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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
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
2023
2023–24 bowl season
Michigan
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]
^ "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 "history.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