The AP Poll and Coaches Poll are the two major polls used annually within the highest level of college football to determine the national championship .[1] Division I FBS football is the only National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sport for which the NCAA does not sanction a yearly championship event. As such, it is sometimes unofficially referred to as a "mythical national championship ".[2] [3] [4] [5]
These polling systems began with the introduction of the AP poll in 1936, followed by the Coaches' Poll in 1950.
Currently, two widely recognized national champion selectors are the Associated Press , which conducts a poll of sportswriters , and the Coaches' Poll , a survey of active members of the American Football Coaches Association .
Until the 1968 NCAA University Division football season , the final AP Poll of the season was released following the end of the regular season, with the exception of the 1965 season .
NCAA Division I and FBS poll seasons (1936–present) [ edit ] The AP Poll began with the 1936 college football season .[6] The Coaches Poll began with the 1950 college football season and became the second major polling system.[7] [better source needed ] In 1978, Division I football was split into two distinct divisions and a second poll was added for the new Division I-AA .[8]
Poll season Bowl season Champion 1936 1936–37 bowl season Minnesota 1937 1937–38 bowl season Pittsburgh 1938 1938–39 bowl season Texas Christian 1939 1939–40 bowl season Texas A&M 1940 1940–41 bowl season Minnesota 1941 1941–42 bowl season Minnesota 1942 1942–43 bowl season Ohio State 1943 1943–44 bowl season Notre Dame 1944 1944–45 bowl season Army 1945 1945–46 bowl season Army 1946 1946–47 bowl season Notre Dame 1947 1947–48 bowl season Notre Dame 1948 1948–49 bowl season Michigan 1949 1949–50 bowl season Notre Dame 1950 1950–51 bowl season Oklahoma 1951 1951–52 bowl season Tennessee 1952 1952–53 bowl season Michigan State 1953 1953–54 bowl season Maryland 1954 1954–55 bowl season Ohio State (AP), California, Los Angeles (Coaches) 1955 1955–56 bowl season Oklahoma 1956 1956–57 bowl season Oklahoma 1957 1957–58 bowl season Auburn (AP), Ohio State (Coaches) 1958 1958–59 bowl season Louisiana State 1959 1959–60 bowl season Syracuse 1960 1960–61 bowl season Minnesota 1961 1961–62 bowl season Alabama 1962 1962–63 bowl season Southern California 1963 1963–64 bowl season Texas 1964 1964–65 bowl season Alabama 1965 1965–66 bowl season Alabama (AP), Michigan State (Coaches) 1966 1966–67 bowl season Notre Dame 1967 1967–68 bowl season Southern California 1968 1968–69 bowl season Ohio State 1969 1969–70 bowl season Texas 1970 1970–71 bowl season Nebraska (AP), Texas (Coaches) 1971 1971–72 bowl season Nebraska 1972 1972–73 bowl season Southern California 1973 1973–74 bowl season Notre Dame (AP), Alabama (Coaches) 1974 1974–75 bowl season Oklahoma (AP), Southern California (Coaches) 1975 1975–76 bowl season Oklahoma 1976 1976–77 bowl season Pittsburgh 1977 1977–78 bowl season Notre Dame 1978 1978–79 bowl season Alabama (AP), Southern California (Coaches) 1979 1979–80 bowl season Alabama 1980 1980–81 bowl season Georgia 1981 1981–82 bowl season Clemson 1982 1982–83 bowl season Pennsylvania State 1983 1983–84 bowl season Miami (FL) 1984 1984–85 bowl season Brigham Young 1985 1985–86 bowl season Oklahoma 1986 1986–87 bowl season Pennsylvania State 1987 1987–88 bowl season Miami (FL) 1988 1988–89 bowl season Notre Dame 1989 1989–90 bowl season Miami (FL) 1990 1990–91 bowl season Colorado (AP), Georgia Tech (Coaches) 1991 1991–92 bowl season Miami (FL) (AP), Washington (Coaches) 1992 1992–93 bowl season Alabama 1993 1993–94 bowl season Florida State 1994 1994–95 bowl season Nebraska 1995 1995–96 bowl season Nebraska 1996 1996–97 bowl season Florida 1997 1997–98 bowl season Michigan (AP), Nebraska (Coaches) 1998 1998–99 bowl season Tennessee 1999 1999–2000 bowl season Florida State 2000 2000–01 bowl season Oklahoma 2001 2001–02 bowl season Miami (FL) 2002 2002–03 bowl season Ohio State 2003 2003–04 bowl season Southern California (AP), Louisiana State (Coaches) 2004 2004–05 bowl season Southern California 2005 2005–06 bowl season Texas 2006 2006–07 bowl season Florida 2007 2007–08 bowl season Louisiana State 2008 2008–09 bowl season Florida 2009 2009–10 bowl season Alabama 2010 2010–11 bowl season Auburn 2011 2011–12 bowl season Alabama 2012 2012–13 bowl season Alabama 2013 2013–14 bowl season Florida State 2014 2014–15 bowl season Ohio State 2015 2015–16 bowl season Alabama 2016 2016–17 bowl season Clemson 2017 2017–18 bowl season Alabama , UCF 2018 2018–19 bowl season Clemson 2019 2019–20 bowl season Louisiana State 2020 2020–21 bowl season Alabama 2021 2021–22 bowl season Georgia 2022 2022-23 bowl season Georgia
NCAA Division I FCS poll seasons (1978–present) [ edit ] NCAA Division I football was divided into Division I-A and Division I-AA beginning with the inaugural 1978 NCAA Division I-AA football season , initially serving as a voluntary designation and later formalized with specific criteria in 1981.[8] This split allowed independent polling of both divisions in the 1978 season. In 2006, Division I-AA was renamed as Division I FCS .[9]
See also [ edit ] References [ edit ] ^ "It's Writers vs. Coaches in Football's Ballot Bowl" . ^ "Syracuse and Cornell Still Top Gridders" . The Reading Eagle . Reading, PA. November 12, 1923. p. 12. Retrieved May 5, 2015 . ^ Viehman, Harold H., ed. (1939). The 1939 Owl . Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh. p. 276. Retrieved May 5, 2015 . ^ Dodd, Dennis (December 22, 2004). "Subtracting AP poll leaves BCS again scrambling for legitimacy" . CBSsports.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2013. Retrieved May 5, 2015 . ^ Peterson, Bill (November 5, 2008). "UC Football in the Hunt for a Big East Crown and BCS Bid" . Citybeat.com. Archived from the original on June 9, 2015. Retrieved May 5, 2015 . ^ "College Football's Top 25 Dynasties of the AP Era" . Athlonsports.com. Retrieved 2016-09-19 . ^ "Historical Reality National College Football Champions" . ^ a b "aanews.htm" . Theappalachianonline.com. 1998-11-05. Retrieved 2016-09-19 . ^ "NCAA misses the mark in Division I-AA name change" . Espn.com . 2006-12-15. Retrieved 2016-09-19 .
Pre-divisional NCAA University Division NCAA Division I NCAA Division I-A/FBS NCAA Division I-AA/FCS Small college NCAA Division II NCAA Division III Polls