Alabama Football: National Championship Club Top 10 CFB Programs
By Ronald Evans
Alabama Football: Top Ten National Championship Club
It is important to remember there were rankings going back to the 1920s. Single individuals published rankings even earlier. The NCAA does not recognize any poll or ranking before the Poll-Era began in 1936 – except those done retroactively by the Helms Athletic Foundation (HAF), the National Championship Foundation (NCF) and the College Football Researchers Association (CFRA).
Three college football programs tied at No. 9 on our list. They are listed with the oldest Championship first.
No. 9 (tie) – Michigan Wolverines
Michigan fans would prefer this ranking go back to 1901. From 1901-1904, Michigan won or shared a National Championship each season. The Wolverines shared another national title in 1918. Since that season was greatly limited by the Spanish Flu and WW1, our list calculates National Championships starting with the 1919 season.
Michigan Wolverines National Championships
- 1923 – Fielding Yost’s team was 8-0, finishing the season with a win over Minnesota
- 1933 – Harry Kipke’s team was 7-0-1, finishing the season with a win over Northwestern
- 1948 – Bennie Oosterbaan’s team was 9-0, finishing the season with a win over Ohio State
- 1997 – After a long dry spell for the Maize and Blue, Lloyd Carr coached his team to a 12-0 record, finishing the season with a win over Washington State in the Rose Bowl.