The 'NCAA Division I-A national football championship' is the only
Division I NCAA-sponsored sport without an organized
tournament to determine its champion; in fact, while various other organizations (as described below) designate a national champion at the Division I level, the NCAA itself does not award a championship for
Division I-A football.
The poll system
Since the start of college football, there have been many individuals, publications and organizations that have selected their national champions. Some carried more weight than others. Also, some organizations have gone back and researched those early seasons and retroactively constructed rankings and determined recognized champions of major college football. Some examples of these type of polls include the National Championship Foundation, the College Football Researchers Association, and the
Helms Athletic Foundation. Other systems, such as the
Dickinson System, used statistical analysis to determine a ranking.
One of the first major media poll was the
AP Poll released in 1936, which is still in use today. This poll utilizes a vast network of sportswriters to determine its rankings. Although modified slightly, another poll still in use today is the
Coaches' Poll, which polls a random selection of 62 collegiate football
head coaches to determine its rankings.
The tradition, and the controversy, is carried on today with the
Bowl Championship Series ("BCS"), created for the
1998 season, and its predecessors — the
Bowl Coalition from seasons
1992 to
1994, and the
Bowl Alliance from seasons
1995 to
1997. The
AP and Coaches' polls, computer rankings, strength of schedule, and performance against other top teams were combined into a formula, with the top two teams meeting in the
BCS National Championship Game. But, the system has not been without controversy.
Most recently, in
2003 USC did not play in the BCS title game, despite finishing the regular season as #1 in both the AP and Coaches' polls. Under the BCS formula, Oklahoma was ranked #1 at the end of the regular season with
LSU #2. Under the BCS agreement, Oklahoma played LSU in the BCS National Championship game. LSU won the BCS title game, giving it the BCS national championship and the #1 ranking in the Coaches' poll, while the sportswriters voted USC #1 in the AP poll. The resulting "split" national championship introduced more tweaks to the BCS formula for the 2004 season. This season ended in more controversy with three teams contending for the BCS National Championship game and
Auburn University being left out of the game in which the
University of Oklahoma lost to
USC.
On two occasions, the BCS formula has worked as planned. In both 2002 and 2005, there were only two undefeated teams at the end of the season. In 2002, those teams were the Ohio State University Buckeyes and the University of Miami Hurricanes, while in 2005, those teams were the
USC Trojans and the
University of Texas Longhorns. For the 2002 title, Ohio State defeated Miami in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl to claim the BCS title, while in the game for the 2005 title, Texas defeated USC in the Rose Bowl to claim the BCS title. The use of the
Bowl Championship Series formula, however, has fostered debate amongst those college football fans who are proponents of a playoff system.
Football Bowl Subdivision
On August 3, 2006, the Division I Board of Directors took action regarding the two football subdivisions in Division I (Division I-A and I-AA), the Board approved new labels. The presidents approved a change in terminology to "
Football Bowl Subdivision" for the former I-A classification and "
NCAA Football Championship Subdivision" for the former I-AA group. The Collegiate Commissioners Association helped develop the new labels.
The presidents believe the new nomenclature, which became effective in December 2006, more accurately distinguishes Division I institutions for purposes of governing football, the only sport for which such a distinction is necessary. Members felt the old nomenclature inaccurately tiered Division I institutions in all sports, not just football, and produced instances in which media outlets and other entities incorrectly cited institutions as being Division I-AA in basketball or baseball, for example.
The new nomenclature does not affect the voting structure used in Division I governance matters.
Rankings overview
As mentioned previously, the NCAA does not award a consensus national champion for Division I-A football. Throughout the season, human polls are used to decide who are the top teams. The most widely accepted polls in use today are the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll. Beginning in 1998, the BCS became a determining system in crowning a national champion. The BCS uses both objective and subjective data, including human polls, to determine the top two teams at the end of the season. Those two teams play each other in the BCS National Championship Game.
Prior to 1936, determining national champions is more difficult. According to the website, College Football Data Warehouse, the most acceptable selectors throughout history are the National Championship Foundation, Helms Athletic Foundation, and the College Football Researchers Association.
[1]
Following is a table of the polls that will be used for this ranking:
By year
Most national championships
This is a source of much debate. Before 1901 the national title was dominated by teams that are now members of the
Ivy League. Yale and Princeton each claim as many as 24 national championships. However, Yale's last title was in 1927 and Princeton's was in 1935 (according to Dunkel, not reflected above). The University of Michigan won the first non-Ivy League national championship in 1901 (game played in January, 1902).
In an attempt to settle countless arguments, in 1970 ''Sports Illustrated'' made an in-depth study into college football's
mythical national champions. Every recognized authority that ever presumed to name a No. 1 was included: Associated Press, Football Writers Association of America, National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame, United Press International and many other authorities. At that time they claimed Notre Dame had the most national championships with 17, Alabama with 13, Yale 13, Princeton 12, and USC 10.
[1]
Using only the sources from the National Championship Foundation or the "consensus" champion, the following teams have won the most championships since 1901:
| Team | Recognized titles | Winning years |
|---|
| Notre Dame | 13 | 1924, 1929, 1930, 1938, 1943, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1953, 1966, 1973, 1977, 1988 |
| USC | 11 | 1928, 1931, 1932, 1939, 1962, 1967, 1972, 1974, 1978, 2003, 2004 |
| Alabama | 11 | 1925, 1926, 1930, 1945, 1961, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1978, 1979, 1992 |
| Oklahoma | 9 | 1949, 1950, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1974, 1975, 1985, 2000 |
| Ohio State | 7 | 1942, 1944, 1954, 1957, 1961, 1968, 2002 |
| Michigan | 7 | 1901, 1902, 1932, 1933, 1947, 1948, 1997 |
| Minnesota | 6 | 1934, 1935, 1936, 1940, 1941, 1960 |
| Miami | 5 | 1983, 1987, 1989, 1991, 2001 |
| Nebraska | 5 | 1970, 1971, 1994, 1995, 1997 |
| Pittsburgh | 5 | 1916, 1918, 1936, 1937, 1976 |
| Texas | 4 | 1963, 1969, 1970, 2005 |
| Tennessee | 4 | 1938, 1950, 1951, 1998 |
| Georgia Tech | 4 | 1917, 1928, 1952, 1990 |
| Harvard | 4 | 1910, 1912, 1913, 1919 |
Several universities claim more championships than are listed above (e.g., Michigan claims 11 national championships) and some claim fewer championships than are listed above (e.g., Notre Dame claims 11 national championships, Oklahoma claims 7).
Most Associated Press National Championships
Since 1936, the Associated Press has polled sportwriters resulting in an annually awarded a national championship. Until 1968, the final poll was conducted before the bowl games were played.
Most Coaches' Poll National Championships
Since 1950, various media organizations including the UPI, ESPN, USA Today and CNN have polled current head coaches resulting in an annually awarded a national championship. Until 1973, the final poll was conducted before the bowl games were played. Beginning in 1998, it has been contractually bestowed upon the winner of the BCS National Championship game.
Most Poll Era National Championships
The "Poll Era" began in 1936, the first season a poll (Associated Press poll) determined the national champion. Some sources only recognize a consensus championship as one of the Poll Era.
| Team | Recognized titles | Winning years |
|---|
| Notre Dame | 10 | 1938, 1943, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1953, 1966, 1973, 1977, 1988 |
| Oklahoma | 9 | 1949, 1950, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1974, 1975, 1985, 2000 |
| Alabama | 8 | 1945, 1961, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1978, 1979, 1992 |
| USC | 8 | 1939, 1962, 1967, 1972, 1974, 1978, 2003, 2004 |
| Ohio State | 7 | 1942, 1944, 1954, 1957, 1961, 1968, 2002 |
| Miami | 5 | 1983, 1987, 1989, 1991, 2001 |
| Nebraska | 5 | 1970, 1971, 1994, 1995, 1997 |
| Minnesota | 4 | 1936, 1940, 1941, 1960 |
| Tennessee | 4 | 1938, 1950, 1951, 1998 |
| Texas | 4 | 1963, 1969, 1970, 2005 |
| Michigan | 3 | 1947, 1948, 1997 |
| Pittsburgh | 3 | 1936, 1937, 1976 |
See also
★
NCAA Division I-AA national football championship
★
NCAA Division I-AA Consensus Mid-Major Football National Championship
★
NCAA Division II national football championship
★
NCAA Division III national football championship
★
List of college bowl games
★
Mythical National Championship
References
★
Hickok Sports College Football National Champions page
★
NCAA.org Past National Champions page
★
Nationalchamps.net History Page
★
Bob Kirlin's Historical Reality National College Football Champions
Notes
1. National Championships
2. The official final AP poll, taken before the bowls, had Notre Dame #1 (107 first place votes) and Michigan #2 (25 first place votes). Michigan won the Rose Bowl 49-0 over USC while Notre Dame did not play in a bowl game. Detroit Free Press sports editor Lyall Smith arranged a post-bowl AP poll with only Michigan or Notre Dame as choices. Michigan won that poll 266-119. Natural Enemies, , John, , , ,
Other College Football links
★
NCAA football page
★
College Bowl Games
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