College Football National Championships

In my writings about Texas Longhorns football, I often report on the national championships which opponents have been awarded.  To say that naming the college football national champion has a colorful history does not do such history justice.  There have been dozens of championships recognized or awarded over the decades, from the most recognized and respected polls, like, the Associated Press and United Press International and the USA Today Coaches Poll, to the Math (now computer) selectors.   My thanks to the contributors to Wikipedia.

Math

 The mathematical system is the oldest systematic selector of college football national champions. Many of the math selectors were created during the “championship rush” of the 1920s and 1930s, beginning with Frank Dickinson’s system, or during the dawn of the computer age in the 1990s. Selectors are listed below with years selected retroactively in italics.

Selector Name Seasons
A&H Anderson & Hester 1997–present
AS Alderson System 1994–1998
B(QPRS) Berryman (QPRS) 1920–1989, 1990–2011
BR Billingsley Report 1869–1870, 1872–1969, 1970–present
BS Boand System 1919–1929, 1930–1960
CCR Congrove Computer Rankings 1993–present
CM Colley Matrix 2001–present
CW Caspar Whitney 1905–1907
DeS DeVold System 1939–1944, 1945–2006
DiS Dickinson System 1924–1925, 1926–1940
DuS Dunkel System 1929–present
ERS Eck Ratings System 1987–2005
HS Houlgate System 1885, 1887–1905, 1907–1926, 1927–1949
L Litkenhous 1934–1972, 1974, 1978, 1981–1984
MCFR Massey College Football Ratings 1995–present
MGR Matthews Grid Ratings 1966–1972, 1974–2006
NYT New York Times 1979–2004
PS Poling System 1924–1934, 1935–1955, 1957–1984
R(FACT) Rothman (FACT) 1968–2006
SR Sagarin Ratings 1919–1977, 1978–present
W Wolfe 2001–present
WS Williamson System 1931, 1932–1963

Polls

The poll has been the dominant national champion selector since the inception of the AP Poll in 1936. It is notable that the NFF merged its poll with UPI from 1991 to 1992, with USA Today from 1993 to 1996, and with the FWAA from 2014 forward. Selectors are listed below with years selected retroactively in italics.

For many years, the national champion of various polls were selected prior to the bowl games. The national champion was selected before bowl games as follows: AP (1936–1964 and 1966–1967), Coaches’ Poll (1950–1973), FWAA (1954), and NFF (1959–1970). In all other latter-day polls, champions were selected after bowl games.[6]:107–119

During the BCS era, the winner of the BCS Championship Game was automatically awarded the national championship of the Coaches’ Poll and the National Football Foundation.

Selector Name Seasons
AP Associated Press 1936–present
Coaches’
BRC
UP
UPI
USAT/CNN
USAT/ESPN
USAT
USAT/AMWAY
American Football Coaches Association
AFCA Blue Ribbon Commission
United Press
United Press International
USA Today/CNN
USA Today/ESPN
USA Today
USA Today/Amway
1922–present
1922–1949a
1950–1957
1958–1990
1991–1996
1997–2004
2005–2013
2014–present
CFRA College Football Researchers Association 1919–1935, 1936–1981, 1982–1992, 2010–present
FN Football News 1958–2002
FWAA Football Writers Association of America 1954–2013
FWAA/NFF FWAA-NFF Grantland Rice Super 16 2014–present
HAF Helms Athletic Foundation 1883–1935, 1936–1940, 1941–1982
INS International News Service 1952–1957
NCF National Championship Foundation 1869–1870, 1872–1935, 1936–1979, 1980–2000
NFF National Football Foundation 1959–1990, 1997–2013
SN Sporting News 1975–2006
UPI United Press International 1993–1995
UPI/NFF United Press International/National Football Foundation 1991–1992
USAT USA Today 1982
USAT/CNN USA Today/CNN 1983–1990
USAT/NFF USA Today/National Football Foundation 1993–1996

I have taken this from Wikipedia, and duly cite here:

Wikipedia contributors, “College football national championships in NCAA Division I FBS,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia,https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=College_football_national_championships_in_NCAA_Division_I_FBS&oldid=857266150 (accessed August 30, 2018).