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College football is perhaps the most American sport there is, combining the rules of the NFL with the American college system. With 134 schools in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), there’s no shortage of chaos every Saturday in the fall.
But at the end of the day, only one of those 134 teams gets to stand alone as the sport’s national champion. Since the first college football game was played in 1869, 47 different schools have won a college football national championship.
For the longest time, determining the college football national champion was a bit of a process and nowhere near as seamless as it is in college basketball. At first, national champions were decided by a selection committee, leading to seasons in which multiple schools were named national champions.
Then the Associated Press poll era came in 1936, with the No. 1 team at the end of the season being named the national champion. That led to the creation of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) National Championship Game in 1998, which was followed by the creation of the College Football Playoff in 2014.
Teams With Most College Football Championships
When creating this list, we only considered national championships recognized by the NCAA. Most of those championships came from teams in the Power Five conferences, as they have larger budgets and more resources that allow them to recruit more, pay coaches (and players) more and build better facilities.
While that doesn’t always result in the preseason betting favorite winning it all, the nation’s top programs like Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State are usually in the mix due to their talent and resources.
With that in mind, here’s a look at which schools have won the most national championships in college football history.
- Yale (18)
- Alabama (16)
- Princeton (15)
- Notre Dame (13)
- Michigan (10)
- University of Southern California (9)
- Harvard (8)
- Ohio State (8)
- Oklahoma (7)
- Minnesota (6)
Yale (18)
Ah, yes, everyone’s favorite college football powerhouse. Not only did Yale produce two of the first three Heisman winners, but it also won 14 national championships prior to 1900 — a testament to the program’s prowess in the sport’s early years.
In total, the Bulldogs have produced 100 All-Americans and 28 College Football Hall of Famers while racking up the seventh-most wins in NCAA football history. They now play in the FCS in the Ivy League and haven’t won a national championship since 1927.
Alabama (16)
The pride of the SEC, Alabama has had two of the best coaches in NCAAF history (Bear Bryant and Nick Saban), which is a big reason why it’s so high on this list. The Crimson Tide won five titles during Bryant’s run as head coach from 1958 to 1982 and six under Saban from 2007 to 2023.
All but three of Alabama’s 16 titles came in the poll era, which adds to the program’s legacy. However, the program’s future appears uncertain following Saban’s retirement after the 2023 campaign.
Princeton (15)
Another Ivy League team that dominated during the sport’s early days, Princeton won four of the first five college football championships and 11 total prior to the turn of the century. The Tigers, who played Rutgers in the first NCAA football game ever in 1869, won their last championship in 1922 and now compete in the FCS.
Notre Dame (13)
It’s impossible to talk about Notre Dame’s 13 national championships without talking about Frank Leahy, who won two championships with the Fighting Irish as a player and four more as a coach.
Notre Dame’s nine championships in the poll era are second only to Alabama’s 13. The program has also had seven Heisman winners and 22 undefeated seasons.
Michigan (10)
The most recent national champion, Michigan also has the most wins in NCAA football history. However, only two of its titles have come during the poll era.
The Wolverines won four straight titles from 1901 to 1904 before winning one championship in each of the following four decades. They ended a 49-year championship drought in 1997 thanks to an incredible season from Charles Woodson – who became the first primarily defensive player to win the Heisman – before winning another title in Jim Harbaugh’s last season with the program (2023).
University of Southern California (9)
USC won back-to-back titles in 1931 and 1932 and again in 2003 and 2004. However, the NCAA vacated the 2004 title after finding that star running back Reggie Bush was ineligible to play due to receiving thousands of dollars in payments from a potential sports marketer.
In between, the Trojans won two titles in the 1960s and three in the 1970s, including four under head coach John McKay from 1960 to 1975. They’ve also produced eight Hesiman winners – the most ever for one program.
Harvard (8)
Like Yale and Princeton, Harvard has an illustrious program that hasn’t had much success lately. All eight of the school’s championships came from 1875 to 1919.
The 10th-winningest team in Division I history, the Crimson were one of the world’s first organized football teams and have produced 20 College Football Hall of Fame inductees.
Ohio State (8)
A modern powerhouse, Ohio State’s last championship came in 2014 in the inaugural year of the College Football Playoff.
All eight of the Buckeyes’ championships have come in the poll era. The first came in 1942 with a team that was missing 22 veteran players who were serving in World War II. Ohio State went 32 years between championships before upsetting Miami (FL) in the 2002 BCS Championship.
Oklahoma (7)
Another program that’s employed multiple Hall of Fame coaches, Oklahoma is the only program in FBS history with four 100-win coaches: Bob Stoops (191 wins), Barry Switzer (157), Bud Wilkinson (145) and Bennie Owen (113). Wilkinson and Switzer each led the Sooners to three championships, while Stoops led them to one.
All seven of Oklahoma’s national championships have come in the poll era, with the last coming in 2000. The Sooners hold the record for the longest winning streak in Division I history at 47 wins.
Minnesota (6)
Half of Minnesota’s national championships came from 1934 to 1936, when the school won three straight titles on the back of a legendary rushing attack. The Golden Gophers stayed dominant with back-to-back titles in 1940 and 1941 before winning their sixth and most recent title in 1960. They’ve been a member of the Big Ten since its inception in 1896.
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