010

A college football national championship in the highest level of collegiate play in the United States, currently the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), is a designation awarded annually by various third-party organizations to their selection(s) of the best college football team(s). Division I FBS (formerly Division I-A) football is the only NCAA sport in which a yearly champion is not determined by an NCAA sanctioned championship event.

Because the championship team is not determined by an NCAA championship or tournament event, it has often been unofficially referred to as a "mythical national championship".^[1][2][3][4] Since the NCAA, the sport's governing body, does not determine or declare a national champion in this field, determination of such has often engendered controversy.^[5] A championship team is independently declared by various individuals and organizations, often referred to as "selectors".^[6][7] These choices are sometimes at odds with each other.^[5] While the NCAA has never officially endorsed an annual championship team, it has documented the choices of several selectors in the official NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records.^[8] In addition, various third party analysts have independently published their own lists of what they have determined to be the most legitimate selections for each season. These are also often at odds with each other as well as individual school's claims on national championships, which, for any particular season, may or may not correlate to the selections published elsewhere.

Currently, two widely recognized national champions selectors are the Associated Press, which conducts a poll of football sportswriters, and the USA Today Coaches' Poll, a poll of American Football Coaches Association active coaches that is contractually obligated to name the winner of the Bowl Championship Series championship game as its national champion.

History

The concept of a national championship in college football dates to the early years of the sport in late 19th century,^[9] and the earliest contemporaneous polls can be traced to Caspar Whitney, Charles Patterson, and The Sun in 1901.^[10] Therefore, the concept of polls and national champions predated mathematical ranking systems, but it was Frank Dickinson's math system that was one of the first to be widely popularized. His system named 10–0 Stanford the national champion of 1926, prior to their tie with Alabama in the Rose Bowl. A curious Knute Rockne, then coach of Notre Dame, had Dickinson backdate two seasons, which produced Notre Dame as the 1924 national champion and Dartmouth in 1925.

A number of other mathematical systems were born in the 1920s and 1930s and were the only organized methods selecting national champions until the Associated Press began polling sportswriters in 1936 to obtain rankings. Alan J. Gould, the creator of the AP Poll, named Minnesota, Princeton, and SMU tri-champions in 1935, and polled writers the following year, which resulted in a national championship for Minnesota. The AP's main competition, United Press, created the first poll of coaches in 1950. For that year and the next three, the AP and UP agreed on the national champion. The first "split" championship occurred in 1954, when the writers selected Ohio State and the coaches chose UCLA. The polls also disagreed in 1957, 1965, 1970, 1973, 1974, and 1978, the latter of which was followed by eleven years of agreement. The Coaches' Poll would stay with United Press (UP) when they merged with International News Service (INS) to form United Press International (UPI) but was acquired by USA Today and CNN in 1991. The poll was in the hands of ESPN from 1997 to 2005 before moving to its present sole ownership by USA Today.

Though some of the math systems selected champions after the bowl games, both of the major polls released their rankings after the end of the regular season until the AP polled writers after the bowls in 1965, resulting in what was perceived at the time as a better championship selection (Alabama) than UPI's (Michigan State). After 1965, the AP voted before the bowls for two years, permanently returning to a post-bowl vote in 1968. The coaches did not vote after the bowls until 1974, in the wake of awarding their 1973 championship to Alabama, who lost to the AP champion, undefeated Notre Dame, in the Sugar Bowl.

The AP and Coaches' polls remain the major rankings to this day, alongside the Bowl Championship Series, considered the modern math giant. The BCS was the successor of the Bowl Alliance (1995–1997), which was itself the successor of the Bowl Coalition (1992–1994). Besides the many adjustments it undergoes each season, including a large overhaul following the 2004 season that included the replacement of the AP Poll with the Harris poll, the BCS has remained a mixture of math and polls since its inception in 1998, with the goal of matching the best two teams in the nation in a national championship bowl game which rotated yearly between the Sugar, Fiesta, Rose, and Orange from 1998 to 2005, and later a standalone game titled the BCS National Championship Game (2006 to present). The winner of the BCS Championship Game is awarded the national championship of the Coaches' Poll thus winning the AFCA National Championship Trophy. The BCS winner also receives the MacArthur Trophy from the National Football Foundation. Neither the AP Poll, nor other current selectors, have contractual obligations to select the BCS champion as their national champion.^[11][12] The BCS has resulted in a number of controversies, most notably those that followed the 2003 season.

National championships in the official NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records

The NCAA maintains an official records book of historical statistics and records for football. In the records book, with consultation from various college football historians, it has created and maintains a list of "major selectors" of national championships throughout the history of college football along with their championship picks for each season.^[8]

Major selectors

A variety of selectors have named national champions throughout the years. They generally can be divided into three categories: those determined by mathematical formula, human polls, and historical research. The selectors below are listed in the official NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records as having been deemed to be "major selectors" for which the criteria is that the poll or selector be "national in scope either through distribution in newspaper, television, radio and/or computer online".^[6] The former selectors, deemed instrumental in the sport of college football, and selectors presently included for the calculation of the BCS standing, are listed together.^[13]

Math

The mathematical system is the oldest systematic selector of college football national champions. Many of the math selectors were created during the "championship rush" of the 1920s and 1930s, beginning with Frank Dickinson's system, or during the dawn of the computer age in the 1990s. Selectors are listed below with years selected retroactively in italics.^[14][15]

Selector	Name	Seasons
A&H	Anderson & Hester	1997–present
AS	Alderson System	1994–1998
B(QPRS)	Berryman (QPRS)	1940–1989, 1990–present
BCS	*Bowl Championship Series	1998–present
BR	Billingsley Report	1869–1870, 1872–1969, 1970–present
BS	Boand System	1919–1929, 1930–1960
CCR	Congrove Computer Rankings	1993–present
CM	Colley Matrix	2001–present
CW	Caspar Whitney	1905–1907
DeS	DeVold System	1939–1944, 1945–2006
DiS	Dickinson System	1924–1925, 1926–1940
DuS	Dunkel System	1929–present
ERS	Eck Ratings System	1987–2005
HS	Houlgate System	1885, 1887–1905, 1907–1926, 1927–1949
L	Litkenhous	1934–1972, 1974, 1978, 1981–1984
MCFR	Massey College Football Ratings	1995–present
MGR	Matthews Grid Ratings	1966–1972, 1974–2006
NYT	New York Times	1979–2004
PS	Poling System	1924–1934, 1935–1955, 1957–1984
R(FACT)	Rothman (FACT)	1968–present
SR	Sagarin Ratings	1919–1977, 1978–present
W	Wolfe	2001–present
WS	Williamson System	1931, 1932–1963

*The BCS uses a mathematical system that combines polls (Coaches' and Harris) and multiple computer rankings (including some individual selectors listed above) to determine a season ending matchup between its top two ranked teams in the BCS Championship Game. The champion of that game is contractually awarded the Coaches' Poll and National Football Foundation championships.

Poll

The poll has been the dominant national champion selector since the inception of the AP Poll in 1936. It is notable that the NFF merged with UPI from 1991 to 1992 and USA Today from 1993 to 1994. Selectors are listed below with years selected retroactively in italics.

For many years, the national champion of various polls were selected prior to the bowl games. The national champion was selected before bowl games as follows: AP (1936–1964 and 1966–1967), Coaches' Poll (1950–1973), FWAA (1954), and NFF (1959–1970). In all other latter-day polls, champions were selected after bowl games.^[8]

Presently the winner of BCS Championship Game is automatically awarded the national championship of the Coaches' Poll and the National Football Foundation.

Selector	Name	Seasons
AP	Associated Press	1936–present
Coaches', known as:   UPI   USAT/CNN   USAT/ESPN   USAT	AFCA Coaches' Poll   United Press International   USA Today/Cable News Network   USA Today/ESPN   USA Today	1950–present   1950–1990   1991–1996   1997–2005   2006–present
CFRA	College Football Researchers Association	1919–1935, 1936–1981, 1982–1992, 2010–present
FN	Football News	1958–2002
FWAA	Football Writers Association of America	1954–present
HAF	Helms Athletic Foundation	1883–1935, 1936–1940, 1941–1982
INS	International News Service	1952–1957
NCF	National Championship Foundation	1869–1870, 1872–1935, 1936–1979, 1980–2000
NFF	National Football Foundation	1959–1990,b,d 1995–present
SN	Sporting News	1975–present
UPI	United Press International	1950–1990,a 1993–1995
UPI/NFF	United Press International/National Football Foundation	1991–1992b
USAT	USA Today	2006–presenta
USAT/CNN	USA Today/Cable News Network	1982–1996c
USAT/ESPN	USA Today/ESPN	1997–2003, 2005a
USAT/NFF	USA Today/National Football Foundation	1993–1994d

^aServed as the AFCA Coaches' Poll during the designated years. The 2004 AFCA National Championship awarded to USC in conjunction with the BCS was vacated by the BCS and the AFCA Coaches' Trophy was returned.^[16]

^bThe UPI Poll conducted the Coaches' Poll through the 1990 season, which was subsequently taken over by the CNN/USAToday. UPI then conducted a poll of National Football Foundation members in 1991 and 1992, the winner of which received the NFF's designation as the national champion and its MacArthur Trophy.

^cCNN/USAToday conducted its own poll of college football sportswriters until it took over the Coaches' Poll starting with the 1991 season.

^dUSA Today took over the poll of the National Football Foundation's members in 1993 from the UPI, and its winner received the NFF's designation as the national champion and its MacArthur Trophy. The poll was conducted by USA Today through the 1996 season, although national championship selections in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records do not distinguish the NFF from the USAToday/NFF poll in 1995 and 1996. USA Today conducted this poll separately from the CNN/USAToday Coaches' Poll, and the two should not be confused.

In addition to these, since 2005 the BCS has commissioned Harris Interactive to conduct a poll of former college football players, coaches, and administrators. This human poll is used to help calculate the BCS standings. No final poll is taken after the BCS championship game and no national championship is awarded or named by Harris Interactive.^[17]

Research

College football historian Parke H. Davis is the only selector considered by the NCAA to have primarily used research in his selections.^[6] Davis did all of his work in 1933, naming retroactive national champions for most of the years from 1869 to 1932 and naming Michigan and Princeton (his alma mater) co-champions at the end of the 1933 season.

Selector	Name	Seasons
PD	Parke H. Davis	1869–1870, 1872–1909, 1911–1916, 1919–1932, 1933

Yearly national championship selections from major selectors

Below is a list of the national champions of college football from 1869–present (with the exception of 1871, in which no games were played) deemed to be chosen by "major selectors" as listed in the official NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records.^[8] Many teams did not have coaches as late as 1899. "Consensus" selectors in the official NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records correspond to the period from 1950 to present which began with the introduction of the two poll system upon the appearance of the Coaches Poll in 1950. Selectors used to determine teams listed as "Consensus National Champions" in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records include the AP Poll, Coaches' Poll, Football Writers Association of America, and the National Football Foundation/College Football Hall of Fame.^[18]

The first contemporaneous poll to include teams across the country and selection of a national champions can be traced to Caspar Whitney in 1901.^[10] The last retroactive selection was made by Clyde Berryman in 1989 (Notre Dame). The tie was removed from college football in 1995 and the last consensus champion with a tie in its record was Georgia Tech in 1990. The 1947 Michigan Wolverines are often credited with a national championship on the basis of a "free poll" conducted by an AP sportswriter after the 1948 Rose Bowl, though that poll was unofficial and it is not recognized in the official NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records.^[6]

Note that the Harris Interactive Poll (2005–present) is contracted by the BCS to help formulate its standings, and although its final ranking which occurs prior to the bowl games is listed in the official NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records, it does not conduct a final poll or award or name a national champion on its own and so has been eliminated from the following table.^[17]

As designated by the official NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records, the table below shows:

• Teams listed in italics indicate retroactive-applied championships.
• Teams listed in bold indicate "consensus" championships according to official NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records designation, 1950 to present.

Season	Champion(s)	Record	Coach	Selector(s)
1869	Princeton	1–1		BR, NCF, PD
	Rutgers	1–1		PD
1870	Princeton	1–0		BR, NCF, PD
1871	None (no games)	N/A		N/A
1872	Princeton	1–0		BR, NCF, PD
	Yale	1–0		PD
1873	Princeton	1–0		BR, NCF, PD
1874	Harvard	2–1–1		PD
	Princeton	2–0		BR, PD
	Yale	3–0		NCF, PD
1875	Columbia	3–1–1		PD
	Harvard	4–0		NCF, PD
	Princeton	2–0		BR, PD
1876	Yale	3–0		BR, NCF, PD
1877	Princeton	2–0–1		BR, PD
	Yale	3–0–1		NCF, PD
1878	Princeton	6–0		BR, NCF, PD
1879	Princeton	4–0–1		BR, NCF, PD
	Yale	3–0–2		PD
1880	Princeton	4–0–1		NCF, PD
	Yale	4–0–1		BR, NCF, PD
1881	Princeton	7–0–2		BR, PD
	Yale	5–0–1		NCF, PD
1882	Yale	8–0		BR, NCF, PD
1883	Yale	9–0		BR, HAF, NCF, PD
1884	Princeton	9–0–1		BR, PD
	Yale	8–0–1		HAF, NCF, PD
1885	Princeton	9–0		BR, HAF, HS, NCF, PD
1886	Princeton	7–0–1		BR, PD
	Yale	9–0–1		HAF, NCF, PD
1887	Yale	9–0		BR, HAF, HS, NCF, PD
1888	Yale	13–0	Walter Camp	BR, HAF, HS, NCF, PD
1889	Princeton	10–0		BR, HAF, HS, NCF, PD
1890	Harvard	11–0	George Adams, George Stewart	BR, HAF, HS, NCF, PD
1891	Yale	13–0	Walter Camp	BR, HAF, HS, NCF, PD
1892	Yale	13–0	Walter Camp	BR, HAF, HS, NCF, PD
1893	Princeton	11–0		BR, HAF, HS, NCF
	Yale	10–1	William Rhodes	PD
1894	Penn	12–0	George Washington Woodruff	PD
	Princeton	8–2		HS
	Yale	16–0	William Rhodes	BR, HAF, NCF, PD
1895	Penn	14–0	George Washington Woodruff	BR, HAF, HS, NCF, PD
	Yale	13–0–2	Josh Hartwell	PD
1896	Lafayette	11–0–1	Parke H. Davis	NCF, PD
	Princeton	10–0–1		BR, HAF, HS, NCF, PD
1897	Penn	15–0	George Washington Woodruff	BR, HAF, HS, NCF, PD
	Yale	9–0–2	Frank Butterworth	PD
1898	Harvard	11–0	William Forbes	BR, HAF, HS, NCF
	Princeton	11–0–1		PD
1899	Harvard	10–0–1	Benjamin Dibblee	HAF, HS, NCF
	Princeton	12–1		BR, PD
1900	Yale	12–0	Malcolm McBride	BR, HAF, HS, NCF, PD
1901	Harvard	12–0	Bill Reid	BR
	Michigan	11–0	Fielding H. Yost	HAF, HS, NCF
	Yale	11–1–1	George Stillman	PD
1902	Michigan	11–0	Fielding H. Yost	BR, HAF, HS, NCF, PD
	Yale	11–0–1	Joseph Swan	PD
1903	Michigan	11–0–1	Fielding H. Yost	NCF
	Princeton	11–0	Art Hillebrand	BR, HAF, HS, NCF, PD
1904	Michigan	10–0	Fielding H. Yost	NCF
	Minnesota	13–0	Henry Williams	BR
	Penn	12–0	Carl Williams	HAF, HS, NCF, PD
1905	Chicago	10–0	Amos Alonzo Stagg	BR, HAF, HS, NCF
	Yale	10–0	Jack Owsley	CW, PD
1906	Princeton	9–0–1	William Roper	HAF, NCF
	Yale	9–0–1	Foster Rockwell	BR, CW, PD
1907	Yale	9–0–1	William Knox	BR, CW, HAF, HS, NCF, PD
1908	Harvard	9–0–1	Percy Haughton	BR
	LSU	10–0	Edgar Wingard	NCF
	Penn	11–0–1	Sol Metzger	HAF, HS, NCF, PD
1909	Yale	10–0	Howard Jones	BR, HAF, HS, NCF, PD
1910	Harvard	8–0–1	Percy Haughton	BR, HAF, HS, NCF
	Pittsburgh	9–0	Joseph Thompson	NCF
1911	Penn State	8–0–1	Bill Hollenback	NCF
	Princeton	8–0–2	William Roper	BR, HAF, HS, NCF, PD
1912	Harvard	9–0	Percy Haughton	BR, HAF, HS, NCF, PD
	Penn State	8–0	Bill Hollenback	NCF
1913	Auburn	8–0	Mike Donahue	BR
	Chicago	7–0	Amos Alonzo Stagg	PD
	Harvard	9–0	Percy Haughton	HAF, HS, NCF, PD
1914	Army	9–0	Charles Daly	HAF, HS, NCF, PD
	Illinois	7–0	Robert Zuppke	PD
	Texas	8–0	Dave Allerdice	BR
1915	Cornell	9–0	Albert Sharpe	HAF, HS, NCF, PD
	Oklahoma	10–0	Bennie Owen	BR
	Pittsburgh	8–0	Glenn Warner	PD
1916	Army	9–0	Charles Daly	PD
	Pittsburgh	8–0	Glenn Warner	BR, HAF, HS, NCF, PD
1917	Georgia Tech	9–0	John Heisman	BR, HAF, HS, NCF
1918	Michigan	5–0	Fielding H. Yost	BR, NCF
	Pittsburgh	4–1	Glenn Warner	HAF, HS, NCF
1919	Centre	9–0	Charley Moran	SR
	Harvard	9–0–1	Bob Fisher	CFRA, HAF, HS, NCF, PD
	Illinois	6–1	Robert Zuppke	BS, CFRA, PD, SR
	Notre Dame	9–0	Knute Rockne	NCF, PD
	Texas A&M	10–0	Dana Bible	BR, NCF
1920	California	9–0	Andy Smith	CFRA, HAF, HS, NCF, SR
	Harvard	8–0–1	Bob Fisher	BS
	Notre Dame	9–0	Knute Rockne	BR, PD
	Princeton	6–0–1	William Roper	BS, PD
1921	California	9–0–1	Andy Smith	BR, BS, CFRA, SR
	Cornell	8–0	Gil Dobie	HAF, HS, NCF, PD
	Iowa	7–0	Howard Jones	PD
	Lafayette	9–0	Jock Sutherland	BS, PD
	Washington & Jefferson	10–0–1	Greasy Neale	BS
1922	California	9–0	Andy Smith	BR, HS, NCF, SR
	Cornell	8–0	Gil Dobie	HAF, PD
	Princeton	8–0	William Roper	BS, CFRA, NCF, PD, SR
1923	California	9–0–1	Andy Smith	HS
	Cornell	8–0	Gil Dobie	SR
	Illinois	8–0	Robert Zuppke	BS, CFRA, HAF, NCF, PD, SR
	Michigan	8–0	Fielding H. Yost	BR, NCF
1924	Notre Dame	10–0	Knute Rockne	BR, BS, CFRA, DiS, HAF, HS, NCF, PS, SR
	Penn	9–1–1	Louis Young	PD
1925	Alabama	10–0	Wallace Wade	BR, BS, CFRA, HAF, HS, NCF, PS, SR
	Dartmouth	8–0	Jesse Hawley	DiS, PD
	Michigan	7–1	Fielding H. Yost	SR
1926	Alabama	9–0–1	Wallace Wade	BR, CFRA, HAF, NCF, PS
	Lafayette	9–0	Herb McCracken	PD
	Michigan	7–1	Fielding H. Yost	SR
	Navy	9–0–1	Bill Ingram	BS, HS
	Stanford	10–0–1	Glenn Warner	DiS, HAF, NCF, SR
1927	Georgia	9–1	George Cecil Woodruff	BS, PS
	Illinois	7–0–1	Robert Zuppke	BR, DiS, HAF, NCF, PD
	Notre Dame	7–1–1	Knute Rockne	HS
	Texas A&M	8–0–1	Dana Bible	SR
	Yale	7–1	Thomas Jones	CFRA
1928	Detroit	9–0	Gus Dorais	PD
	Georgia Tech	10–0	William Alexander	BR, BS, CFRA, HAF, HS, NCF, PD, PS, SR
	USC	9–0–1	Howard Jones	DiS, SR
1929	Notre Dame	9–0	Knute Rockne	BR, BS, CFRA, DiS, DuS, HAF, NCF, PS, SR
	Pittsburgh	9–1	Jock Sutherland	PD
	USC	10–2	Howard Jones	HS, SR
1930	Alabama	10–0	Wallace Wade	CFRA, PD, SR
	Notre Dame	10–0	Knute Rockne	BR, BS, DiS, DuS, HAF, HS, NCF, PD, PS
1931	Pittsburgh	8–1	Jock Sutherland	PD
	Purdue	9–1	Noble Kizer	PD
	USC	10–1	Howard Jones	BR, BS, CFRA, DiS, DuS, HAF, HS, NCF, PS, SR, WS
1932	Colgate	9–0	Andrew Kerr	PD
	Michigan	8–0	Harry Kipke	DiS, PD, SR
	USC	10–0	Howard Jones	BR, BS, CFRA, DuS, HAF, HS, NCF, PD, PS, SR, WS
1933	Michigan	7–0–1	Harry Kipke	BR, BS, CFRA, DiS, HAF, HS, NCF, PD, PS, SR
	Ohio State	7–1	Sam Willaman	DuS
	Princeton	9–0	Fritz Crisler	PD
	USC	10–1–1	Howard Jones	WS
1934	Alabama	10–0	Frank Thomas	DuS, HS, PS, WS
	Minnesota	8–0	Bernie Bierman	BR, BS, CFRA, DiS, HAF, L, NCF, SR
1935	LSU	9–2	Bernie Moore	WS
	Minnesota	8–0	Bernie Bierman	BR, BS, CFRA, HAF, L, NCF, PS
	Princeton	9–0	Fritz Crisler	DuS
	SMU	12–1	Matty Bell	DiS, HS, SR
	TCU	12–1	Dutch Meyer	WS
1936	LSU	9–1–1	Bernie Moore	SR, WS
	Minnesota	7–1	Bernie Bierman	AP, BR, DiS, DuS, HAF, L, NCF, PS
	Pittsburgh	8–1–1	Jock Sutherland	BS, CFRA, HS
1937	California	10–0–1	Leonard Allison	DuS, HAF
	Pittsburgh	9–0–1	Jock Sutherland	AP, BR, BS, CFRA, DiS, HS, L, NCF, PS, SR, WS
1938	Notre Dame	8–1	Elmer Layden	DiS
	TCU	11–0	Dutch Meyer	AP, HAF, NCF, WS
	Tennessee	11–0	Robert Neyland	BR, BS, CFRA, DuS, HS, L, PS, SR
1939	Cornell	8–0	Carl Snavely	L, SR
	Texas A&M	11–0	Homer Norton	AP, BR, BS, CFRA, DeS, DuS, HAF, HS, NCF, PS, SR, WS
	USC	8–0–2	Howard Jones	DiS
1940	Minnesota	8–0	Bernie Bierman	AP, B(QPRS), BS, CFRA, DeS, DiS, HS, L, NCF, SR
	Stanford	10–0	Clark Shaughnessy	BR, HAF, PS
	Tennessee	10–1	Robert Neyland	DuS, WS
1941	Alabama	9–2	Frank Thomas	HS
	Minnesota	8–0	Bernie Bierman	AP, BR, BS, CFRA, DeS, DuS, HAF, L, NCF, PS, SR
	Texas	8–1–1	Dana Bible	B(QPRS), WS
1942	Georgia	11–1	Wally Butts	B(QPRS), BR, DeS, HS, L, PS, SR, WS
	Ohio State	9–1	Paul Brown	AP, BS, DuS, CFRA, NCF
	Wisconsin	8–1–1	Harry Stuhldreher	HAF
1943	Notre Dame	9–1	Frank Leahy	AP, B(QPRS), BR, BS, CFRA, DeS, DuS, HAF, HS, L, NCF, PS, SR, WS
1944	Army	9–0	Earl Blaik	AP, B(QPRS), BR, BS, CFRA, DeS, DuS, HAF, HS, L, NCF, PS, SR, WS
	Ohio State	9–0	Carroll Widdoes	NCF, SR
1945	Alabama	10–0	Frank Thomas	NCF
	Army	9–0	Earl Blaik	AP, B(QPRS), BR, BS, CFRA, DeS, DuS, HAF, HS, L, NCF, PS, SR, WS
1946	Army	9–0–1	Earl Blaik	BR, BS, CFRA, HAF, HS, PS
	Georgia	11–0	Wally Butts	WS
	Notre Dame	8–0–1	Frank Leahy	AP, B(QPRS), BS, DeS, DuS, HAF, L, NCF, PS, SR
1947	Michigan	10–0	Fritz Crisler	B(QPRS), BR, BS, CFRA, DeS, DuS, HAF, HS, L, NCF, PS, SR
	Notre Dame	9–0	Frank Leahy	AP, HAF, WS
1948	Michigan	9–0	Bennie Oosterbaan	AP, B(QPRS), BR, BS, CFRA, DeS, DuS, HAF, HS, L, NCF, PS, SR, WS
1949	Notre Dame	10–0	Frank Leahy	AP, B(QPRS), BR, BS, DeS, DuS, HAF, HS, L, NCF, PS, SR, WS
	Oklahoma	11–0	Bud Wilkinson	CFRA
1950	Kentucky	11–1	Bear Bryant	SR
	Oklahoma	10–1	Bud Wilkinson	AP, B(QPRS), HAF, L, UPI, WS
	Princeton	9–0	Charley Caldwell	BS, PS
	Tennessee	11–1	Robert Neyland	BR, CFRA, DeS, DuS, NCF, SR
1951	Georgia Tech	11–0–1	Bobby Dodd	B(QPRS), BS
	Illinois	9–0–1	Ray Eliot	BS
	Maryland	10–0	Jim Tatum	CFRA, DeS, DuS, NCF, SR
	Michigan State	9–0	Biggie Munn	BR, HAF, PS
	Tennessee	10–1	Robert Neyland	AP, L, UPI, WS
1952	Georgia Tech	12–0	Bobby Dodd	B(QPRS), BR, INS, PS, SR
	Michigan State	9–0	Biggie Munn	AP, BS, CFRA, DeS, DuS, HAF, L, NCF, SR, UPI, WS
1953	Maryland	10–1	Jim Tatum	AP, INS, UPI
	Notre Dame	9–0–1	Frank Leahy	BR, BS, DeS, DuS, HAF, L, NCF, PS, SR, WS
	Oklahoma	9–1–1	Bud Wilkinson	B(QPRS), CFRA
1954	Ohio State	10–0	Woody Hayes	AP, B(QPRS), BR, BS, CFRA, DeS, HAF, INS, NCF, PS, SR, WS
	UCLA	9–0	Henry Sanders	CFRA, DuS, FWAA, HAF, L, NCF, UPI
1955	Michigan State	9–1	Duffy Daugherty	BS
	Oklahoma	11–0	Bud Wilkinson	AP, B(QPRS), BR, CFRA, DeS, DuS, FWAA, HAF, INS, L, NCF, PS, SR, UPI, WS
1956	Georgia Tech	10–1	Bobby Dodd	B(QPRS), SR
	Iowa	9–1	Forest Evashevski	CFRA
	Oklahoma	10–0	Bud Wilkinson	AP, BR, BS, DeS, DuS, FWAA, HAF, INS, L, NCF, SR, UPI, WS
	Tennessee	10–1	Bowden Wyatt	SR
1957	Auburn	10–0	Ralph Jordan	AP, BR, CFRA, HAF, NCF, PS, SR, WS
	Michigan State	8–1	Duffy Daugherty	DuS
	Ohio State	9–1	Woody Hayes	BS, DeS, FWAA, INS, L, UPI
	Oklahoma	10–1	Bud Wilkinson	B(QPRS)
1958	Iowa	8–1–1	Forest Evashevski	FWAA
	LSU	11–0	Paul Dietzel	AP, B(QPRS), BR, BS, CFRA, DeS, DuS, FN, HAF, L, NCF, PS, SR, UPI, WS
1959	Ole Miss	10–1	Johnny Vaught	B(QPRS), DuS, SR
	Syracuse	11–0	Ben Schwartzwalder	AP, BR, BS, CFRA, DeS, FN, FWAA, HAF, L, NCF, NFF, PS, SR, UPI, WS
1960	Iowa	8–1	Forest Evashevski	B(QPRS), BS, L, SR
	Minnesota	8–2	Murray Warmath	AP, FN, NFF, UPI
	Ole Miss	10–0–1	Johnny Vaught	BR, CFRA, DeS, DuS, FWAA, NCF, WS
	Missouri	11–0*	Dan Devine	PS
	Washington	10–1	Jim Owens	HAF
1961	Alabama	11–0	Bear Bryant	AP, B(QPRS), BR, CFRA, DeS, DuS, FN, HAF, L, NCF, NFF, SR, UPI, WS
	Ohio State	8–0–1	Woody Hayes	FWAA, PS
1962	LSU	9–1–1	Charles McClendon	B(QPRS)
	Ole Miss	10–0	Johnny Vaught	BR, L, SR
	USC	11–0	John McKay	AP, B(QPRS), CFRA, DeS, DuS, FN, FWAA, HAF, NCF, NFF, PS, UPI, WS
1963	Texas	11–0	Darrell Royal	AP, B(QPRS), BR, CFRA, DeS, DuS, FN, FWAA, HAF, L, NCF, NFF, PS, SR, UPI, WS
1964	Alabama	10–1	Bear Bryant	AP, B(QPRS), L, UPI
	Arkansas	11–0	Frank Broyles	BR, CFRA, FWAA, HAF, NCF, PS, SR
	Michigan	9–1	Bump Elliott	DuS
	Notre Dame	9–1	Ara Parseghian	DeS, FN, NFF
1965	Alabama	9–1–1	Bear Bryant	AP, CFRA, FWAA, NCF
	Michigan State	10–1	Duffy Daugherty	B(QPRS), BR, DeS, DuS, FN, FWAA, HAF, L, NFF, PS, SR, UPI
1966	Alabama	11–0	Bear Bryant	B(QPRS), SR
	Michigan State	9–0–1	Duffy Daugherty	CFRA, HAF, NFF, PS
	Notre Dame	9–0–1	Ara Parseghian	AP, BR, DeS, DuS, FN, FWAA, HAF, L, MGR, NCF, NFF, PS, SR, UPI
1967	Notre Dame	8–2	Ara Parseghian	DuS
	Oklahoma	10–1	Chuck Fairbanks	PS
	USC	10–1	John McKay	AP, B(QPRS), BR, CFRA, DeS, FN, FWAA, HAF, MGR, NCF, NFF, SR, UPI
	Tennessee	9–2	Doug Dickey	L
1968	Georgia	8–1–2	Vince Dooley	L
	Ohio State	10–0	Woody Hayes	AP, B(QPRS), BR, CFRA, DuS, FN, FWAA, HAF, NCF, NFF, PS, R(FACT), SR, UPI
	Texas	9–1–1	Darrell Royal	DeS, MGR, SR
1969	Ohio State	8–1	Woody Hayes	MGR
	Penn State	11–0	Joe Paterno	R(FACT), SR
	Texas	11–0	Darrell Royal	AP, B(QPRS), BR, CFRA, DeS, DuS, FN, FWAA, HAF, L, NCF, NFF, PS, R(FACT), SR, UPI
1970	Arizona State	11–0	Frank Kush	PS
	Nebraska	11–0–1	Bob Devaney	AP, BR, CFRA, DeS, DuS, FN, FWAA, HAF, NCF, R(FACT), SR
	Notre Dame	10–1	Ara Parseghian	MGR, R(FACT), SR
	Ohio State	9–1	Woody Hayes	NFF
	Texas	10–1	Darrell Royal	B(QPRS), L, NFF, R(FACT), UPI
1971	Nebraska	13–0	Bob Devaney	AP, B(QPRS), BR, CFRA, DeS, DuS, FN, FWAA, HAF, L, MGR, NCF, NFF, PS, R(FACT), SR, UPI
1972	USC	12–0	John McKay	AP, B(QPRS), BR, CFRA, DeS, DuS, FN, FWAA, HAF, L, MGR, NCF, NFF, PS, R(FACT), SR, UPI
1973	Alabama	11–1	Bear Bryant	B(QPRS), UPI
	Michigan	10–0–1	Bo Schembechler	NCF, PS
	Notre Dame	11–0	Ara Parseghian	AP, BR, FN, FWAA, HAF, NCF, NFF
	Ohio State	10–0–1	Woody Hayes	NCF, PS, R(FACT), SR
	Oklahoma	10–0–1	Barry Switzer	CFRA, DeS, DuS, SR
1974	Ohio State	10–2	Woody Hayes	MGR
	Oklahoma	11–0	Barry Switzer	AP, B(QPRS), BR, CFRA, DeS, DuS, FN, HAF, L, NCF, PS, R(FACT), SR
	USC	10–1–1	John McKay	FWAA, HAF, NCF, NFF, UPI
1975	Alabama	11–1	Bear Bryant	MGR
	Arizona State	12–0	Frank Kush	NCF, SN
	Ohio State	11–1	Woody Hayes	B(QPRS), HAF, MGR, PS, R(FACT)
	Oklahoma	11–1	Barry Switzer	AP, BR, CFRA, DeS, DuS, FN, FWAA, HAF, NCF, NFF, R(FACT), SR, UPI
1976	Pittsburgh	12–0	Johnny Majors	AP, FN, FWAA, HAF, NCF, NFF, PS, R(FACT), SN, SR, UPI
	USC	11–1	John Robinson	B(QPRS), BR, CFRA, DeS, DuS, MGR
1977	Alabama	11–1	Bear Bryant	CFRA
	Arkansas	11–1	Lou Holtz	R(FACT)
	Notre Dame	11–1	Dan Devine	AP, BR, CFRA, DeS, DuS, FN, FWAA, HAF, MGR, NCF, NFF, PS, R(FACT), SN, SR, UPI
	Texas	11–1	Fred Akers	B(QPRS), R(FACT), SR
1978	Alabama	11–1	Bear Bryant	AP, CFRA, FWAA, HAF, NCF, NFF, R(FACT)
	Oklahoma	11–1	Barry Switzer	DeS, DuS, HAF, L, MGR, PS, R(FACT), SR
	USC	12–1	John Robinson	B(QPRS), BR, FN, HAF, NCF, R(FACT), SN, SR, UPI
1979	Alabama	12–0	Bear Bryant	AP, B(QPRS), BR, DeS, DuS, FN, FWAA, HAF, MGR, NCF, NFF, NYT, PS, R(FACT), SN, SR, UPI
	USC	11–0–1	John Robinson	CFRA
1980	Florida State	10–2	Bobby Bowden	R(FACT)
	Georgia	12–0	Vince Dooley	AP, B(QPRS), BR, FN, FWAA, HAF, NCF, NFF, PS, R(FACT), SN, SR, UPI
	Nebraska	10–2	Tom Osborne	R(FACT)
	Oklahoma	10–2	Barry Switzer	DuS, MGR
	Pittsburgh	11–1	Jackie Sherrill	CFRA, DeS, NYT, R(FACT), SR
1981	Clemson	12–0	Danny Ford	AP, B(QPRS), BR, CFRA, DeS, FN, FWAA, HAF, L, MGR, NCF, NFF, NYT, PS, R(FACT), SN, SR, UPI
	Nebraska	9–3	Tom Osborne	NCF
	Penn State	10–2	Joe Paterno	DuS
	Pittsburgh	11–1	Jackie Sherrill	NCF
	SMU	10–1	Ron Meyer	NCF
	Texas	10–1–1	Fred Akers	NCF
1982	Nebraska	12–1	Tom Osborne	B(QPRS)
	Penn State	11–1	Joe Paterno	AP, BR, CFRA, DeS, DuS, FN, FWAA, HAF, L, MGR, NCF, NFF, NYT, PS, R(FACT), SN, SR, UPI, USAT/CNN
	SMU	11–0–1	Bobby Collins	HAF
1983	Auburn	11–1	Pat Dye	BR, CFRA, NYT, R(FACT), SR
	Miami	11–1	Howard Schnellenberger	AP, DuS, FN, FWAA, NCF, NFF, SN, UPI, USAT/CNN
	Nebraska	12–1	Tom Osborne	B(QPRS), DeS, L, MGR, PS, R(FACT), SR
1984	BYU	13–0	LaVell Edwards	AP, BR, CFRA, FWAA, NCF, NFF, PS, SR, UPI, USAT/CNN
	Florida	9–1–1	Galen Hall	DeS, DuS, MGR, NYT, R(FACT), SN, SR
	Nebraska	10–2	Tom Osborne	L
	Washington	11–1	Don James	B(QPRS), FN, NCF
1985	Florida	9–1–1	Galen Hall	SR
	Michigan	10–1–1	Bo Schembechler	MGR
	Oklahoma	11–1	Barry Switzer	AP, B(QPRS), BR, CFRA, DeS, DuS, FN, FWAA, NCF, NFF, NYT, R(FACT), SN, UPI, USAT/CNN
1986	Miami	11–1	Jimmy Johnson	R(FACT)
	Oklahoma	11–1	Barry Switzer	B(QPRS), CFRA, DeS, DuS, NYT, SR
	Penn State	12–0	Joe Paterno	AP, BR, FN, FWAA, MGR, NCF, NFF, R(FACT), SN, SR, UPI, USAT/CNN
1987	Florida State	11–1	Bobby Bowden	B(QPRS)
	Miami	12–0	Jimmy Johnson	AP, BR, CFRA, DeS, DuS, ERS, FN, FWAA, MGR, NCF, NFF, NYT, R(FACT), SN, SR, UPI, USAT/CNN
1988	Miami	11–1	Jimmy Johnson	B(QPRS)
	Notre Dame	12–0	Lou Holtz	AP, BR, CFRA, DeS, DuS, ERS, FN, FWAA, MGR, NCF, NFF, NYT, R(FACT), SN, SR, UPI, USAT/CNN
1989	Miami	11–1	Dennis Erickson	AP, BR, CFRA, DeS, DuS, FN, FWAA, MGR, NCF, NFF, NYT, R(FACT), SN, UPI, USAT/CNN
	Notre Dame	12–1	Lou Holtz	B(QPRS), ERS, R(FACT), SR
1990	Colorado	11–1–1	Bill McCartney	AP, B(QPRS), BR, CFRA, DeS, FN, FWAA, MGR, NCF, NFF, R(FACT), SN, USAT/CNN
	Georgia Tech	11–0–1	Bobby Ross	DuS, NCF, R(FACT), SR, UPI
	Miami	10–2	Dennis Erickson	ERS, NYT, R(FACT), SR
	Washington	10–2	Don James	R(FACT)
1991	Miami	12–0	Dennis Erickson	AP, BR, CFRA, ERS, NCF, NYT, SN, SR
	Washington	12–0	Don James	B(QPRS), DeS, DuS, FN, FWAA, MGR, NCF, R(FACT), SR, UPI/NFF, USAT/CNN
1992	Alabama	13–0	Gene Stallings	AP, B(QPRS), BR, CFRA, DeS, DuS, ERS, FN, FWAA, MGR, NCF, NYT, R(FACT), SN, SR, UPI/NFF, USAT/CNN
	Florida State	11–1	Bobby Bowden	SR
1993	Auburn	11–0	Terry Bowden	NCF
	Florida State	12–1	Bobby Bowden	AP, B(QPRS), BR, CCR, DeS, DuS, ERS, FN, FWAA, NCF, NYT, R(FACT), SN, SR, UPI, USAT/CNN, USAT/NFF
	Nebraska	11–1	Tom Osborne	NCF
	Notre Dame	11–1	Lou Holtz	MGR, NCF
1994	Florida State	10–1–1	Bobby Bowden	DuS
	Nebraska	13–0	Tom Osborne	AP, AS, B(QPRS), BR, FN, FWAA, NCF, R(FACT), SN, SR, UPI, USAT/CNN, USAT/NFF
	Penn State	12–0	Joe Paterno	CCR, DeS, ERS, MGR, NCF, NYT, R(FACT), SR
1995	Nebraska	12–0	Tom Osborne	AP, AS, B(QPRS), BR, CCR, DeS, DuS, ERS, FN, FWAA, MGR, NCF, NFF, NYT, R(FACT), SN, SR, UPI, USAT/CNN
1996	Florida	12–1	Steve Spurrier	AP, B(QPRS), BR, CCR, DeS, DuS, ERS, FN, FWAA, MGR, NCF, NFF, NYT, R(FACT), SN, SR, USAT/CNN
	Florida State	11–1	Bobby Bowden	AS
1997	Michigan	12–0	Lloyd Carr	AP, FN, FWAA, NCF, NFF, SN
	Nebraska	13–0	Tom Osborne	A&H, AS, B(QPRS), BR, CCR, DeS, DuS, ERS, MGR, NCF, NYT, R(FACT), SR, USAT/ESPN
1998	Tennessee	13–0	Phillip Fulmer	A&H, AP, AS, B(QPRS), BCS, BR, CCR, DeS, DuS, ERS, FN, FWAA, MGR, NCF, NFF, NYT, R(FACT), SN, USAT/ESPN
1999	Florida State	12–0	Bobby Bowden	A&H, AP, B(QPRS), BCS, BR, CCR, DeS, DuS, ERS, FN, FWAA, MCFR, MGR, NCF, NFF, NYT, R(FACT), SN, SR, USAT/ESPN
2000	Miami	11–1	Butch Davis	NYT
	Oklahoma	13–0	Bob Stoops	A&H, AP, B(QPRS), BCS, BR, CCR, DeS, DuS, ERS, FN, FWAA, MCFR, MGR, NCF, NFF, R(FACT), SN, SR, USAT/ESPN
2001	Miami	12–0	Larry Coker	A&H, AP, B(QPRS), BCS, BR, CCR, CM, DeS, DuS, ERS, FN, FWAA, MCFR, MGR, NFF, NYT, R(FACT), SN, SR, USAT/ESPN, W
2002	Ohio State	14–0	Jim Tressel	A&H, AP, B(QPRS), BCS, BR, CCR, CM, DeS, ERS, FN, FWAA, MCFR, NFF, NYT, R(FACT), SN, SR, USAT/ESPN, W
	USC	11–2	Pete Carroll	DuS, MGR, SR
2003	LSU	13–1	Nick Saban	A&H, BCS, BR, CM, DeS, DuS, MCFR, NFF, R(FACT), SR, USAT/ESPN, W
	Oklahoma	12–2	Bob Stoops	B(QPRS)
	USC	12–1	Pete Carroll	AP, CCR, ERS, FWAA, MGR, NYT, SN
2004	USC[19]	11–0[20]	Pete Carroll	A&H, AP, B(QPRS), BR, CCR, CM, DeS, DuS, ERS, MCFR, MGR, NFF, NYT, R(FACT), SN, SR, W
2005	Texas	13–0	Mack Brown	A&H, AP, B(QPRS), BCS, BR, CCR, CM, DeS, DuS, ERS, FWAA, MCFR, MGR, NFF, R(FACT), SN, SR, USAT/ESPN, W
2006	Florida	13–1	Urban Meyer	AP, B(QPRS), BCS, BR, CCR, CM, DuS, FWAA, MCFR, MGR, NFF, R(FACT), SN, SR, USAT, W
	Boise State	13–0	Chris Peterson	A&H
2007	LSU	12–2	Les Miles	AP, BCS, CCR, FWAA, NFF, SR, USAT
	Missouri	12–2	Gary Pinkel	A&H
	USC	11–2	Pete Carroll	DuS
2008	Florida	13–1	Urban Meyer	AP, BCS, BR, CCR, CM, R(FACT), FWAA, NFF, SR, USAT
	Utah	13–0	Kyle Whittingham	A&H, MCFR, W
2009	Alabama	14–0	Nick Saban	A&H, AP, B(QPRS), BCS, BR, CCR, CFRA, CM, DuS, FWAA, MCFR, NFF, R(FACT), SR, USAT, W
2010	Auburn	14–0	Gene Chizik	A&H, AP, B(QPRS), BCS, BR, CFRA, CM, DuS, FWAA, MCFR, NFF, R(FACT) [co-champion], SR, USAT, W
	Oregon	12–1	Chip Kelly	R(FACT)
	TCU	13–0	Gary Patterson	CCR

Total championship selections from major selectors by school

The national title count listed below is a culmination of all championship awarded since 1869, regardless of consensus or non-consensus status, as listed in the table above according to the selectors deemed to be major as listed in the official NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (minus the Harris Interactive poll, 2005–present, that is listed but does not conduct a final poll or award a championship).^[8]

The totals can be said to be disputed. Individual schools may claim national championships not accounted for by the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records or may not claim national championship selections that do appear in the official NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (see National championship claims by school below). For an alternative independent view of national championship totals for each team, please see the College Football Data Warehouse recognized national champions or Poll era (1936-present) selections in the tables below.

School	Championships
Princeton	28
Yale	27
Michigan	22
Notre Dame	21
Alabama	17
Oklahoma	17
USC	17
Ohio State	13
Harvard	12
Nebraska	11
Pittsburgh	11
Miami	9
Texas	9
Florida State	7
LSU	7
Minnesota	7
Penn State	7
Tennessee	7
Georgia Tech	6
Michigan State	6
Penn	6
Army	5
Auburn	5
Florida	5
Georgia	5
California	5
Cornell	5
Illinois	5
Iowa	4
Washington	4
Lafayette	3
Mississippi	3
SMU	3
TCU	3
Texas A&M	3
Arkansas	2
Arizona State	2
Chicago	2
Maryland	2
Missouri	2
Stanford	2
BYU	1
Centre	1
Clemson	1
Colgate	1
Colorado	1
Columbia	1
Dartmouth	1
Detroit	1
Kentucky	1
Navy	1
Oregon	1
Purdue	1
Rutgers	1
Syracuse	1
UCLA	1
Utah	1
Wisconsin	1
Washington & Jefferson	1

National championship claims by school

The following is a table of known schools' claims on national championships at the highest level of play in college football. Several of these schools no longer compete at the highest level, which is currently NCAA Division I FBS, but nonetheless maintain claims to titles from when they did compete at the highest level.

Because there is no one governing or official body that regulates, recognizes, or awards national championships in college football, and because many independent selectors of championships exist, many of the claims by the schools listed below are shared, contradict each other, or are controversial.^[5][8] In addition, because there is no one body overseeing national championships, no standardized requirements exist in order for a school to make a claim on a national championship, as any particular institution is free to make any declaration it deems to be fit. However, all known national championship claims are for seasons in which a National Championship, or share of a championship, was believed to be awarded to that particular school by at least one independent third-party selector.^{[21][22][23][24]} The majority of these claims, but not all, are based on championships awarded from selectors listed as "major" in the official NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records.^[6] Not all championships awarded by third party selectors, nor those listed in the official NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records, are necessarily claimed by each school.^[25] Therefore, these claims represent how each individual school sees their own history on the subject of national championships.

This table below includes only national championship claims originating from each particular school and therefore represents the point-of-view of each individual institution. Each total number of championships, and the years for which they are claimed, are documented by the particular school on its official website, in its football media guide, or in other official publications or literature (see Source). If a championship is not mentioned by a school for any particular season, regardless of whether it was awarded by a selector or listed in a third-party publication such as the official NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records, it is not considered to be claimed by that institution.^[26]

School	Claimed National Championships	Seasons	Source
Princeton	28	1869, 1870, 1872, 1873, 1874, 1875, 1877, 1878, 1879, 1880, 1881, 1884, 1885, 1886, 1889, 1893, 1894, 1896, 1898, 1899, 1903, 1906, 1911, 1920, 1922, 1933, 1935, 1950	[27]
Yale	26a	1872, 1874, 1876, 1877, 1879, 1880, 1881, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1886, 1888, 1891, 1892, 1893, 1894, 1895, 1897, 1900, 1901, 1902, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1909, 1926	[28][29]
Alabama	13	1925, 1926, 1930, 1934, 1941, 1961, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1978, 1979, 1992, 2009	[30][31]
Michigan	11	1901, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1918, 1923, 1932, 1933, 1947, 1948, 1997	[32][33]
Notre Dame	11	1924, 1929, 1930, 1943, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1966, 1973, 1977, 1988	[34]
USC	11b	1928, 1931, 1932, 1939, 1962, 1967, 1972, 1974, 1978, 2003, 2004b	[35]
Pittsburgh	9	1915, 1916, 1918, 1929, 1931, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1976	[36]
Harvard	7	1890, 1898, 1899, 1910, 1912, 1913, 1919	[37]
Ohio State	7	1942, 1954, 1957, 1961, 1968, 1970, 2002	[38]
Oklahoma	7	1950, 1955, 1956, 1974, 1975, 1985, 2000	[39]
Penn	7	1894, 1895, 1897, 1904, 1907, 1908, 1924	[40]
Michigan St	6	1951, 1952, 1955, 1957, 1965, 1966	[41][42]
Minnesota	6	1934, 1935, 1936, 1940, 1941, 1960	[43]
Tennessee	6	1938, 1940, 1950, 1951, 1967, 1998	[44][45]
California	5	1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1937	[46][47]
Cornell	5	1915, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1939	[48]
Georgia	5c	1927, 1942, 1946, 1968, 1980	[49][50]
Illinois	5	1914, 1919, 1923, 1927, 1951	[51]
Miami	5	1983, 1987, 1989, 1991, 2001	[52]
Nebraska	5	1970, 1971, 1994, 1995, 1997	[53]
Georgia Tech	4	1917, 1928, 1952, 1990	[54]
Texas	4	1963, 1969, 1970, 2005	[55]
Army	3	1944, 1945, 1946	[56][57]
Florida	3	1996, 2006, 2008	[58]
Lafayette	3	1896, 1921, 1926	[59]
LSU	3	1958, 2003, 2007	[60]
Mississippi	3	1959, 1960, 1962	[61]
SMU	3	1935, 1981, 1982	[62][63]
Auburn	2	1957, 2010	[64]
Chicago	2	1905, 1913	[65]
Florida State	2	1993, 1999	[66]
Penn State	2	1982, 1986	[67]
TCU	2	1935, 1938	[68]
Washington	2d	1960, 1991	[69]
Arkansas	1	1964	[70]
Boston College	1	1940	[71]
BYU	1	1984	[72]
Clemson	1	1981	[73]
Colorado	1	1990	[74]
Dartmouth	1	1925	[75]
Iowa	1e	1958	[76][77]
Kentucky	1	1950	[78][79]
Maryland	1	1953	[80]
Navy	1	1926	[81]
Stanford	1	1926	[82][83]
Syracuse	1	1959	[84]
Texas A&M	1	1939	[85]
UCLA	1	1954	[86][87]

^{a In Yale's Media Guide Year-By-Year Results section, the 1887 is listed as National Champs, however this title is not referred to elsewhere and is not included in the list of 26 National Championships that are claimed in the media guide or on Yale's athletic website.[88]
bUSC's January 4, 2005 win over Oklahoma in the BCS Championship Game was vacated as mandated by the NCAA, its 2004 BCS National Championship vacated by the BCS, and its AFCA Coaches' Trophy returned. NCAA sanctions mandate that "any reference to the vacated results, including championships, shall be removed." It is unclear whether these sanctions are able to be enforced for a non-NCAA championship claim, or whether it only refers to NCAA Championship events in basketball and tennis. Despite this, USC still retains the 2004 Associated Press National Championship and has not abandoned its claim to a 2004 National Championship.[89][16]
c In an on-line list of the university's national championships, Georgia lists only two for football (1942 and 1980).[90] However, in Georgia's football media guide, although those years are highlighted as consensus championships, each of the five championships are described separately[49] and those seasons are highlighted as national championships in the year-by-year results.[50]
d Washington's media guide specifically highlights only National Championships in 1960 and 1991, and these are the only years that are depicted as National Championship seasons on signage displayed in Husky Stadium,[69] although additional championship selections in 1984 and 1990 are also listed in record book section of the media guide.[91]
e Iowa lists the awarding of the 1958 Grantland Rice National Championship in various publications, but does not appear to directly comment on a claim.}

College Football Data Warehouse recognized national champions

College Football Data Warehouse (CFBDW) is an online resource and database that has collected and researched information on college football and national championship selections. It provides a comprehensive list of national championship selectors^[92][93] and has itself recognized selectors that it has deemed to be the most acceptable throughout history. These include the National Championship Foundation (1869–1882), the Helms Athletic Foundation (1883–1935), the College Football Researchers Association (1919–1935), the Associated Press Poll (1936–present), and the Coaches Poll (1950–present).^[7] From its research, it has compiled a list of Recognized National Championships for each season.^[94] Some years include recognition of multiple teams for a particular season. Please note that the CFBDW list of Recognized Champions does not confer any additional legitimacy to the titles. In this regard, some universities claim championships not recognized by CFBDW or do not claim championships that are recognized by CFBDW. Please consult the above table of National championship claims by school or individual team articles and websites for possible additional or alternative national championship claims.

Below is a list of all of the CFBDW recognized national championships from 1869 to present.

School	Championships	Seasons
Princeton	26	1869, 1870, 1872, 1873, 1874, 1875, 1877, 1878, 1879, 1880, 1881, 1884, 1885, 1886, 1889, 1893, 1896, 1898, 1899, 1903, 1906, 1911, 1920, 1922, 1933, 1935
Yale	18	1874, 1876, 1877, 1880, 1881, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1886, 1887, 1888, 1891, 1892, 1894, 1900, 1907, 1909, 1927
Notre Dame	13	1919, 1924, 1929, 1930, 1943, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1964, 1966, 1973, 1977, 1988
Alabama	12	1925, 1926, 1930, 1934, 1961, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1978, 1979, 1992, 2009
Michigan	11	1901, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1918, 1923, 1932, 1933, 1947, 1948, 1997
USC	10	1928, 1931, 1932, 1962, 1967, 1972, 1974, 1978, 2003, 2004
Pittsburgh	9	1910, 1915, 1916, 1918, 1929, 1931, 1936, 1937, 1976
Harvard	8	1875, 1890, 1898, 1899, 1910, 1912, 1913, 1919
Ohio State	7	1942, 1954, 1957, 1961, 1968, 1970, 2002
Oklahoma	7	1950, 1955, 1956, 1974, 1975, 1985, 2000
Minnesota	6	1934, 1935, 1936, 1940, 1941, 1960
Penn	6	1894, 1895, 1897, 1904, 1907, 1908
Army	5	1914, 1916, 1944, 1945, 1946
Miami	5	1983, 1987, 1989, 1991, 2001
Nebraska	5	1970, 1971, 1994, 1995, 1997
California	4	1920, 1921, 1922, 1937
Georgia Tech	4	1917, 1928, 1952, 1990
Illinois	4	1914, 1919, 1923, 1927
LSU	4	1908, 1958, 2003, 2007
Michigan St	4	1951, 1952, 1965, 1966
Penn State	4	1911, 1912, 1982, 1986
Tennessee	4	1938, 1950, 1951, 1998
Texas	4	1963, 1969, 1970, 2005
Auburn	3	1913, 1957, 2010
Cornell	3	1915, 1921, 1922
Florida	3	1996, 2006, 2008
Lafayette	3	1896, 1921, 1926
FSU	2	1993, 1999
Georgia	2	1942, 1980
Mississippi	2	1960, 1962
Texas A&M	2	1919, 1939
Arkansas	1	1964
Boston College	1	1940
BYU	1	1984
Chicago	1	1905
Clemson	1	1981
Colorado	1	1990
Dartmouth	1	1925
Iowa	1	1958
Maryland	1	1953
SMU	1	1935
Stanford	1	1926
Syracuse	1	1959
TCU	1	1938
UCLA	1	1954
Washington	1	1991

Poll era (1936–present)

The polling system first gained widespread consistency with the introduction of the AP poll in 1936, followed by the Coaches' Poll in 1950. National championships are often popularly considered to be "consensus" when both of these polls are in agreement with their national championship selections, although other selectors exist and do make alternative selections. A more modern incarnation, the Bowl Championship Series (BCS), is a consortium of college football conferences that uses a combination of various computer rankings and human polls to mathematically determine a post-season matchup between the two top teams as determined by its formula. The USA Today Coaches' Poll is contractually obligated to name the BCS champion as its national champion.

AP Poll

The AP college football poll has a long history. The news media began running their own polls of sports writers to determine who was, by popular opinion, the best football team in the country at the end of the season. One of the earliest such polls was the AP College Football Poll, first run in 1934 (compiled and organized by Charles Woodroof, former SEC Assistant Director of Media Relations, but not recognized in the official NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records) and then continuously from 1936. Due to the long-standing historical ties between individual college football conferences and high-paying bowl games like the Rose Bowl and Orange Bowl, the NCAA has never held a tournament or championship game to determine the champion of what is now the highest division, NCAA Division I, Football Bowl Subdivision (the Division I, Football Championship Subdivision and lower divisions do hold championship tournaments). As a result, the public and the media began to take the leading vote-getter in the final AP Poll as the national champion for that season.

While the AP Poll currently lists the Top 25 teams in the nation, from 1936 to 1961 the wire service only ranked 20 teams. And from 1962 to 1967 only 10 teams were recognized. From 1968 to 1988, the AP again resumed its Top 20 before expanding to 25 teams in 1989.

Until the 1968 college football season, the final AP Poll of the season was released following the end of the regular season, with the exception of the 1965 season. In 1964, Alabama was named the national champion in the final AP Poll following the completion of the regular season, but lost in the Orange Bowl to Texas, leaving Arkansas as the only undefeated, untied team after the Razorbacks defeated Nebraska in the Cotton Bowl Classic. In 1965, the AP's decision to wait to crown its champion paid off, as top-ranked Michigan State lost to UCLA in the Rose Bowl, number two Arkansas lost to LSU in the Cotton Bowl Classic, and fourth-ranked Alabama defeated third-ranked Nebraska in the Orange Bowl, vaulting the Crimson Tide to the top of the AP's final poll. Michigan State was named national champion in the final United Press International poll of coaches, which did not conduct a post-bowl poll. At the end of the 1947 season, the AP released an unofficial post-bowl poll which differed from the regular season final poll. The AP national championship had been awarded before bowl games were played.

Beginning in the 1968 season, a post bowl game poll was released and the AP championship reflected the bowl game results. The UPI did not follow suit with the coaches' poll until the 1974 season.

Coaches' Poll

The Coaches' poll began selecting the top 20 teams on a weekly basis during the 1950-1951 college football and is conducted among selected members of the American Football Coaches Association. The Coaches' Poll took their final poll prior to the bowl games from 1950–1973, and since 1974, has taken their final poll after bowl games. The Coaches' Poll does not include teams on either NCAA or conference-sanction probation, which also differentiates it from the AP poll.^[95] The poll has been released through various media outlets and with differing sponsors over its history, and thus has taken a succession of different names, including United Press (UP) from 1950 thru 1957, the United Press International (UPI) from 1958 thru 1990, USA Today/CNN from 1991 thru 1996, and USA Today/ESPN from 1997 to present. The National Champion from this poll has frequently been the same champion from the AP Poll, although it has disagreed with the AP eleven times over its history. The Coaches' Poll is now under contractual obligation to award its national championship selection to the winner of the BCS Championship game. During the BCS era, this selection has varied once, in 2003, from the AP Poll.

National poll championships (1936–present)

The following table contains the National Championships that have been recognized by the AP or Coaches' Poll. The BCS champion is automatically awarded the Coaches' Poll championship. Of the current 120 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS, formerly I-A Division) schools, only 30 have won at least a share of a national title. Of these 30 teams, only 18 teams have won multiple titles. Of the 18 teams, only seven have won five or more national titles: Alabama, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, USC, Miami, Nebraska, and Ohio State. The years listed in the table below indicate a national championship selection by the AP or Coaches' Poll. The selections are noted with (AP) or (Coaches) when a national champion selection differed between the two polls for that particular season, which has occurred in eleven different seasons since the polls first came to coexist in 1950.

School	Championships	Seasons
Alabama	8	1961, 1964, 1965 (AP), 1973 (Coaches), 1978 (AP), 1979, 1992, 2009
Notre Dame	8	1943, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1966, 1973 (AP), 1977, 1988
Oklahoma	7	1950, 1955, 1956, 1974 (AP), 1975, 1985, 2000
USC	7	1962, 1967, 1972, 1974 (Coaches), 1978 (Coaches), 2003 (AP), 2004 (AP)*
Miami	5	1983, 1987, 1989, 1991 (AP), 2001
Nebraska	5	1970 (AP), 1971, 1994, 1995, 1997 (Coaches)
Ohio State	5	1942, 1954 (AP), 1957 (Coaches), 1968, 2002
Minnesota	4	1936, 1940, 1941, 1960
Texas	4	1963, 1969, 1970 (Coaches), 2005
Florida	3	1996, 2006, 2008
LSU	3	1958, 2003 (Coaches), 2007
Army	2	1944, 1945
Auburn	2	1957 (AP), 2010
Florida State	2	1993, 1999
Michigan	2	1948, 1997 (AP)
Michigan State	2	1952, 1965 (Coaches)
Penn State	2	1982, 1986
Pittsburgh	2	1937, 1976
Tennessee	2	1951, 1998
Colorado	1	1990 (AP)
Georgia Tech	1	1990 (Coaches)
BYU	1	1984
Clemson	1	1981
Georgia	1	1980
UCLA	1	1954 (Coaches)
Maryland	1	1953
Syracuse	1	1959
Texas A&M	1	1939
TCU	1	1938
Washington	1	1991 (Coaches)

^{* USC's 2004-2005 BCS National Championship was vacated by the BCS and the AFCA Coaches' Trophy returned.[16]}

BCS standings

The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) is a selection system designed to give the top two teams in the NCAA Division I-Football Bowl Subdivision System (formerly Division I-A) an opportunity to compete in a "national championship game". This championship is intended as a surrogate for a playoff system since the NCAA does not formally determine a champion in this category. It has been in place since the 1998 season, but a number of controversial selections have spurred changes in the system that continue into the present. Prior to the 2006 season, eight teams competed in four BCS Bowls (the Orange, Sugar, Rose, and Fiesta). The BCS replaced the Bowl Alliance (in place from 1995–1997), which itself followed the Bowl Coalition (in place from 1992–1994). One of the main differences is that the Rose Bowl participates in the BCS; previously, the Big Ten and Pac-12 champions automatically played in the Rose Bowl regardless of their poll rankings. Now, those teams play in the BCS National Championship Game if they finish #1 or #2 in the BCS rankings.

The BCS currently relies on a combination of the Coaches' and Harris polls and an average of various computer rankings to determine relative team rankings, and to narrow the field to two teams to play in the BCS National Championship Game held after the other college bowl games. The winner of this game is crowned Coaches' Poll national champion winning the AFCA National Championship Trophy and is also awarded the MacArthur Trophy by the National Football Foundation.^[11][12]

BCS National Champions by conference (1998–present)

Conference	Championships	Schools	BCS Championship Game Record
SEC	7	Tennessee (1998), LSU (2003, 2007), Florida (2006, 2008), Alabama (2009), Auburn (2010)	7–0 (1.000)
Big 12	2	Oklahoma (2000), Texas (2005)	2–5 (0.286)
ACC	1	Florida State (1999)	1–2 (0.333)[96] (2–4 current alignment)
Big Ten	1	Ohio State (2002)	1–2 (0.333)
Big East	1	Miami (2001)	1–2 (0.333)[96] (0–0 current alignment)
Pac-12	0*	None*	0–1 (0.000)*

^{* USC's participation in the 2005 Orange Bowl, subsequent 2004-2005 BCS National Championship, and participation in the 2006 Rose Bowl were vacated by the BCS.[16][97]}

See also

• NCAA Division I Football Championship
• NCAA Division II National Football Championship
• NCAA Division III National Football Championship

Notes

1. ^ "Syracuse and Cornell Still Top Gridders". The Reading Eagle (Reading, PA): p. 12. 1923-11-12. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Or8tAAAAIBAJ&pg=5470%2C2495096. Retrieved 2011-03-05. 
2. ^ The Owl (1939), University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, page 276, accessdate=2009-04-01
3. ^ Dodd, Dennis (2004-12-22). "Subtracting AP poll leaves BCS again scrambling for legitimacy". CBSsports.com. http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/story/8025013. Retrieved 2011-03-05. 
4. ^ Peterson, Bill (2008-11-05). "UC Football in the Hunt for a Big East Crown and BCS Bid". Citybeat.com. http://www.citybeat.com/cincinnati/article-16515-uc-football-in-the-hunt-for-a-big-east-crown-and-bcs-bid.html. Retrieved 2011-03-05. 
5. ^ ^{a b c} Hooper, Matt (2009-10-10). Noel, Tex. ed. "How many national titles can Alabama really lay claim to? Better yet, why is there more than one answer? (republished with permission from the Birmingham Weekly)". The College Football Historian (Intercollegiate Football Researchers Association) 2 (9). ISSN 1526-233x. 
6. ^ ^{a b c d e} 2011 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records. Indianapolis, IN: The National Collegiate Athletic Association. 2011-08. pp. 70–71. http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2011/FBS.pdf. Retrieved 2011-10-17. 
7. ^ ^{a b} College Football Data Warehouse: National Championships, accessdate=2009-01-30
8. ^ ^{a b c d e f} 2011 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records. Indianapolis, IN: The National Collegiate Athletic Association. 2011-08. pp. 70–75. http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2011/FBS.pdf. Retrieved 2011-10-17. 
9. ^ "Doctors After the Indians". Baltimore American (Baltimore, MD) 187 (34,129): p. 4. 1899-10-31. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=g_pBAAAAIBAJ&pg=6880%2C6406648. Retrieved 2011-03-05. 
10. ^ ^{a b} Noel, Tex, ed (2009-05). "Three Actual Polls from the 1901 College Football Season". The College Football Historian (Intercollegiate Football Researchers Association) 2 (4). ISSN 1526-233x. http://www.secsportsfan.com/support-files/may_09.pdf. Retrieved 2009-10-17. 
11. ^ ^{a b} Bowl Championship Game 2009, accessdate=209-01-30
12. ^ ^{a b} National Football Foundation: The MacArthur Trophy, accessdate=2009-01-30
13. ^ 2011 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records. Indianapolis, IN: The National Collegiate Athletic Association. 2011-08. pp. 70-71, 75. http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2011/FBS.pdf. Retrieved 2011-10-17. 
14. ^ Smokeys-trail.com
15. ^ NCAA.com
16. ^ ^{a b c d} "BCS strips Southern California of 2004 national championship". USA Today. 2011-06-06. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/campusrivalry/post/2011/06/usc-bcs-national-championship-stripped/1. Retrieved 2011-06-06. 
17. ^ ^{a b} Harris Interactive: Bowl Championship Series, accessdate=2009-01-30
18. ^ 2011 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records. Indianapolis, IN: The National Collegiate Athletic Association. 2011–08. pp. 79. http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2011/FBS.pdf. Retrieved 2011–10–17. 
19. ^ The FWAA stripped USC of its 2004 Grantland Rice Trophy and vacated the selection of its national champion for 2004. The BCS also vacated USC's participation in the 2005 Orange Bowl and vacated USC's 2004 BCS National Championship and the AFCA Coaches' Poll Trophy was returned.^{ref1, ref2}
20. ^ Record reflects vacated wins against UCLA and against Oklahoma in the BCS Championship game on January 4, 2005 as mandated by the NCAA.
21. ^ "Year By Year Results: All Types of National Championships Included". College Football Data Warehouse. http://cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/national_championships/year_by_year.php. Retrieved 2009-10-18. 
22. ^ "Current National Championship Selectors". College Football Data Warehouse. http://cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/national_championships/current_selectors.php. Retrieved 2009-10-18. 
23. ^ "Previous National Championship Selectors". College Football Data Warehouse. http://cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/national_championships/previous_selectors.php. Retrieved 2009-10-18. 
24. ^ Jenkins, Dan (Sept. 11, 1967), "This Year The Fight Will Be In The Open", Sports Illustrated (Chicago, IL: Time, Inc.) 27 (11): 30–33, http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1080269/index.htm, retrieved 2009-04-29 
25. ^ The following schools either make no apparent statement or claim regarding national championships, or clearly state no claims on a national championship, despite the listing of a national championship for that school in the official NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records: Arizona State, Centre, Colgate, Columbia, Detroit, Missouri, Purdue, Rutgers, Washington & Jefferson, and Wisconsin.
26. ^ All National Championships listed in the official NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records, as well as all additional selections compiled at College Football Data Warehouse, were checked for claims by the applicable schools. Although every care was taken to be thorough and accurate, it can not be assumed that there are no missing or misrepresented claims due to potential limitations of the available source material for any one institution.
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References

• NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records
• MacCambridge, M. (2005) ESPN College Football Encyclopedia. New York: ESPN Books. ISBN 1-4013-3703-1
• College Poll Archive