Awarded for | Coaches Poll national champion (1986–present) Winner of BCS National Championship Game (1998–2013) Winner of Bowl Alliance (1995–1997) Winner of Bowl Coalition (1992–1994) |
---|---|
Country | United States |
Presented by | American Football Coaches Association |
History | |
First award | 1986 (retroactively available to No. 1 Coaches Poll teams) |
Most recent | Georgia |
Website | www |
The Coaches' Trophy (officially known as the AFCA National Championship Trophy and popularly as "the crystal football") is the trophy awarded annually by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) to the NCAA Division I FBS college football national champion as determined by the Coaches Poll. The trophy has been presented since 1986 and was contractually given to the winner of the BCS National Championship Game and its predecessors from 1992 to 2013. It will continue to be awarded to the No. 1 ranked team in the final poll of the season. [1]
Patrick and Michael Gerrits came up with the idea for a college football trophy to be awarded to the AFCA national champions along with an academic scholarship award to a non-athlete. The intent was to honor the memory of the patriarch of the Gerrits family, Edward J. Gerrits. The trophy consists of a Waterford Crystal football [2] affixed to an ebony base, and carries a value of over $30,000. The winning school retains permanent possession of the trophy, as a new one is awarded every year. The football portion of the trophy weighs approximately eight pounds and together with the stand, it weighs about 45 pounds (20 kg) and stands 34 inches (86 cm) tall. It is handmade by master craftspeople at Waterford Crystal and reportedly takes nearly three months to complete. [2] [3]
The trophy has undergone several sponsorship changes over the years. It was sponsored by the Gerrits Foundation during the initial 1986 and 1987 seasons and, through the Gerrits' family Pepsi bottling business, Pepsi became a co-sponsor with the Gerrits Foundation in 1988 and 1989. Due to the poll's affiliation with the United Press International wire service, it was known as the Gerrits Foundation-UPI Coaches Trophy, the UPI Coaches Trophy or UPI Trophy during that time. [4] [5] McDonald's was the sole sponsor from 1990 to 1992. Sears began its sponsorship in 1993 and remained until 2001. Circuit City assumed the sponsorship for the 2002 season. ADT Security Services was the title sponsor from 2003 to 2005; and from 2009 to 2013, Dr Pepper sponsored the trophy. [2] Since 2014, Amway has been the trophy sponsor. [6]
The official name is the American Football Coaches Association National Championship Trophy; it was given this permanent name by the association in 2006. In 2009, the AFCA allowed universities to buy replica trophies for any year a school finished first in the Coaches' Poll, from the 1950 to 1985 seasons, prior to the trophy's creation in 1986. Around this time the AFCA also began the process of awarding retroactive titles for the 1922 to 1949 seasons. The AFCA asked schools who felt they had a legitimate bid for the title to submit their reasons why so that their committee could hear the case and decide. [7] In 2016 Oklahoma A&M was awarded the 1945 national championship. [8] Oklahoma State was the only school publicly announced to apply for the honor for any of the 28 years considered, [9] and was awarded the AFCA trophy. The AFCA committee stated that Army could also be recognized as co-champion for 1945 "if the school decides to submit paperwork to the AFCA for evaluation by the committee." [10] TCU quietly applied for their 2 claimed title seasons and were awarded as well for 1935 [11] and 1938. [12]
Through the 1973 season, the final Coaches' Poll was released in early December, after the regular season, but before postseason bowl games. Beginning with the 1974 season, the Coaches Poll conducted its final poll after the bowl games.
Throughout the eras of the Bowl Championship Series and its predecessors (1992–2013) no separate national championship trophy was commissioned by those bodies, with the AFCA Trophy serving that role. During the BCS era the Coaches Trophy was presented to the winning team in an on-field ceremony after the title game. [13] With the end of the BCS, its successor playoff system, the College Football Playoff, commissioned a new trophy for its champion; officials wanted a new trophy that was unconnected with the previous championship system. [14] However, coaches were "adamant" that the AFCA trophy continue to be awarded. [13] Since the 2014 season, the trophy has been awarded to the team ranked No. 1 in the final Coaches' Poll of the season in a celebration at that team's stadium sometime after the College Football Playoff National Championship. [1]
School | Number | Seasons |
---|---|---|
Alabama | 11 | 1961, 1964, 1973, 1979, 1992, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2020 |
Oklahoma | 6 | 1950, 1955, 1956, 1975, 1985, 2000 |
USC | 6 | 1962, 1967, 1972, 1974, 1978, 2004 |
LSU | 4 | 1958, 2003, 2007, 2019 |
Ohio State | 4 | 1957, 1968, 2002, 2014 |
Nebraska | 4 | 1971, 1994, 1995, 1997 |
Miami (FL) | 4 | 1983, 1987, 1989, 2001 |
Texas | 4 | 1963, 1969, 1970, 2005 |
Clemson | 3 | 1981, 2016, 2018 |
Florida State | 3 | 1993, 1999, 2013 |
Notre Dame | 3 | 1966, 1977, 1988 |
Florida | 3 | 1996, 2006, 2008 |
Georgia | 3 | 1980, 2021, 2022 |
Michigan State | 2 | 1952, 1965 |
Penn State | 2 | 1982, 1986 |
TCU | 2 | 1935,† 1938† |
Tennessee | 2 | 1951, 1998 |
Auburn | 1 | 2010 |
BYU | 1 | 1984 |
Georgia Tech | 1 | 1990 |
Maryland | 1 | 1953 |
Minnesota | 1 | 1960 |
Oklahoma State | 1 | 1945† |
Pittsburgh | 1 | 1976 |
Syracuse | 1 | 1959 |
Texas A&M | 1 | 1939† |
UCLA | 1 | 1954 |
Washington | 1 | 1991 |
In 2016 the AFCA tasked a "Blue Ribbon Commission" to select Coaches’ Trophy winners for 1922–1949. [16] The commission consisted of former coachs Grant Teaff, Vince Dooley, and R.C. Slocum. [16]
Season | School | Head coach | AP champion [lower-alpha 1] |
---|---|---|---|
1935 | TCU [11] | Dutch Meyer | – |
1938 | TCU [12] | ||
1939 | Texas A&M [17] | Homer Norton | |
1945 | Oklahoma A&M [18] | Jim Lookabaugh | Army |
The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was a selection system that created four or five bowl game match-ups involving eight or ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of American college football, including an opportunity for the top two teams to compete in the BCS National Championship Game. The system was in place for the 1998 through 2013 seasons and in 2014 was replaced by the College Football Playoff.
The BCS National Championship Game, or BCS National Championship, was a postseason college football bowl game, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), first played in the 1998 college football season as one of four designated bowl games, and beginning in the 2006 season as a standalone event rotated among the host sites of the aforementioned bowls.
The 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with an abundance of controversy, resulting in the claim of a split national championship. This was the first claimed split title since the inception of the BCS, something the BCS intended to eliminate.
The Coaches Poll is a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football, Division I college basketball, and Division I college baseball teams. The football version of the poll has been known officially as the Amway Coaches Poll since 2014.
The Alabama Crimson Tide football program represents the University of Alabama in the sport of American football. The team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The team's head coach is Nick Saban, who has led the Tide to six national championships over his tenure. The Crimson Tide is among the most storied and decorated football programs in NCAA history. Since beginning play in 1892, the program claims 18 national championships, including 13 wire-service national titles in the poll-era, and five other titles before the poll-era. From 1958 to 1982, the team was led by Hall of Fame coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, who won six national titles with the program. It was not until 2009 that an Alabama player received a Heisman Trophy, when running back Mark Ingram II became the university's first winner. In 2015, Derrick Henry became the university's second Heisman winner. The Crimson Tide won back to back Heisman trophies in 2020 and 2021, with DeVonta Smith and Bryce Young.
The 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As of the 2023 season, there are 10 conferences and 133 schools in FBS.
A national championship in the highest level of college football in the United States, currently the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), is a designation awarded annually by various organizations to their selection of the best college football team. 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".
The Associated Press Trophy is the annual award given by the Associated Press (AP) to the team ranked No. 1 in the season's final AP Poll. The trophy is emblematic of the college football national championship as awarded by the Associated Press.
The 1945 Oklahoma A&M Cowboys football team represented Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College in the Missouri Valley Conference during the 1945 college football season. The team was led by seventh-year head coach Jim Lookabaugh and played its home games at Lewis Field in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The Cowboys compiled a 9–0 record, won the Missouri Valley championship, defeated Saint Mary's in the 1946 Sugar Bowl, were ranked No. 5 in the final AP Poll, and outscored all opponents by a combined total of 285 to 76. The 1945 season remains the only undefeated season in school history.
The 2013 Discover BCS National Championship Game was a postseason college football bowl game that took place on Monday, January 7, 2013, at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. It featured the No. 1 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish and No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide. The Alabama Crimson Tide defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 42–14 for the national championship and took home the Championship Trophy.
The 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
The College Football Playoff National Championship is a post-season college football bowl game, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), which began play in the 2014 college football season. The game serves as the final of the College Football Playoff, a bracket tournament between the top four teams in the country as determined by a selection committee, which was established as a successor to the Bowl Championship Series and its similar BCS National Championship Game.
The 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
The College Football Playoff National Championship Trophy is the trophy awarded to the winner of the College Football Playoff (CFP), the postseason tournament in American college football that determines a national champion for the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). It is currently held by the Georgia Bulldogs, who won the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship to cap the 2021 season. The 26.5-inch-tall (67 cm), 50-pound (23 kg) trophy is oblong-shaped like a football at the base, tapering up to a flattened full-size football at the top. It is made of 24-karat gold, bronze and stainless steel, with the bulk of the trophy gold-colored and the football at the top a gray metallic color. The football's four laces represent the four playoff teams.
The 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on September 3, 2015 and ended on December 12, 2015. The postseason concluded on January 11, 2016 with Alabama defeating Clemson in the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship. This was the second season of the College Football Playoff (CFP) championship system.
The 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in 2017. The regular season began on August 26, 2017, and ended on December 9, 2017.
The 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in 2018.
Two human polls and a committee's selections comprise the 2022 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) football rankings, in addition to various publications' preseason polls. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship at the FBS level. Instead, that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll. One additional poll, the College Football Playoff (CFP) ranking, is usually released starting midway through the season. The CFP rankings determine who makes the four-team playoff that determines the College Football Playoff National Champion.
The 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season is the 154th season of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at its highest level of competition, the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The regular season began on August 26 and will end on December 9. The postseason will begin on December 15, and, aside from any all-star games that are scheduled, end on January 8, 2024, with the College Football Playoff National Championship at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. This will be the tenth and final season of using the four team College Football Playoff (CFP) system, with the bracket being expanded to 12 teams for the 2024 season.
The American Football Coaches Association Honors The National Football Champion — Texas Christian University — 1935
The American Football Coaches Association Honors The National Football Champion — Texas Christian University — 1938
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)The American Football Coaches Association Honors The National Football Champion — Texas A&M University — 1939
{{cite sign}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)The American Football Coaches Association Honors The National Football Champion — Oklahoma A&M — 1945
{{cite sign}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)