NCAA Division I FBS national football championship

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.

National championships in the Official NCAA Division I Football Records Book

The NCAA maintains an official records book of historical statistics and records for Division I 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.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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 Records Book 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". 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.{{cite book | url=http://web1.ncaa.org/web_files/stats/football_records/DI/2009/2009FBS.pdf | title=Official 2009 NCAA Division I Football Records Book | pages=76–77, 81 | publisher=The National Collegiate Athletic Association | date=2009-08 | location=Indianapolis, IN | accessdate=2009-10-16}}

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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.http://smokeys-trail.com/NCAA/champions.htmlhttp://www.ncaa.com/history/football-fbs.html

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

*The BCS uses both polls and a mathematical system 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 1991–1992 and USA Today from 1993-1994. 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 (1936–64 and 1966–67), Coaches' Poll (1950–1973), FWAA (1954), and NFF (1959–1970). In all other latter-day polls, champions were selected after bowl games.{{cite book | url=http://web1.ncaa.org/web_files/stats/football_records/DI/2009/2009FBS.pdf | title=Official 2009 NCAA Division I Football Records Book | pages=78 | publisher=The National Collegiate Athletic Association | date=2009-08 | location=Indianapolis, IN | accessdate=2009-10-16}}

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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.Harris Interactive: Bowl Championship Series, accessdate=2009-01-30

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Research

College football historian Parke H. Davis is the only selector considered by the NCAA to have primarily used research in his selections. Davis did all of his work in 1933, naming retroactive national champions for most of the years from 1869–1932 and naming Michigan and {{cfb link|year=1933|team=Princeton Tigers|school=Princeton University|title= Princeton}} (his alma mater) co-champions at the end of the 1933 season.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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 Division I Records Book. Many teams did not have coaches as late as 1899. Champions and selectors are in italics when retroactive and bold when "consensus" according to how they are designated in the Official NCAA Records Book. "Consensus" selectors in the Official NCAA Records Book 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 record book include the AP Poll, Coaches' Poll, Football Writers Association of America, and the National Football Foundation/College Football Hall of Fame.{{cite book | url=http://web1.ncaa.org/web_files/stats/football_records/DI/2009/2009FBS.pdf | title=Official 2009 NCAA Division I Football Records Book | pages=85 | publisher=The National Collegiate Athletic Association | date=2009-08 | location=Indianapolis, IN | accessdate=2009-10-16}}

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The first contemporaneous poll to include teams across the country and selection of a national champions can be traced to Casper Whitney in 1901. 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 champion with a tie in its record was {{cfb link|year=1994|team=Florida State Seminoles|school=Florida State University|title=Florida State}} in 1994. It is notable that, though Michigan is often credited with a national championship in 1947 on the basis of a "free poll" conducted by an AP sportswriter after the Rose Bowl, that poll was unofficial and it is not recognized in the Official NCAA Records Bookhttp://www.ncaa.org/library/records/football/football_records_book/2007/2007_d1_football_records_book.pdf.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Please 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 Record Book, 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.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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 Division I Football Records Book (minus the Harris Interactive poll, 2005–present, that is listed but does not conduct a final poll or award a championship).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The totals can be said to be disputed. Individual schools may claim national championships not accounted for by the NCAA Records Book or may not claim national championship selections that do appear in the NCAA Records Book (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.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~