College Football National Champions by Season: Complete List

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Who won every college football national championship, at least by the major outlets?

There might be a few other NCAA-recognized national champions, but some tend to be a bit flaky – like, national titles were awarded before bowl games, or by some random method.

That's fine if the schools want to accept them, but to keep this right, below are the champions by season according to the big ones.

It all starts with the national champions by the historical types, and then comes 1936 when the AP kicked it all in. UPI/Coaches Poll became a part of the system in 1950, and then the BCS in 1998, and the College Football Playoff in 2014.

College Football National Champions By Season

1869 to 1882: National Championship Foundation (NCF)

1869 Princeton
1870 Princeton
1871 NONE
1872 Princeton
1873 Princeton
1874 Yale
1875 Harvard
1876 Yale
1877 Yale
1878 Princeton
1879 Princeton
1880 Princeton
1880 Yale
1881 Yale
1882 Yale  

1883 to 1935: NCF & Helms Athletic Foundation

1883 Yale
1884 Yale
1885 Princeton
1886 Yale
1887 Yale
1888 Yale
1889 Princeton
1890 Harvard
1891 Yale
1892 Yale
1893 Princeton
1894 Yale
1895 Penn
1896 Lafayette
1896 Princeton
1897 Penn
1898 Harvard
1899 Harvard
1900 Yale
1901 Michigan
1902 Michigan
1903 Michigan
1903 Princeton
1904 Michigan
1904 Penn
1905 Chicago
1906 Princeton
1907 Yale
1908 LSU
1908 Penn
1909 Yale
1910 Harvard
1910 Pitt
1911 Penn State
1911 Princeton
1912 Harvard
1912 Penn State
1913 Harvard
1914 Army
1915 Cornell
1916 Pitt
1917 Georgia Tech
1918 Michigan
1918 Pitt
1919 Harvard
1919 Notre Dame
1919 Texas A&M
1920 Cal
1921 Cornell
1922 Cal
1922 Cornell
1922 Princeton
1923 Illinois
1923 Michigan
1924 Notre Dame
1925 Alabama
1926 Alabama
1926 Stanford
1927 Illinois
1928 Georgia Tech
1929 Notre Dame
1930 Notre Dame
1931 USC
1932 USC
1933 Michigan
1934 Minnesota
1935 Minnesota

1936 to 1949: Associated Press (AP)

1936 Minnesota
1937 Pitt
1938 TCU
1939 Texas A&M
1940 Minnesota
1941 Minnesota
1942 Ohio State
1943 Notre Dame
1944 Army
1945 Army
1946 Notre Dame
1947 Notre Dame
1948 Michigan
1949 Notre Dame

1950 to 1981: AP & United Press International (UPI)

1950 Oklahoma
1951 Tennessee
1952 Michigan State
1953 Maryland
1954 Ohio State (AP)
1954 UCLA (UPI)
1955 Oklahoma
1956 Oklahoma
1957 Auburn (AP)
1957 Ohio State (UPI)
1958 LSU
1959 Syracuse
1960 Minnesota
1961 Alabama
1962 USC
1963 Texas
1964 Alabama
1965 Alabama (AP)
1965 Michigan State (UPI)
1966 Notre Dame
1967 USC
1968 Ohio State
1969 Texas
1970 Nebraska (AP)
1970 Texas (UPI)
1971 Nebraska
1972 USC
1973 Alabama (UPI)
1973 Notre Dame (AP)
1974 Oklahoma (AP)
1974 USC (UPI)
1975 Oklahoma
1976 Pitt
1977 Notre Dame
1978 Alabama (AP)
1978 USC (UPI)
1979 Alabama
1980 Georgia
1981 Clemson

1982 to 1997: AP (and 2003) & USA Today (Coaches Poll)

1982 Penn State
1983 Miami
1984 BYU
1985 Oklahoma
1986 Penn State
1987 Miami
1988 Notre Dame
1989 Miami
1990 Colorado (AP)
1990 Georgia Tech (UPI)
1991 Miami (AP)
1991 Washington (USAT)
1992 Alabama
1993 Florida State
1994 Nebraska
1995 Nebraska
1996 Florida
1997 Michigan (AP)
1997 Nebraska (USAT)

1998 to 2013: Bowl Championship System

1998 Tennessee
1999 Florida State
2000 Oklahoma
2001 Miami
2002 Ohio State
2003 LSU (USAT)
2003 USC (AP)
2004 USC
2005 Texas
2006 Florida
2007 LSU
2008 Florida
2009 Alabama
2010 Auburn
2011 Alabama
2012 Alabama
2013 Florida State

2014 to 2025: College Football Playoff 

2014 Ohio State
2015 Alabama
2016 Clemson
2017 Alabama
2018 Clemson
2019 LSU
2020 Alabama
2021 Georgia
2022 Georgia
2023 Michigan
2024 Ohio State
2025 Indiana

Related: Who Won the Most College Football National Titles? Complete List

This story was originally published by College Football News on Jan 20, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add College Football News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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