Which college football program has the most national championships? That is a question that will be asked throughout the day and following the conclusion of Monday night’s College Football Playoff title game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and Georgia Bulldogs.
It’s a tough question to answer, since national championships were not tracked prior to the introduction of the AP Poll in 1931, so there has been some sketchy counting with “claimed” titles.
For the purpose of this article, we will look at the complete list of winners from the modern “poll era” which includes 1936 to the present. Those champions were awarded by the AP, Coaches Poll, BCS and College Football Playoff.
How many national titles does your favorite program have?
The list of college football national championships by school can be seen below:
| School | Championships | Seasons |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 13 | 1961, 1964, 1965 (AP), 1973 (Coaches), 1978 (AP), 1979, 1992, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015,2017, 2018 |
| Notre Dame | 8 | 1943, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1966, 1973 (AP), 1977, 1988 |
| Oklahoma | 7 | 1950, 1955, 1956, 1974 (AP), 1975, 1985, 2000 |
| USC | 7 | 1962, 1967, 1972, 1974 (Coaches), 1978 (Coaches), 2003 (AP), 2004 (AP) |
| Ohio State | 6 | 1942, 1954 (AP), 1957 (Coaches), 1968, 2002, 2014 |
| Miami (FL) | 5 | 1983, 1987, 1989, 1991 (AP), 2001 |
| Nebraska | 5 | 1970 (AP), 1971, 1994, 1995, 1997 (Coaches) |
| Minnesota | 4 | 1936, 1940, 1941, 1960 |
| Texas | 4 | 1963, 1969, 1970 (Coaches), 2005 |
| Florida | 3 | 1996, 2006, 2008 |
| Florida State | 3 | 1993, 1999, 2013 |
| LSU | 3 | 1958, 2003 (Coaches), 2007 |
| Army | 2 | 1944, 1945 (AP) |
| Auburn | 2 | 1957 (AP), 2010 |
| Clemson | 2 | 1981, 2016 |
| Michigan | 2 | 1948, 1997 (AP) |
| Michigan State | 2 | 1952, 1965 (Coaches) |
| Penn State | 2 | 1982, 1986 |
| Pittsburgh | 2 | 1937, 1976 |
| Tennessee | 2 | 1951, 1998 |
| BYU | 1 | 1984 |
| Colorado | 1 | 1990 (AP) |
| Georgia | 1 | 1980 |
| Georgia Tech | 1 | 1990 (Coaches) |
| Maryland | 1 | 1953 |
| Oklahoma State | 1 | 1945 (Coaches) |
| Syracuse | 1 | 1959 |
| TCU | 1 | 1938 |
| Texas A&M | 1 | 1939 |
| UCLA | 1 | 1954 (Coaches) |
| Washington | 1 | 1991 (Coaches) |
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