A mythical national championship (often abbreviated MNC) is a national championship that is won without a tournament to determine an undisputed national champion. This term is most often used in the United States to describe the NCAA Division I-A college football champion.

In the case of Division I-A college football, the national champion is determined by human voter polls, by computer rankings, and by a combination of the two. The closest thing to an official championship is the Bowl Championship Series (BCS). It uses a combination of human polls and computer rankings.

Currently the Associated Press (AP) and the Coaches polls are the major players. Each poll is calculated by either members of the press or college football coaches and each poll is independent of each other. This can cause what is known as a "split national championship."

The AP Poll is free to choose any team as its national champion. The Coaches Poll is contractually obligated to vote the winner of the BCS national championship game as its champion.

See also

• NCAA Division I-A national football championship
• BCS National Championship Game

College football