NCAA Division I-A national football champions

NCAA Division 1A Football Champions

The NCAA does not yet conduct an official national title game for Division I-A football. Instead over the years various polls and formulas have been used to determine a "mythical champion". For champions prior to 1936 retro polls and research were used to determine the champion of major college football.

Each year since 1869 a college football champion (or in some instances co-champions) has been declared. Although the method has evolved over the years the tradition is carried on today with a NCAA Division I-A Football Champion being compiled by the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) computers. The term Division 1-A was not used until 1978, and before that the term 'major college champion' was often used. Below are some of the selectors:

National Championship Foundation (NCF) (1869-1935) College Football Researchers Association (CRFA) (1869-1935) Helms Athletic Foundation (H) 1883–1935 The Dickinson System (D) 1924–40 The Associated Press (AP) 1936–present, United Press International (UPI) 1958–90, USA Today/CNN (CNN) 1991–96, USA Today/ESPN (ESPN) 1997–present BCS selection process

Year
Champion
Record
Bowl Game if one
Head Coach
1869
Princeton (NCF)
1-1-0
No bowl
NA
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1870
Princeton (NCF)
1-0
No bowl
NA
1871
None selected
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1872
Princeton (NCF)
1-0
No bowl
NA
1873
Princeton (NCF)
1-0
No bowl
NA
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1874
Yale (NCF)
3-0
No bowl
NA
1875
Harvard (NCF)
4-0
No bowl
NA
Princeton (CRFA)
2-0
No bowl
NA
1876
Yale (NCF)
3-0
No bowl
NA
1877
Yale (NCF)
3-0-1
No bowl
NA
1878
Princeton (NCF)
6-0-0
No bowl
NA
1879
Princeton (NCF)
4-0-1
No bowl
NA
1880
Princeton (NCF)
4-0-1
No bowl
NA
Yale (CFRA)
4-0-1
No bowl
NA
1881
Yale (NCF)
5-0-1
No bowl
NA
1882
Yale (NCF)
8-0-0
No bowl
NA
1883
Yale
8-0-0
No bowl
Ray Tompkins (Captain)
1884
Yale
9-0-0
No bowl
Eugene L. Richards (Captain)
1885
Princeton
9-0-0
No bowl
Charles DeCamp (Captain)
1886
Yale
9-0-1
No bowl
Robert N. Corwin (Captain)
1887
Yale
9-0-0
No bowl
Harry W. Beecher (Captain)
1888
Yale
13-0-0
No bowl
Walter Camp
1889
Princeton
10-0-0
No bowl
Edgar Poe (Captain)
1890
Harvard
11-0-0
No bowl
George A. Stewart/George C. Adams
1891
Yale
13-0-0
No bowl
Walter Camp
1892
Yale
13-0-0
No bowl
Walter Camp
1893
Princeton
11-0-0
No bowl
Tom Trenchard (Captain)
1894
Yale
16-0-0
No bowl
William C. Rhodes
1895
Pennsylvania
14-0-0
No bowl
George Woodruff
1896
Princeton
10-0-1
No bowl
Garrett Cochran
1897
Pennsylvania
15-0-0
No bowl
George Woodruff
1898
Harvard
11-0-0
No bowl
W. Cameron Forbes
1899
Harvard
10-0-1
No bowl
Benjamin H. Dibblee
1900
Yale
12-0-0
No bowl
Malcolm McBride

1901

Michigan

11-0-0

Won Rose

Fielding Yost

1902

Michigan

11-0-0

No bowl

Fielding Yost

1903

Princeton

11-0-0

No bowl

Art Hillebrand

1904

Pennsylvania

12-0-0

No bowl

Carl Williams

1905

Chicago

11-0-0

No bowl

Amos Alonzo Stagg

1906

Princeton

9-0-1

No bowl

Bill Roper

1907

Yale

9-0-1

No bowl

Bill Knox

1908

Pennsylvania

11-0-1

No bowl

Sol Metzger

1909

Yale

10-0-0

No bowl

Howard Jones

1910

Harvard

8-0-1

No bowl

Percy Houghton

1911

Princeton

8-0-2

No bowl

Bill Roper

1912

Harvard

9-0-0

No bowl

Percy Houghton

1913

Harvard

9-0-0

No bowl

Percy Houghton

1914

Army

9-0-0

No bowl

Charley Daly

1915

Cornell

9-0-0

No bowl

Al Sharpe

1916

Pittsburgh

8-0-0

No bowl

Pop Warner

1917

Georgia Tech

9-0-0

No bowl

John Heisman

1918

Pittsburgh

4-1-0

No bowl

Pop Warner

1919

Harvard

9-0-1

Won Rose

Bob Fisher

1920

California

9-0-0

Won Rose

Andy Smith

1921

Cornell

8-0-0

No bowl

Gil Dobie

1922

Cornell

8-0-0

No bowl

Gil Dobie

1923

Illinois

8-0-0

No bowl

Bob Zuppke

1924

Notre Dame

10-0-0

Won Rose

Knute Rockne

1925

Alabama (H)

10-0-0

Won Rose

Wallace Wade

Dartmouth (D)

8-0-0

No bowl

Jesse Hawley

1926

Alabama (H)

9-0-1

Tied Rose

Wallace Wade

Stanford (D)(H)

10-0-1

Tied Rose

Pop Warner

1927

Illinois

7-0-1

No bowl

Bob Zuppke

1928

Georgia Tech (H)

10-0-0

Won Rose

Bill Alexander

USC (D)

9-0-1

No bowl

Howard Jones

1929

Notre Dame

9-0-0

No bowl

Knute Rockne

1930

Notre Dame

10-0-0

No bowl

Knute Rockne

1931

USC

10-1-0

Won Rose

Howard Jones

1932

USC (H)

10-0-0

Won Rose

Howard Jones

Michigan (D)

8-0-0

No bowl

Harry Kipke

1933

Michigan

7-0-1

No bowl

Harry Kipke

1934

Minnesota

8-0-0

No bowl

Bernie Bierman

1935

Minnesota (H)

8-0-0

No bowl

Bernie Bierman

SMU (D)

12-1-0

Lost Rose

Matty Bell

1936

Minnesota

7-1-0

No bowl

Bernie Bierman

1937

Pittsburgh

9-0-1

No bowl

Jock Sutherland

1938

TCU (AP)

11-0-0

Won Sugar

Dutch Meyer

Notre Dame (D)

8-1-0

No bowl

Elmer Layden

1939

USC (D)

8-0-2

Won Rose

Howard Jones

Texas A&M (AP)

11-0-0

Won Sugar

Homer Norton

1940

Minnesota

8-0-0

No bowl

Bernie Bierman

1941

Minnesota

8-0-0

No bowl

Bernie Bierman

1942

Ohio State

9-1-0

No bowl

Paul Brown

1943

Notre Dame

9-1-0

No bowl

Frank Leahy

1944

Army

9-0-0

No bowl

Red Blaik

1945

Army

9-0-0

No bowl

Red Blaik

1946

Notre Dame

8-0-1

No bowl

Frank Leahy

1947

Notre Dame

9-0-0

No bowl

Frank Leahy

Michigan*

10-0-0

Won Rose

Fritz Crisler

1948

Michigan

9-0-0

No bowl

Bennie Oosterbaan

1949

Notre Dame

10-0-0

No bowl

Frank Leahy

1950

Oklahoma

10-1-0

Lost Sugar

Bud Wilkinson

1951

Tennessee

10-1-0

Lost Sugar

Bob Neyland

1952

Michigan State

9-0-0

No bowl

Biggie Munn

1953

Maryland

10-1-0

Lost Orange

Jim Tatum

1954

Ohio State

10-0-0

Won Rose

Woody Hayes

UCLA (UPI)

9-0-0

No bowl

Red Sanders

1955

Oklahoma

11-0-0

Won Orange

Bud Wilkinson

1956

Oklahoma

10-0-0

No bowl

Bud Wilkinson

1957

Auburn

10-0-0

No bowl

Shug Jordan

Ohio State (UPI)

9-1-0

Won Rose

Woody Hayes

1958

LSU

11-0-0

Won Sugar

Paul Dietzel

1959

Syracuse

11-0-0

Won Cotton

Ben Schwartzwalder

1960

Minnesota

8-2-0

Lost Rose

Murray Warmath

1961

Alabama

11-0-0

Won Sugar

Bear Bryant

1962

USC

11-0-0

Won Rose

John McKay

1963

Texas

11-0-0

Won Cotton

Darrell Royal

1964

Alabama

10-1-0

Lost Orange

Bear Bryant

1965

Alabama

9-1-1

Won Orange

Bear Bryant

Michigan State (UPI)

10-1-0

Lost Rose

Duffy Daugherty

1966

Notre Dame

9-0-1

No bowl

Ara Parseghian

1967

USC

10-1-0

Won Rose

John McKay

1968

Ohio State

10-0-0

Won Rose

Woody Hayes

1969

Texas

11-0-0

Won Cotton

Darrell Royal

1970

Nebraska

11-0-1

Won Orange

Bob Devaney

Texas (UPI)

10-1-0

Lost Cotton

Darrell Royal

1971

Nebraska

13-0-0

Won Orange

Bob Devaney

1972

USC

12-0-0

Won Rose

John McKay

1973

Notre Dame

11-0-0

Won Sugar

Ara Parseghian

Alabama (UPI)

11-1-0

Lost Sugar

Bear Bryant

1974

Oklahoma

11-0-0

No bowl

Barry Switzer

USC (UPI)

10-1-1

Won Rose

John McKay

1975

Oklahoma

11-1-0

Won Orange

Barry Switzer

1976

Pittsburgh

12-0-0

Won Sugar

Johnny Majors

1977

Notre Dame

11-1-0

Won Cotton

Dan Devine

1978

Alabama

11-1-0

Won Sugar

Bear Bryant

USC (UPI)

12-1-0

Won Rose

John Robinson

1979

Alabama

12-0-0

Won Sugar

Bear Bryant

1980

Georgia

12-0-0

Won Sugar

Vince Dooley

1981

Clemson

12-0-0

Won Orange

Danny Ford

1982

Penn State

11-1-0

Won Sugar

Joe Paterno

1983

Miami (FL)

11-1-0

Won Orange

Howard Schnellenberger

1984

BYU

13-0-0

Won Holiday

LaVell Edwards

1985

Oklahoma

11-1-0

Won Orange

Barry Switzer

1986

Penn State

12-0-0

Won Fiesta

Joe Paterno

1987

Miami (FL)

12-0-0

Won Orange

Jimmy Johnson

1988

Notre Dame

12-0-0

Won Fiesta

Lou Holtz

1989

Miami (FL)

11-1-0

Won Sugar

Dennis Erickson

1990

Colorado

11-1-1

Won Orange

Bill McCartney

Georgia Tech (UPI)

11-0-1

Won Citrus

Bobby Ross

1991

Miami (FL)

12-0-0

Won Orange

Dennis Erickson

Washington (CNN)

12-0-0

Won Rose

Don James

1992

Alabama

13-0-0

Won Sugar

Gene Stallings

1993

Florida State

12-1-0

Won Orange

Bobby Bowden

1994

Nebraska

13-0-0

Won Orange

Tom Osborne

1995

Nebraska

12-0-0

Won Fiesta

Tom Osborne

1996

Florida

12–1

Won Sugar

Steve Spurrier

1997

Michigan

12–0

Won Rose

Lloyd Carr

Nebraska (ESPN)

13–0

Won Orange

Tom Osborne

1998

Tennessee

13–0

Won Fiesta

Phillip Fulmer

1999

Florida State

12-0

Won Sugar

Bobby Bowden

2000

Oklahoma

13-0

Won Orange

Bob Stoops

2001

Miami (FL)

12-0

Won Rose

Larry Coker

2002

Ohio State

14-0

Won Fiesta

Jim Tressel

2003

LSU (BCS)

13-1

Won Sugar

Nick Saban

USC (AP)

12-1

Won Rose

Pete Carroll