Current season, competition or edition:![]() | |
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Sport | American football |
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Founded | 1869 |
First season | 1869 |
Country | United States |
Most recent champion(s) | Michigan (2023) |
Most titles | Princeton (28 titles) |
Level on pyramid | 1 |
Related competitions | Division I (FCS) |
Official website | ncaa.com/football/fbs |
Championships |
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A national championship in the highest level of college football in the United States, currently the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), is a designation awarded annually by various organizations to their selection of the best college football team. Division I FBS football is the only National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sport for which the NCAA does not host a yearly championship event. As such, it is sometimes referred to as a "mythical national championship".[1][2][3][4][5]
Due to the lack of an official NCAA title, determining the nation's top college football team has often engendered controversy.[6] A championship team is independently declared by multiple individuals and organizations, often referred to as "selectors".[7] These choices are not always unanimous.[6] In 1969 even the President of the United States, Richard Nixon, made a selection by announcing, ahead of the season-ending "game of the century" between No. 1 Texas and No. 2 (AP) Arkansas, that the winner would receive a presidential plaque commemorating them as national champions.[8] Texas went on to win, 15–14.[8]
While the NCAA has never officially endorsed a championship team, it has documented the choices of some selectors in its official NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records publication.[7][9] In addition, various analysts have independently published their own choices for each season. These opinions can often diverge with others as well as individual schools' claims to national titles, which may or may not correlate to the selections published elsewhere. Historically, the two most widely recognized national championship selectors are the Associated Press (AP), which conducts a poll of sportswriters, and the Coaches Poll, a survey of active members of the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA).[10][11][5]
Since 1992, various consortia of major bowl games have aimed to invite the top two teams at the end of the regular season (as determined by internal rankings, or aggregates of the major polls and other statistics) to compete in what is intended to be the de facto national championship game. The current iteration of this practice, the College Football Playoff, selects twelve teams to participate in a national first round or quarterfinals, with the final four teams advancing to the semifinals. The games of the quarterfinals and semifinals are hosted by all of the six partner bowl games, with the final two remaining teams advancing to the College Football Playoff National Championship.
NCAA1960
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).NCAA_2022_Major_Selectors
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).In 1969, President Nixon was the decider of the national championship
NCAA_2022_Final_National_Poll_Leaders
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).the two most widely recognized and authoritative [national championship] selectors are the Associated Press (which conducts a poll of football sportswriters) and the USA Today Coaches' Poll of the American Football Coaches Association.
When the University of Iowa rose to No. 1 in The Associated Press and the United Press International college football rankings last week, it was reason for elation across the state. ... The polls, since the first one began 50 years ago this month, have been the prime measuring stick for determining the champion, albeit an unofficial one.
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