College with most football national championships is Yale since 1869 and Alabama since 1936. Most national championships in NCAA football is 18.
Princeton holds the most championships since the first program was crowned in 1869. Though it won 28 times, only 15 are recognized by the NCAA. Before 1936, Yale and Princeton were the champions in college football with 55 titles between the two of them.
Though Yale has 27 championships, only 18 have been recognized by the NCAA. However, under the current pole system introduced in 1936, Alabama leads with 13 top 25 era national titles.
The 1869 season was eight days long and consisted of two games i.e., Princeton at Rutgers (which Rutgers won), and Rutgers at Princeton (which Princeton won).
Yale has one of the most impressive resumes in the sport with two of the first three Heisman Trophy winners, 100 consensus All-Americans, 28 Hall of Fame inductees, and 18 national championships.
College Football Teams With The Most National Championships
Colleges with most football national championships are Princeton, Yale and Alabama.
Princeton first claimed the national championship on November 6, 1869, and it was a game between the Tigers and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. This game used modified London Football Association rules.
Princeton claimed national championships in the season 1869, 1870, 1872, 1873, 1874, 1875, 1877, 1878, 1879, 1880, 1881, 1884, 1885, 1886, 1889, 1893, 1894, 1896, 1898, 1899, 1903, 1906, 1911, 1920, 1922, 1933, 1935, 1950.
Following are the list of other college football with the most national championship since 1869 that is recognized by the NCAA:
- Yale – 18
- Alabama – 16
- Princeton – 15
- Notre Dame – 13
- Michigan – 9
- Southern California – 9
- Harvard – 8
- Ohio State – 8
- Oklahoma – 7
- Minnesota – 6
The list below shows the NCAA’s data on the college football teams with the most national championships since the current poll was introduced in 1936:
- Alabama – 13
- Notre Dame – 9
- Ohio State – 8
- Southern California – 7
- Oklahoma – 7
- Minnesota – 4
- Michigan – 2
History of NCAA Football Champions
Last 4 NCAA football champions are Georgia, Alabama, LSU, and Clemson. The first NCAA football champion is Princeton, Rutgers.
Georgia Bulldogs Football
The Bulldogs have been selected 8 times i.e. 1920, 1927, 1942, 1946, 1968, 1980, 2021, and 2022 as the national champions from NCAA-designated major selectors.
It claims 4 national championships, i.e., 1942, 1980, 2021, and 2022. It won the College Football Playoff in 2021 defeating Alabama in the CFP National Championship Game.
Georgia played under the head coach Kirby Smart and set the record with 14 wins and 1 loss in 2021. It won the national championship and was the number-one team at the conclusion of the season.
It won the 2023 CFP National Championship Game in 2022 after going 15-0 as the only undefeated team.
In 1942, Bulldogs played under head coach Wally Butts and set an 11-1 record while in 1980, Georgia completed the season under head coach Vince Dooley with a 12-0 record.
Alabama Crimson Tide Football
Alabama most recently set the record in 2020 under coach Nick Saban. They finished the game with a record of 13-0 (11–0 in the SEC).
Under the coach, Nick, Alabama made the national championship record in 2017, 2015, 2012, 2011, and 2009.
1992 Alabama football team is the third season under the head coach Gene Stallings and this game finished with a record of 13–0 (8–0 in the SEC) and as National Champions.
Alabama set the record in the season 1961, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1978, and 1979 under the head coach Paul “Bear” Bryant.
In 1934, Alabama made a record of 10-0 while the 1941 season was finished with the record 9-2 under the coach Frank Thomas. It tied the record under the coach Wallace Wade in the season 1925, 1926, and 1930.
LSU Tigers Football
LSU has been selected as national champions in the season 1908, 1936, 1962, and 2011 and claims 4 national championships in 1958, 2003, 2007, and 2019.
In 1958, LSU set the record under coach Paul Dietzel. They finished the game with a record of 11–0.
In 2003, the Tigers played their home games at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana under the coach Nick Saban and this game finished with a record of 13–1 (7–1 SEC).
In 2007, it set the record with 12-2 under the coach Les Miles while 15-0 under the coach Ed Orgeron in 2019.
Clemson Tigers Football
Clemson Tigers claims 3 national championships. They won the College Football Playoff in 2016 and 2018 defeating Alabama in the CFP National Championship Game.
The Tigers played their home games in the Memorial Stadium which is led by head coach Danny Ford. It finished the game with a record of 12-0.
The Tigers were led by the head coach Dabo Swinney in the year 2016 and set the record with 14-1.
They were the first undefeated College Football Playoff champion which finish the game 15-0 under the head coach Dabo Swinney in 2018.
Last Back To Back College Football National Champion
Last back to back NCAA football champions is Georgia Bulldogs in the year 2021 and 2022. The record was previously held by Alabama Crimson Tide Football in 2011 and 2012.
NCAA Football Back To Back Champions
College football back to back national champions are Alabama, Oklahoma, etc. Alabama has on three occasions won back-to-back titles: in 1964–65, 1978–79, and most recently in 2011–12.
Seven teams can claim back-to-back college football champions, while seven others named co-champions. The list below shows the 14 teams, as per NBC Sports
- Minnesota – 1940, 1941
- Army – 1944, 1945
- Notre Dame – 1946, 1947
- Oklahoma – 1955, 1956
- Alabama – 1964, 1965 (named co-champions in both years)
- Michigan State – 1965, 1966 (named co-champions both years)
- Texas – 1969, 1970 (co-champions with two other teams in 1970)
- Nebraska – 1970, 1971 (co-champions with two other teams in 1970)
- Oklahoma – 1974, 1975 (co-champions in 1974)
- Alabama – 1978, 1979 (co-champions in 1978)
- Nebraska – 1994, 1995
- USC – 2003, 2004 (co-champions in 2003, 2004 championship vacated by NCAA)
- Alabama – 2011, 2012
- Georgia – 2021, 2022
Coach With Most NCAA Football Championships
NCAA coach with most national championships is Nick Saban with 7. Six titles of Nick are from his Alabama tenure i.e., 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, and 2020.
In 2003, he led the LSU Tigers to the BCS National Championship, as per NCAA.
College Football Coaches With Most National Championships
College coaches with most national championships are Nick Saban, Bear Bryant, Bernie Bierman, etc.
Nick previously served as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins in the National Football League and at 3 other universities i.e., Louisiana State University, Michigan State University, and the University of Toledo.
Saban is regarded as the greatest coach in college football history. He became the first coach in college football history to set the record for the national championship with 2 different Football Bowl Subdivision schools.
The career record of Saban as a college head coach is 280-69-1.
As per NCAA, the list below shows the college football coaches with the most national championships:
- Bear Bryant – 6
- Bennie Bierman – 5
- Woody Hayes – 5
- Frank Leahy – 4
- John McKay – 4
- Bud Wilkinson – 3
- Howard Jones – 3
- Walter Camp – 3
- Urban Meyer – 3
- Tom Osborne – 3
Active Coaches With Football National Championships
Active coaches with National Championships football are Nick Saban, Dabo Swinney, Jimbo Fisher, and Urban Meyer.
Nick is from the University of Alabama while Dabo, Jimbo, and Urban are from Clemson, Florida State, and Ohio State respectively.
Dabo signed a new contract extension on September 8, 2022, that keeps him as the head coach of the Clemson Tigers through the 2031 football season and would pay him $115 million over the course of the agreement.
This helps him to be the second-highest-paid college football coach. Jimbo is the head coach of the Texas A&M Aggies.
Previously, he served as the head coach at Florida State where his team won the 2014 BCS National Championship Game and Urban spent the majority of his time at the collegiate level.