The Most College Football National Championships by School
Every school with five or more national championships in the NCAA’s official record book, 1869 to 2025, as of January 19, 2026. Yale leads with 18, and the table also shows how many titles each school claims for itself.
Pictured: Alabama’s 52–24 win over Ohio State in the 2021 CFP National Championship, its most recent title, #2 with 16 recognized titles.
Rank
School
NCAA-recognized titles
School-claimed titles
Most recent title
First title
Conference (current)
Era of latest title
1
Yale
18
27
1927
1874
Ivy League (FCS)
Pre-poll (before 1936)
2
Alabama
16
18
2020
1925
SEC
BCS/CFP era (1998 on)
3
Princeton
15
28
1922
1869
Ivy League (FCS)
Pre-poll (before 1936)
4
Notre Dame
13
11
1988
1919
Independent
Poll era (1936–97)
5
Michigan
10
12
2023
1901
Big Ten
BCS/CFP era (1998 on)
6
USC
9
11
2004 (vacated)
1931
Big Ten
BCS/CFP era (1998 on)
6
Ohio State
9
9
2024
1942
Big Ten
BCS/CFP era (1998 on)
8
Harvard
8
7
1919
1875
Ivy League (FCS)
Pre-poll (before 1936)
9
Oklahoma
7
7
2000
1950
SEC
BCS/CFP era (1998 on)
10
Minnesota
6
7
1960
1934
Big Ten
Poll era (1936–97)
11
LSU
5
4
2019
1908
SEC
BCS/CFP era (1998 on)
11
Miami (Fla.)
5
5
2001
1983
ACC
BCS/CFP era (1998 on)
11
Nebraska
5
5
1997
1970
Big Ten
Poll era (1936–97)
11
Pittsburgh
5
9
1976
1910
ACC
Poll era (1936–97)
No matching rows.
As of January 19, 2026, after Indiana beat Miami 27–21 in the 2025 season’s title game for its first championship. What is counted: national championships for the 1869–2025 seasons that the NCAA lists in its Football Bowl Subdivision Records book as won by a major selector (historical rating systems, polls, the BCS and the College Football Playoff), including schools that now play below FBS, which is how Yale, Princeton and Harvard appear. A title shared in a season counts for each school, and USC’s 2004 title, vacated by the NCAA, is still in the NCAA’s nine. School-claimed is the total each school itself publishes, which can be higher or lower than the NCAA list. Schools tied on titles share a rank and are listed latest title first; schools with four or fewer titles are left out, and Indiana (one title) is not shown. The table only changes when a champion is crowned, and the next title game is in January 2027.[1][2]
The Top 10
#1
Yale — 18 titles
Yale’s 18 recognized titles run from 1874 to 1927, and the school itself claims 27, adding seasons that no NCAA-listed selector credits to it.[1][2] Eleven of the 18 came in the 1880s and 1890s, when the national champion was a retroactive pick by historians and rating systems rather than a poll or a game.[1] Yale has not won since 1927 and now plays in the Ivy League at the FCS level, but the NCAA records book still gives it the most titles of any school. No official video was found that could be verified, so this entry uses the trophy icon.
#2
Alabama — 16 titles
Alabama has 16 recognized titles, 13 of them in the poll era, and claims 18, adding 1934 and 1941.[1][2] The most recent came in the 2020 season, when the Crimson Tide beat Ohio State 52–24 in the College Football Playoff title game in Miami Gardens in January 2021, the video’s game.[1][3]
#3
Princeton — 15 titles
Princeton has 15 recognized titles, from 1869 to 1922, but claims 28, the widest gap in the sport and more than anyone else claims.[1][2] The 1869 season, the first of college football, involved just two games, both against Rutgers, and the NCAA list credits both Princeton and Rutgers.[1] Like Yale, Princeton plays in the Ivy League at the FCS level. No official video was found that could be verified, so this entry uses the trophy icon.
#4
Notre Dame — 13 titles
Notre Dame has 13 recognized titles, nine of them in the poll era, but officially claims 11.[1][2] Its most recent came with the 1988 season, a 34–21 win over West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl on January 2, 1989, which the video marks as moment #125 of 125 years of Notre Dame football.[1] Notre Dame lost the January 2025 CFP title game to Ohio State.
#5
Michigan — 10 titles
Michigan has 10 recognized titles and claims 12, adding 1932 and 1947.[1][2] The latest was the 2023 season, a 34–13 win over Washington in the CFP title game in Houston on January 8, 2024, the video’s game and the school’s first title since 1997.[1][3]
#6 (tie)
USC — 9 titles
The NCAA list credits USC with nine titles, including 2004; the school claims 11.[1][2] The 2004 BCS title was vacated under NCAA sanctions, so the table shows it as the latest with a note, and USC’s last undisputed title was 2003, which it shared with LSU after the two finished No. 1 in different polls.[1][2] The video is the College Football Hall of Fame’s look at that split 2003 title.
#6 (tie)
Ohio State — 9 titles
Ohio State’s nine recognized titles match what the school claims.[1][2] Its latest was the 2024 season, a 34–23 win over Notre Dame in Atlanta on January 20, 2025, the video’s game, in the first year of the 12-team playoff.[1][3] Its titles run from 1942 to 2024, including 2002 in the BCS era and 2014 in the first CFP season.
#8
Harvard — 8 titles
Harvard’s eight recognized titles span 1875 to 1919, the last more than a century ago, and the school itself claims seven, leaving out 1875.[1][2] Like Yale and Princeton, Harvard competes in the Ivy League at the FCS level. No official video was found that could be verified, so this entry uses the trophy icon.
#9
Oklahoma — 7 titles
Oklahoma has seven recognized titles that it also claims, three under Bud Wilkinson (1950, 1955, 1956), three under Barry Switzer (1974, 1975, 1985) and one under Bob Stoops, the 2000 season’s 13–2 Orange Bowl win over Florida State in January 2001.[1][2] The Sooners joined the SEC in 2024. No official video was found that could be verified, so this entry uses the trophy icon.
#10
Minnesota — 6 titles
Minnesota has six recognized titles (1934, 1935, 1936, 1940, 1941 and 1960) and claims seven, adding 1904.[1][2] Five came under Bernie Bierman in the 1930s and 1940s, and the 1960 one is the latest; the video is the school’s own tribute to that team.[1]
NCAA.com, Daniel Wilco, “College football teams with the most national championships” (updated January 19, 2026; NCAA-recognized titles and years by school, and the season-by-season champions list, 1869–2025, from the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records). Counts were tallied from that list.
Wikipedia, “College football national championships in NCAA Division I FBS” (“Claims by school” table of each school’s own claimed seasons, from the schools’ websites and media guides; notes on vacated titles and shared seasons). Also Legion Report, “Most College Football National Championships by School” (claimed versus recognized comparison for Princeton, Yale, Alabama and Michigan).
College Football Playoff (CFP) YouTube channel, 2021 and 2024 and 2025 title-game highlights (Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State); scores from the same games.
Videos: CFP (Alabama–Ohio State 2021, Michigan–Washington 2024, Ohio State–Notre Dame 2025), Notre Dame Fighting Irish (1989 Fiesta Bowl), College Football Hall of Fame (USC and LSU, 2003), Minnesota Gophers (1960 champions). Yale, Princeton, Harvard and Oklahoma have no verified official video, so their entries use the trophy icon.
