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The NCAA Division I-A national football championship is the only Division I-A NCAA-sponsored sport without an organized tournament to determine its champion.
Although football is the most popular NCAA sport and the sports in which public interest in the "championship" would be highest, there may be in fact no undisputed champion in any given year. Criticisms lodged against the NCAA football division include the fact that the final ranking of NCAA football teams is decided by subjective standards which are often regarded as being arbitrary, much like those in beauty pageants. Many believe that the champion of the most popular collegiate sport should not be decided by polls. The major push for changes to the system is less than a decade old, while Bowl traditions approach a century old. The most vocal supportors of a change to the system are fans, sportscasters, and coaches, while school presidents largely favor the current system..
Over the years various polls and formulas have been used to determine a national champion. For champions prior to 1936, retroactive polls and research have been employed to determine recognized champions of major college football. The methodology has evolved over the years, as have the polls being used.
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.
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. In the BCS formula Oklahoma was ranked #1 at the end of the regular season and LSU ended up #2. Under the BCS agreement Oklahoma played LSU in the championship game. LSU won the BCS title game, giving it the BCS title and #1 in the coaches' poll, while the sportswriters voted USC #1 in the AP poll. Consequently, for the 2004 season, the BCS formula was once again tweaked (see Bowl Championship Series article).
On one occasion, the BCS formula has worked ideally: in 2005, there were only two undefeated teams at the end of the season, the USC Trojans and the Texas Longhorns. Those two teams met in the Rose Bowl, and Texas won. The use of the Bowl Championship Series formula, however, has fostered debate amongst those college football fans who are proponents of a playoff system.
The term Division I-A was not used until 1978, and before that the term 'major college champion' was often used. Below are some of the selectors:
Retroactive/research polls:
| National Championship Foundation | (NCF) | 1869-2001 (Table below reflects selections from 1869-1882 and from 1924-1953) |
| College Football Researchers Association | (CFRA) | 1919-1992 (Table below reflects selections from 1924-1953) |
| Helms Athletic Foundation | (H) | Retroactive 1883-1941, Contemporaneous 1942-1982 (Table below reflects selections from 1883-1953) |
Statistical analysis
| Dickinson System | (D) | 1924-1940 (Contemporaneous 1926-1940) |
Media/opinion polls
| United Press | (UP) | 1935 (Before Bowls) |
| Associated Press | (AP) | 1936-present (After Bowls 1965 and 1968-present) |
| International News Service | (INS) | 1952-1957 (Before Bowls) |
| Football Writers Association of America | (FWAA) | 1954-present (After Bowls beginning 1955) |
| Harris Interactive | (HI) | 2005-present (Used only to help select BCS participants) |
The coaches' poll, published by:
| United Press | (UP) | 1950-1957 (Before Bowls) |
| United Press International | (UPI) | 1958-1990 (After Bowls beginning 1974) |
| USA Today/CNN | (CNN) | 1991-1996 (After Bowls) |
| USA Today/ESPN | (ESPN) | 1997 (After Bowls) |
| USA Today/ESPN | (BCS) | 1998-2004 (Required to vote for BCS title game winner) |
| USA Today | (BCS) | 2005-present (Required to vote for BCS title game winner) |
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. The University of Michigan won the first non-Ivy League national championship in 1901 (game played in January, 1902).
Using only the sources recognized above, the following teams have won the most championships since 1901:
| Team | Recognized titles | Winning years |
|---|---|---|
| Notre Dame | 12 | 1924, 1929, 1930, 1938, 1943, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1966, 1973, 1977, 1988 |
| Alabama | 12 | 1925, 1926, 1930, 1934, 1945, 1961, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1978, 1979, 1992 |
| USC | 11 | 1928, 1931, 1932, 1939, 1962, 1967, 1972, 1974, 1978, 2003, 2004 |
| Oklahoma | 9 | 1949, 1950, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1974, 1975, 1985, 2000 |
| Michigan | 7 | 1901, 1902, 1932, 1933, 1947, 1948, 1997 |
| Ohio State | 7 | 1942, 1944, 1954, 1957, 1961, 1968, 2002 |
| Minnesota | 6 | 1934, 1935, 1936, 1940, 1941, 1960 |
| Miami (FL) | 5 | 1983, 1987, 1989, 1991, 2001 |
| Nebraska | 5 | 1970, 1971, 1994, 1995, 1997 |
| Tennessee | 4 | 1938, 1950, 1951, 1998 |
| Texas | 4 | 1963, 1969, 1970, 2005 |
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. Oklahoma claims 7 national championships).
Futhermore, some universities have received mention as a national champion by at least one source — which some universities would claim as a national title — but do not count it among the consensus championships. For instance, by some counts, Notre Dame has 11 consensus titles (1924, '29, '30, '43, '46, '47, '49, '66, '73, '77, '88), but another 8 seasons where one reliable source declared Notre Dame the national champion (1919, '20, '27, '38, '53, '64, '67, '70).
See also
- BCS National Championship Game
- NCAA Division I-AA national football championship
- NCAA Division II national football championship
- NCAA Division III national football championship
- Mythical National Championship
References
- College Football Data Warehouse National Championships Page
- 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
Other College Football links
College football | Sports-related lists | Bowl Championship Series
"NCAA Division I-A national football championship"