College football fans love to count championships, so I dug through the annals of history and compiled a list of every national champion to ever grace the sport.
You might not find college football odds for all these seasons, but at least there’s a semi-definitive list of champions to argue about.
College Football National Champions By Year
| Year | National Champion | Era |
| 2023 | Michigan | CFP Playoff |
| 2022 | Georgia | CFB Playoff |
| 2021 | Georgia | CFB Playoff |
| 2020 | Alabama | CFB Playoff |
| 2019 | LSU | CFB Playoff |
| 2018 | Clemson | CFB Playoff |
| 2017 | Alabama | CFB Playoff |
| 2016 | Clemson | CFB Playoff |
| 2015 | Alabama | CFB Playoff |
| 2014 | Ohio State | CFB Playoff |
| 2013 | Florida State | BCS |
| 2012 | Alabama | BCS |
| 2011 | Alabama | BCS |
| 2010 | Auburn | BCS |
| 2009 | Alabama | BCS |
| 2008 | Florida | BCS |
| 2007 | LSU | BCS |
| 2006 | Florida | BCS |
| 2005 | Texas | BCS |
| 2004 | USC | BCS |
| 2003 | LSU/USC | BCS |
| 2002 | Ohio State | BCS |
| 2001 | Miami (FL) | BCS |
| 2000 | Oklahoma | BCS |
| 1999 | Florida State | BCS |
| 1998 | Tennessee | BCS |
| 1997 | Michigan/Nebraska | Associated Press |
| 1996 | Florida | Associated Press |
| 1995 | Nebraska | Associated Press |
| 1994 | Nebraska | Associated Press |
| 1993 | Florida State | Associated Press |
| 1992 | Alabama | Associated Press |
| 1991 | Washington/Miami | Associated Press |
| 1990 | Colorado/Georgia Tech | Associated Press |
| 1989 | Miami (FL) | Associated Press |
| 1988 | Notre Dame | Associated Press |
| 1987 | Miami (FL) | Associated Press |
| 1986 | Penn State | Associated Press |
| 1985 | Oklahoma | Associated Press |
| 1984 | BYU | Associated Press |
| 1983 | Miami (FL) | Associated Press |
| 1982 | Penn State | Associated Press |
| 1981 | Clemson | Associated Press |
| 1980 | Georgia | Associated Press |
| 1979 | Alabama | Associated Press |
| 1978 | Alabama/USC | Associated Press |
| 1977 | Notre Dame | Associated Press |
| 1976 | Pittsburgh | Associated Press |
| 1975 | Oklahoma | Associated Press |
| 1974 | USC/Oklahoma | Associated Press |
| 1973 | Notre Dame/Alabama | Associated Press |
| 1972 | USC | Associated Press |
| 1971 | Nebraska | Associated Press |
| 1970 | Nebraska/Texas/Ohio State | Associated Press |
| 1969 | Texas | Associated Press |
| 1968 | Ohio State | Associated Press |
| 1967 | USC | Associated Press |
| 1966 | Notre Dame/Michigan St | Associated Press |
| 1965 | Michigan St/Alabama | Associated Press |
| 1964 | Alabama/Arkansas/Notre Dame | Associated Press |
| 1963 | Texas | Associated Press |
| 1962 | USC | Associated Press |
| 1961 | Alabama/Ohio State | Associated Press |
| 1960 | Minnesota/Ole Miss | Associated Press |
| 1959 | Syracuse | Associated Press |
| 1958 | LSU/Iowa | Associated Press |
| 1957 | Ohio State/Auburn | Associated Press |
| 1956 | Oklahoma | Associated Press |
| 1955 | Oklahoma | Associated Press |
| 1954 | UCLA/Ohio State | Associated Press |
| 1953 | Maryland | Associated Press |
| 1952 | Michigan State | Associated Press |
| 1951 | Tennessee | Associated Press |
| 1950 | Oklahoma | Associated Press |
| 1949 | Notre Dame | Associated Press |
| 1948 | Michigan | Associated Press |
| 1947 | Notre Dame | Associated Press |
| 1946 | Notre Dame | Associated Press |
| 1945 | Army | Associated Press |
| 1944 | Army | Associated Press |
| 1943 | Notre Dame | Associated Press |
| 1942 | Ohio State | Associated Press |
| 1941 | Minnesota | Associated Press |
| 1940 | Minnesota | Associated Press |
| 1939 | Texas A&M | Associated Press |
| 1938 | TCU | Associated Press |
| 1937 | Pittsburgh | Associated Press |
| 1936 | Minnesota | Associated Press |
| Year | National Champion | Era |
| 1935 | Minnesota | Pre-Modern |
| 1934 | Minnesota | Pre-Modern |
| 1933 | Michigan | Pre-Modern |
| 1932 | USC | Pre-Modern |
| 1931 | USC | Pre-Modern |
| 1930 | Alabama/Notre Dame | Pre-Modern |
| 1929 | Notre Dame | Pre-Modern |
| 1928 | Georgia Tech | Pre-Modern |
| 1927 | Illinois/Yale | Pre-Modern |
| 1926 | Alabama/Stanford | Pre-Modern |
| 1925 | Alabama | Pre-Modern |
| 1924 | Notre Dame | Pre-Modern |
| 1923 | Illinois/Michigan | Pre-Modern |
| 1922 | Cal/Cornell/Princeton | Pre-Modern |
| 1921 | Cal/Cornell | Pre-Modern |
| 1920 | Cal | Pre-Modern |
| 1919 | Harvard/Illinois/ND/Texas A&M | Pre-Modern |
| 1918 | Michigan/Pittsburgh | Pre-Modern |
| 1917 | Georgia Tech | Pre-Modern |
| 1916 | Pittsburgh | Pre-Modern |
| 1915 | Cornell | Pre-Modern |
| 1914 | Army | Pre-Modern |
| 1913 | Harvard | Pre-Modern |
| 1912 | Harvard/Penn State | Pre-Modern |
| 1911 | Penn State/Princeton | Pre-Modern |
| 1910 | Harvard/Pittsburgh | Pre-Modern |
| 1909 | Yale | Pre-Modern |
| 1908 | LSU/Penn | Pre-Modern |
| 1907 | Yale | Pre-Modern |
| 1906 | Princeton | Pre-Modern |
| 1905 | Chicago | Pre-Modern |
| 1904 | Michigan/Penn | Pre-Modern |
| 1903 | Michigan/Princeton | Pre-Modern |
| 1902 | Michigan | Pre-Modern |
| 1901 | Michigan | Pre-Modern |
| 1900 | Yale | Pre-Modern |
| 1899 | Harvard | Pre-Modern |
| 1898 | Harvard | Pre-Modern |
| 1897 | Penn | Pre-Modern |
| 1896 | Lafayette/Princeton | Pre-Modern |
| 1895 | Penn | Pre-Modern |
| 1894 | Yale | Pre-Modern |
| 1893 | Princeton | Pre-Modern |
| 1892 | Yale | Pre-Modern |
| 1891 | Yale | Pre-Modern |
| 1890 | Harvard | Pre-Modern |
| 1889 | Princeton | Pre-Modern |
| 1888 | Yale | Pre-Modern |
| 1887 | Yale | Pre-Modern |
| 1886 | Yale | Pre-Modern |
| 1885 | Princeton | Pre-Modern |
| 1884 | Yale | Pre-Modern |
| 1883 | Yale | Pre-Modern |
| 1882 | Yale | Pre-Modern |
| 1881 | Yale | Pre-Modern |
| 1880 | Princeton/Yale | Pre-Modern |
| 1879 | Princeton | Pre-Modern |
| 1878 | Princeton | Pre-Modern |
| 1877 | Yale | Pre-Modern |
| 1876 | Yale | Pre-Modern |
| 1875 | Harvard | Pre-Modern |
| 1874 | Yale | Pre-Modern |
| 1873 | Princeton | Pre-Modern |
| 1872 | Princeton | Pre-Modern |
| 1871 | [None Selected] | Pre-Modern |
| 1870 | Princeton | Pre-Modern |
| 1869 | Princeton/Rutgers | Pre-Modern |
College Football National Championship History
College football might crown its modern champions via an exciting single-elimination tournament, but the historical processes that predated the playoff model are quite a bit weirder.
From 1998-2013, a computer algorithm drove the BCS system, declaring at the end of the season which two teams had the right to play for a championship. The system utilized the Coaches Poll, the Harris Poll, and several other mathematical models.
In the decades before 1998, the Associated Press voted for a national champion at the end of the year. Teams that were highly ranked and playing in a prominent bowl game like the Rose Bowl or Cotton Bowl, had a decent chance to be magically named the national champion.
Prior to 1936, there wasn’t much of a culture of naming a national champion at all. However, it’s become a passion project for some technically inclined college football enthusiasts to return to the late 19th- and early 20th-century record books and apply modern analytics to retroactively name a national champion for each and every season of yore.
Related Articles
College Football Odds at BetMGM
At BetMGM, you view updated college football lines throughout the season. Check out moneylines, spreads, parlays, college football live betting, and more. For the best online sports betting experience, visit the sportsbook to bet online!
If you don’t have an account, register today with BetMGM’s welcome offer. Once you have an account, check for daily sports betting promos.
