Talk:NCAA Division I-A national football championship

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TCU has a claim to the 1935 Championship according to the NCAA website. If three schools are going to be listed, why not a fourth?

Contents

[edit] 2004 NCAA Source

Here is the 2004 NCAA source for the championship information.
Also here in non-pdf format. Which polls are we using? Rkevins82 03:41, 5 December 2005 (UTC)
Why does Kentucky's National Championship in 1950 keep being deleted from the article?—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 70.35.237.67 (talkcontribs).
Because only Sagarin chose Kentucky, not Associated Press, United Press, College Football Researchers Association, Helms Athletic Foundation, or National Championship Foundation (the sources used for 1950). If you believe that Sagarin should be used, make an argument here.Rkevins82 19:30, 4 December 2006 (UTC)
And why don't we simply use what the actual NCCA itself states? Instead of these BIASED guidelines? Ridiculous. NCAA Div 1-A Football Champions —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 70.35.237.67 (talkcontribs).
Because the NCAA does not state which team is national champion, just what each of the sources says. If ou believe there are less biased ways to show the information without conveying too much information, or unqualified information, please present it. Rkevins82 19:30, 4 December 2006 (UTC)

That's what I'm saying... use the sources approved by the ~NCCA itself~, no more/less. What is an arguement for using sources OTHER than what the NCAA itself deems appropriate??? There simply isn't one (not an unbiased one anyway). http://www.ncaa.org/champadmin/ia_football_past_champs.html —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 70.35.237.67 (talkcontribs).

First, please sign your posts. Next, you'll notice on the page you link that the NCAA is not claiming that these are reputable sources, that they picked the right team, or that they are anything more than selections (sometimes, a single newspaper writer). The sources used mirror those or expand upon those at the college football data warehouse, which has the best information and reasoning. Rkevins82 04:09, 5 December 2006 (UTC)

"which has the best information and reasoning" based on what? Your opinion? Of course there is no "perfect" system and the NCAA isn't claiming there is one, but the "best" would be what the ~NCAA itself~ deems so. That's the only real fair option here. I think it is ridiculous to see politics played out on a noble concept like wikipedia. But "whatever", right? That's what you want to hear, just let it drop. Let this bias slide(and just ignore the fact that such petty bias is bringing down wiki more and more all the time).—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 70.35.237.67 (talkcontribs) 20:09, 2006 December 6 (UTC)

First of all, please sign your posts on Talk pages. Secondly, would you use only sources approved by the Republican Party in an article on said party? Would you use only Nazi approved sources in articles about Nazi's? Would you use only Paris Hilton approved sources in an article about her? I hope not. The same holds true for the NCAA. Third-party sources are very valid. If you think we are using an improper source or that a different source would be better, then please try to calm-down, please try to stop insulting people, and please try to make a coherent case for your opinion. Thanks, Johntex\talk 05:05, 7 December 2006 (UTC)
Furthermore, what bias do the sources used have?Rkevins82 06:02, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

"would you use only sources approved by the Republican Party in an article on said party? Would you use only Nazi approved sources in articles about Nazi's? Would you use only Paris Hilton approved sources in an article about her? I hope not. The same holds true for the NCAA." Are you serious? Please think about what you just wrote...

Bias? I would state there is bias in listing teams/not listing teams using 3rd party "sources" while ignoring the athletic organization itself.

ps- MLB states foolishly that the St. Louis Cardinals are the actual 2006 MLB Champions... this is obvioulsy just one opinion and we should change the Cardinals article to reflect this. The Phillies won more games than the Cardinals and I have a 3rd party source that declares Philly the true 2006 champion. It's good enough for wiki.

Again, if you're going to use multiple and disputed sources... why not just use the sources the NCCA itself does instead of going by 3rd parties? It's not a complicated line of reason... but I understand it doesn't fit certain agendas... so that's fine, whatever.

[edit] Jokers

Some unregistered joker changed "Georgia Tech" (short for "Georgia Institute of Technology") to "Georgia Tech University" for all 4 NC years ('17, '28, '52, and '90). Apparently the same joker changed the Georgia name for its one championship year of '42.

I changed all 5 back to what they should be. (If I made any mistakes in doing so, pls. correct them.) It also appears somebody deleted the International News Service (INS) from the list of polls at the top of the page. (I'll let someone else add that back in.) All jokers involved should be banned from Wikipedia, IMO, as they are making a mockery of the project. I'll watch the page and correct the four GT lines back to correct as often as necessary, so if you're doing this, don't waste your time, as few (if any) will ever see your handiwork (graffiti).

[edit] 1947 and 1950

there is an * by 1947 Michigan anyone know what that is supposed to mean? Also 1950 Kentucky (Modern Analysts) Who are the mondern analysts ? Smith03 15:25, 12 November 2005 (UTC)

Re: the * by the 1947 Michigan team, there was an unofficial post-bowl poll that moved Michigan ahead of Notre Dame. The official final AP poll, taken before the bowls, had Notre Dame #1 and Michigan #2. This is likely the reason for the * next to Michigan, as I can't think of any other reason why it would be there. Georgiablue 14:38, 07 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] What criteria are we using?

There are more than just AP/UPI champions listed, but not all. Also, why is 1936 the cut-off year for the bottom tally? Rkevins82 21:01, 4 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Reversions back...

We should be able to agree that 1901 is the best year for calculating the most championships. This is the first year a non-Ivy League school won (since they now exclusively play one another), the first year of the Rose Bowl (which decides the national champion once ever four years now), and conveniently the beginning of the 20th century (well that just works out nicely). Starting at 1936 made some sense since that was the beginning of the AP poll, however, the AP poll has not been used exclusively since then and there were many years between 1901 and 1936 where one team was the consensus national champion. Also, BCS is now the deciding factor and is unrelated to the AP poll.

It is also important to note that schools calculate their numbers differently because they only choose to recognize certain polls, even if they contradict. Of course, "who is going to win the championship this year" is more important than "who won 100 years ago."

Also, my prior (now reverted) information is not inaccurate, as one editor noted. As demonstrated on the Ivy League page, Princeton claims 24 titles, Yale 19, etc.

Above all, this is a highly debatable topic and what is important on wikipedia is clarity and factual information.

The year should be 1936. Polls before then were not widely used or retroactive. Rkevins82 22:55, 11 December 2005 (UTC)

There was as much agreement about particular winners before 1936 as after, particularly among the schools. I agree that 1936 could make a good starting point since it marks the beginning of the AP poll, but there were many years before 1936 where there was a clear winner, still recognized as the champion by contemporaries. Retroactive polls are not to be disregarded, considering much research went into calculating each team and many champions were rightfully crowned. Either start at the beginning or 1901. 68.80.237.199 00:49, 12 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Prior Champions

I agree that this should start with 1901 with the advent of college football becoming more "national." Please note that the sources mentioned do not create a correspondence between what is "universally" counted and what the schools count. I agree that Helms, consensus champs, Dickenson, AP, UPI, CNN, and the BCS (along with the retroactive champs) are all solid and must be counted. However, I must question use of "Modern Analysts" which is really Sagarin. If used, USC in 2002 would have a claim, as an example. Also, Alabama in 1941 does not fall under the accepted selectors. There are also "sub-major" selectors such as the College Football Writers and the College Football Foundation (see Iowa in 1958). Finally, Notre Dame still does not recognize its 1938 champs despite every other winning school recognizing Dickenson--pretty odd for the school who inspired and requested the Dickenson system in the first place!

[edit] ESPN vs. BCS

I propose that for years in split championships, after the BCS was instituted, rather than applying the label "ESPN", we should apply the label "BCS". Mr. Brown 04:30, 25 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] NCAA-Recognized National Championships?

According to the NCAA, they have their own list of national champions. I know that some polls are more respectable than others, but wouldn't it be better to include all of the national championships from over the years, if the NCAA accepts as national championships?

[edit] No NCAA official National Champions for DI-A football

There is no list of NCAA official national champions for DI-A football in their records book and if there were official champions, where are the trophies that would be awarded to the national champion? The NCAA does not make a championship trophy for DI-A football.

Although I like the current set up of this site, I do think that there should be a category for "claimed titles".

[edit] I have implemented standards for list

I have updated the list of National Champions using the following sources:

1869-1882 - I have used the National Championship Foundation picks ("NCF"). There are few other sources available for this period, and this is the only one "recognized" by College Football Data Warehouse as reputable.

1883-1923 - I have used Helms Athletic Foundation picks. Although other reputable sources are available, this one, to my understanding, is the most widely recognized list for this period.

1924-1934 - I have included Helms, NCF, College Football Research Associates ("CFRA"), and the Dickinson System. Dickinson was a statistical evaluation conducted beginning in 1926, with retroactive analysis for 1924 and 1925. Helms, NCF and CFRA are all recognized as reputable by College Football Data Warehouse. Helms selections are listed first as the most widely recognized source. Indeed, it would be entirely reasonable to omit CFRA, NCF and Dickinson for this period and to list any particularly strong candidate as based on "other" sources.

1935 - I add the United Press poll for this year, the end of season press poll.

1936 - I add the Associated Press poll. The United Press poll was discontinued. AP selections are now listed first as the most widely recognized source. I continue Helms, CFRA, NCF and Dickinson, although these are far less relevant beyond 1935. Again, it would be entirely reasonable to omit Helms, CFRA, NCF and Dickinson for this period and to list any particularly strong candidates as based on "other" sources.

1941 - Dickinson results are no longer produced.

1950 - I add the United Press coaches poll. This becomes the 2nd priority selection. Helms, NCF and CFRA assist in sorting out post-bowl champions.

1952 - I add International News Service, another press poll.

1954 - I add the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), which offers the Grantland Rice Trophy to the national champion. I drop Helms, NCF and CFRA since four contemporaneous sources are now available. In 1955, the FWAA begins deciding its championship after the bowls, the first to do so, likely in response to the 1950, '51 and '53 losses by the regular season champs.

1958 - UP and INS merge and continue the UP coaches poll as the UPI.

1991 - UPI coaches poll is taken over by USA-Today/CNN.

1997 - USA-Today/CNN coaches poll is taken over by USA-Today/ESPN.

1998 - Coaches poll agrees to be bound by winner of BCS National Championship Game, so champion is now referred to as "BCS". Since the major conferences have agreed to be part of the BCS and its championship game system, the BCS replaces the AP as the first listed national championship.

In several cases I have included champions selected by "other" sources. I believe that there are strong cases for each of these. A similar case could be made for several schools during the 1876-1923 period that I have not included here. There are many references included below, however, that can be followed to learn more about these.

One championship that I did not include is the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame's MacArthur trophy. It is now linked to the BCS like the coaches poll. It would add only a couple of champions from 1959-1990, none of which, I believe, were widely recognized.

I have changed Ohio State's redirects to redirect to Ohio State Buckeyes instead of the Ohio State University, since that seems to be the standard for most of the list.--Majorpayne27 18:48, 27 June 2006 (UTC)

It seems that my changes have been deleted without any explanation, does anyone disagree that the schools; link should go to their respective athletic's website? --Majorpayne27 03:20, 28 June 2006 (UTC)

Sam left a message as to why he reverted your changes. I believe that Texas is the only school linked to the athletics website. Rkevins82 13:56, 28 June 2006 (UTC)
…and poof; just like that, they're all gone -- KelleyCook 18:55, 28 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] 2003 USC

Someone deleted USC's 2003 AP national championship. While I agree that the BCS national champ should be listed first since the major conferences have agreed to the BCS system, the AP championship is widely recognized as legitimate even in the BCS era. My revision of the list is intended to reflect most widely recognized champions, including co-champions. USC's claim is better than many included for earlier years and I have restored it to the list.

[edit] Proposed "Thinned Out" List

Would like comments on whether following list is preferred to that currently posted:

Year Champion Source Record Bowl Head coach
1869 Princeton (NCF) 1-1-0
1870 Princeton (NCF) 1-0
1871 No Champion
1872 Princeton (NCF) 1-0
1873 Princeton (NCF) 1-0
1874 Yale (NCF) 3-0
1875 Harvard (NCF) 4-0
1876 Yale (NCF) 3-0
1877 Yale (NCF) 3-0-1
1878 Princeton (NCF) 6-0-0
1879 Princeton (NCF) 4-0-1
1880 Princeton (NCF) 4-0-1
Yale (NCF) 4-0-1
1881 Yale (NCF) 5-0-1
1882 Yale (NCF) 8-0-0
1883 Yale (H) 8-0-0 Ray Tomkins (Captain)
1884 Yale (H) 9-0-0 Eugene L. Richards (Captain)
1885 Princeton (H) 9-0-0 Charles DeCamp (Captain)
1886 Yale (H) 9-0-1 Robert N. Corwin (Captain)
1887 Yale (H) 9-0-0 Harry W. Beecher (Captain)
1888 Yale (H) 13-0-0 Walter Camp
1889 Princeton (H) 10-0-0 Edgar Poe (Captain)
1890 Harvard (H) 11-0-0 G.A. Stewart/G.C. Adams
1891 Yale (H) 13-0-0 Walter Camp
1892 Yale (H) 13-0-0 Walter Camp
1893 Princeton (H) 11-0-0 Tom Trenchard (Captain)
1894 Yale (H) 16-0-0 William C. Rhodes
1895 Pennsylvania (H) 14-0-0 George Woodruff
1896 Princeton (H) 10-0-1 Garrett Cochran
1897 Pennsylvania (H) 15-0-0 George Woodruff
1898 Harvard (H) 11-0-0 W. Cameron Forbes
1899 Harvard (H) 10-0-1 Benjamin H. Dibblee
1900 Yale (H) 12-0-0 Malcolm McBride
1901 Michigan (H) 11-0-0 Won Rose Fielding Yost
1902 Michigan (H) 11-0-0 Fielding Yost
1903 Princeton (H) 11-0-0 Art Hillebrand
1904 Pennsylvania (H) 12-0-0 Carl Williams
1905 Chicago (H) 11-0-0 Amos Alonzo Stagg
1906 Princeton (H) 9-0-1 Bill Roper
1907 Yale (H) 9-0-1 Bill Knox
1908 Pennsylvania (H) 11-0-1 Sol Metzger
1909 Yale (H) 10-0-0 Howard Jones
1910 Harvard (H) 8-0-1 Percy Houghton
1911 Princeton (H) 8-0-2 Bill Roper
1912 Harvard (H) 9-0-0 Percy Houghton
1913 Harvard (H) 9-0-0 Percy Houghton
1914 Army (H) 9-0-0 Charley Daly
1915 Cornell (H) 9-0-0 Al Sharpe
1916 Pittsburgh (H) 8-0-0 Pop Warner
1917 Georgia Tech (H) 9-0-0 John Heisman
1918 Pittsburgh (H) 4-1-0 Pop Warner
1919 Harvard (H) 9-0-1 Won Rose Bob Fisher
1920 California (H) 9-0-0 Won Rose Andy Smith
1921 Cornell (H) 8-0-0 Gil Dobie
1922 Cornell (H) 8-0-0 Gil Dobie
1923 Illinois (H) 8-0-0 Bob Zuppke
1924 Notre Dame (H) 10-0-0 Won Rose Knute Rockne
1925 Alabama (H) 10-0-0 Won Rose Wallace Wade
1926 Stanford (H) 10-0-1 Tied Rose Pop Warner
Alabama (H) 9-0-1 Tied Rose Wallace Wade
1927 Illinois (H) 7-0-1 Bob Zuppke
1928 Georgia Tech (H) 10-0-0 Won Rose Bill Alexander
1929 Notre Dame (H) 9-0-0 Knute Rockne
1930 Notre Dame (H) 10-0-0 Knute Rockne
Alabama (Other) 10-0-0 Won Rose Wallace Wade
1931 USC (H) 10-1-0 Won Rose Howard Jones
1932 USC (H) 10-0-0 Won Rose Howard Jones
1933 Michigan (H) 7-0-1 Harry Kipke
1934 Minnesota (H) 8-0-0 Bernie Bierman
Alabama (Other) 10-0-0 Won Rose Frank Thomas
1935 Minnesota (UP)(H) 8-0-0 Bernie Bierman
1936 Minnesota (AP) 7-1-0 Bernie Bierman
1937 Pittsburgh (AP) 9-0-1 Jock Sutherland
1938 TCU (AP) 11-0-0 Won Sugar Dutch Meyer
1939 Texas A&M (AP) 11-0-0 Won Sugar Homer Norton
1940 Minnesota (AP) 8-0-0 Bernie Bierman
1941 Minnesota (AP) 8-0-0 Bernie Bierman
1942 Ohio State (AP) 9-1-0 Paul Brown
1943 Notre Dame (AP) 9-1-0 Frank Leahy
1944 Army (AP) 9-0-0 Earl Blaik
1945 Army (AP) 9-0-0 Earl Blaik
1946 Notre Dame (AP) 8-0-1 Frank Leahy
1947 Notre Dame (AP) 9-0-0 Frank Leahy
1948 Michigan (AP) 9-0-0 Bennie Oosterbaan
1949 Notre Dame (AP) 10-0-0 Frank Leahy
1950 Oklahoma (AP)(UP) 10-1-0 Lost Sugar Bud Wilkinson
Tennessee (NCF) 11-1-0 Won Cotton Robert Neyland
1951 Tennessee (AP)(UP) 10-1-0 Lost Sugar Robert Neyland
Michigan State (H) 9-0-0 Biggie Munn
Maryland (NCF) 10-0-0 Won Sugar Jim Tatum
1952 Michigan State (AP)(UP) 9-0-0 Biggie Munn
Georgia Tech (INS) 12-0-0 Won Sugar Bobby Dodd
1953 Maryland (AP)(UP) 10-1-0 Lost Orange Jim Tatum
Notre Dame (H)(NCF) 9-0-1 Frank Leahy
1954 Ohio State (AP) 10-0-0 Won Rose Woody Hayes
UCLA (UP) 9-0-0 Red Sanders
1955 Oklahoma (AP)(UP) 11-0-0 Won Orange Bud Wilkinson
1956 Oklahoma (AP)(UP) 10-0-0 Bud Wilkinson
1957 Auburn (AP) 10-0-0 Shug Jordan
Ohio State (UP) 9-1-0 Won Rose Woody Hayes
1958 LSU (AP)(UPI) 11-0-0 Won Sugar Paul Dietzel
1959 Syracuse (AP)(UPI) 11-0-0 Won Cotton Ben Schwartzwalder
1960 Minnesota (AP)(UPI) 8-2-0 Lost Rose Murray Warmath
Mississippi (FWAA) 10-0-1 Won Sugar John Vaught
1961 Alabama (AP)(UPI) 11-0-0 Won Sugar Paul "Bear" Bryant
1962 USC (AP)(UPI) 11-0-0 Won Rose John McKay
1963 Texas (AP)(UPI) 11-0-0 Won Cotton Darrell Royal
1964 Alabama (AP)(UPI) 10-1-0 Lost Orange Paul "Bear" Bryant
Arkansas (FWAA) 11-0-0 Won Cotton Frank Broyles
1965 Alabama (AP) 9-1-1 Won Orange Paul "Bear" Bryant
Michigan State (UPI) 10-1-0 Lost Rose Duffy Daugherty
1966 Notre Dame (AP)(UPI) 9-0-1 Ara Parseghian
1967 USC (AP)(UPI) 10-1-0 Won Rose John McKay
1968 Ohio State (AP)(UPI) 10-0-0 Won Rose Woody Hayes
1969 Texas (AP)(UPI) 11-0-0 Won Cotton Darrell Royal
1970 Nebraska (AP) 11-0-1 Won Orange Bob Devaney
Texas (UPI) 10-1-0 Lost Cotton Darrell Royal
1971 Nebraska (AP)(UPI) 13-0-0 Won Orange Bob Devaney
1972 USC (AP)(UPI) 12-0-0 Won Rose John McKay
1973 Notre Dame (AP) 11-0-0 Won Sugar Ara Parseghian
Alabama (UPI) 11-1-0 Lost Sugar Paul "Bear" Bryant
1974 Oklahoma (AP) 11-0-0 Barry Switzer
USC (UPI) 10-1-1 Won Rose John McKay
1975 Oklahoma (AP)(UPI) 11-1-0 Won Orange Barry Switzer
1976 Pittsburgh (AP)(UPI) 12-0-0 Won Sugar Johnny Majors
1977 Notre Dame (AP)(UPI) 11-1-0 Won Cotton Dan Devine
1978 Alabama (AP) 11-1-0 Won Sugar Paul "Bear" Bryant
USC (UPI) 12-1-0 Won Rose John Robinson
1979 Alabama (AP)(UPI) 12-0-0 Won Sugar Paul "Bear" Bryant
1980 Georgia (AP)(UPI) 12-0-0 Won Sugar Vince Dooley
1981 Clemson (AP)(UPI) 12-0-0 Won Orange Danny Ford
1982 Penn State (AP)(UPI) 11-1-0 Won Sugar Joe Paterno
1983 Miami (FL) (AP)(UPI) 11-1-0 Won Orange Howard Schnellenberger
1984 BYU (AP)(UPI) 13-0-0 Won Holiday Lavell Edwards
1985 Oklahoma (AP)(UPI) 11-1-0 Won Orange Barry Switzer
1986 Penn State (AP)(UPI) 12-0-0 Won Fiesta Joe Paterno
1987 Miami (FL) (AP)(UPI) 12-0-0 Won Orange Jimmy Johnson
1988 Notre Dame (AP)(UPI) 12-0-0 Won Fiesta Lou Holtz
1989 Miami (FL) (AP)(UPI) 11-1-0 Won Sugar Dennis Erickson
1990 Colorado (AP) 11-1-1 Won Orange Bill McCartney
Georgia Tech (UPI) 11-0-1 Won Citrus Bobby Ross
1991 Miami (FL) (AP) 12-0-0 Won Orange Dennis Erickson
Washington (CNN) 12-0-0 Won Rose Don James
1992 Alabama (AP)(CNN) 13-0-0 Won Sugar Gene Stallings
1993 Florida State (AP)(CNN) 12-1-0 Won Orange Bobby Bowden
1994 Nebraska (AP)(CNN) 13-0-0 Won Orange Tom Osborne
1995 Nebraska (AP)(CNN) 12-0-0 Won Fiesta Tom Osborne
1996 Florida (AP)(CNN) 12-1 Won Sugar Steve Spurrier
1997 Michigan (AP) 12-0 Won Rose Lloyd Carr
Nebraska (ESPN) 13-0 Won Orange Tom Osborne
1998 Tennessee (BCS)(AP) 13-0 Won Fiesta Phillip Fulmer
1999 Florida State (BCS)(AP) 12-0 Won Sugar Bobby Bowden
2000 Oklahoma (BCS)(AP) 13-0 Won Orange Bob Stoops
2001 Miami (FL) (BCS)(AP) 12-0 Won Rose Larry Coker
2002 Ohio State (BCS)(AP) 14-0 Won Fiesta Jim Tressel
2003 LSU (BCS) 13-1 Won Sugar Nick Saban
USC (AP) 12-1 Won Rose Pete Carroll
2004 USC (BCS)(AP) 13-0 Won Orange Pete Carroll
2005 Texas (BCS)(AP) 13-0 Won Rose | Mack Brown [Utah (USA Today)]

above unsigned suggestion by Drewinmaine

  • Personally, I prefer the current version of the table, which features more information. I think more info is usually better so long as it is relevant and remains readable, which I think the current version does nicely. I did restore USC in 2003, as was suggested above. Also, if anyone does decide to change the table, please note that I changed University of Texas to Texas Longhorn Athletics as the second article is more directly relevant. Johntex\talk 18:14, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

Keep the Inclusive Table

I like the more inclusive table as well. However, if the thinned-out version is used, I would keep the Dickenson System champions as they have become more accepted and represent the first attempt to use statistics to determine a champion. It was also the pre-eminent selector of its time.

It has? I give it no more value than I give any of those other random NC selectors. I propose, as mentioned below, we use the same criteria as the College Football Data Warehouse.--NMajdantalk 18:27, 1 August 2006 (UTC)

Please also note that any controversy regarding the split of 2003 should really be non-existent as the BCS itself recognizes the split on its website under the discussion of the 2003 season.


I think the thinned out version should be used. The Dickenson system is ridiculous to use when every other measure gives the championship to another team. It's crazy to use a system that awards a "statistical" championship to a team with a loss, especially if that loss was in their bowl game. 67.64.114.187 20:58, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Counting retroactively awarded titles in the team totals

As a a retroactive title wasn't recognized in the year that the team played, I think it is disingenuous to use retroactive rankings, such as National Championship Foundation, College Football Researchers Association, and Helms (pre 1941) as a an "official source" for National Championships in the total numbers awarded. If no-one comes up with a good argument why Wikipedia should use retroactively generated lists, then I will adjust the Team-by-team totals in a few days. -- KelleyCook 13:51, 1 August 2006 (UTC)

I believe those were originally used because they are used on the College Football Data Warehouse website. It is difficult to determine which polls to use in the Pre-AP era.--NMajdantalk 13:55, 1 August 2006 (UTC)
Honestly, I think we should just use the same criteria that website uses.
1869-1882  National Championship Foundation
1883-1935  Helms Athletic Foundation
1919-1935  College Football Researches Association
1936-Current  Associated Press Poll
1950-Current  Coaches Poll

I have a tough time justifying the use of the Dickinson System mainly because it award ND the title in 1938 and it was the only poll to do so.--NMajdantalk 14:20, 1 August 2006 (UTC)

I agree with Nmajdan. However, we should note that there are no 'official' national champions until the BCS.Rkevins82 17:40, 1 August 2006 (UTC)
Dickinson used math much in the same way the present BCS computers do. I must once again note that it was the pre-eminent selector of its time. I certainly believe that it was far superior to most if not all of the other systems of its day and was so until the AP began. Even then it was important and remained so until it ended in 1940. Please also note that while the BCS has a very strong grip on the National Championship it is by no means "official." There is still no "official" NCAA Div. 1 college football champion.
You guys are giving FAR, FAR too much credit to the criteria that College Football Data Warehouse uses. The only relevant ones post 1935 are Associated Press and the Coaches poll. The only relevant ones prior to that are ones that actually had selectors. Anyone that was a recent retroactive poll (read computer geek with access to Stassen's database) deserves zero credit by Wikipedia. And the BCS clearly is not a poll nor even the determiner of an official champion, but only a bowl matchmaker. The Coaches poll, of course, is obligated to make their first pick the winner of the BCS #1 v #2 game, but that doesn't mean that their is a BCS final pick.

The College Football Data Warehouse told me in an e-mail that he would look at the Dickinson System a second time. While I like this web-site, it is not all-inclusive and is also the opinion of that particular individual. Almanacs and many reference books now utilize Dickinson and the fact that their selections might differ is not relevant. It was major AT THE TIME. But using the Data Warehouse is alright as long as you can augment it. Please also note that they give 1964 Arkansas a championship although they were not slected by major selectors (I agree with that as well and I also agree with 1953 Notre Dame being granted a championship.)—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 65.119.25.226 (talkcontribs).

[edit] Consensus titles

Notre Dame is listed as a school that does not count all potential titles, but by consensus counts has 11 championships. I've removed the following (with reasons:

  1. 1946 Helms (contemporaneous) split between ND and Army, CFRA also chose Army
  2. 1947 Helms split between ND and Michigan, AP picked ND, NCF and CFRA picked Michigan
  3. 1973 UPI picked Alabama, AP/FWAA picked ND

Rkevins82 19:16, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Link to Vince Young-Mack Brown Video on YouTube

I have excised the link to a video on YouTube that someone had added in the External Links section. I think it was supposed to be funny, as it suggested a homoerotic relationship between Texas quarterback Vince Young and Texas coach Mack Brown, criticized rainbow iconography, and liberally used the word "homo" in a derogatory way. But yeah it had nothing to do with Division I-A national championships. At all. So it's gone. And yes, I do live in Texas. And no, I am not gay. And from what I understand, neither are Mack Brown and Vince Young.

For reference, here is the link: The Vince Young Mack Brown Story

Kind regards J. Charles Taylor 11:59, 22 August 2006 (UTC)

Thank you for taking care of this. I do some editing in locations where I can't access some media (like many others), so I can't vet videos. Best. Rkevins82 15:28, 22 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] In 1919...

On the Texas A&M Wikipedia site, it claims the Aggies won the national championship in 1919 and in 1939. Although it does mention the championship in 1939, this page does not mention the championship supposedly won in 1919. Anyone have a source supporting/declining this?

The only sources I could find for a 1919 championship for A&M were James Howell, a computer ranking that I believe was conducted in 2000, and a 3 way tie in the National Championship Foundation retroactive research results. The Aggies were undefeated and untied that year and it is quite possible that the press in Texas and elsewhere declared them national champions at the time. During this period, though, the NCF declared multiple champions on several occasions, making the inclusion of its champions on this list less useful than some other sources, as one would prefer a source that actually chooses a single national champion. user:Drewinmaine 11.26.06

[edit] Last 25 years?

Why have this section? People can much more easily look at the list to see who has won recently, than since 1901. I hope it is not to maximize Miami's visibility. Rkevins82 18:00, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Mythical National Championship merger?

The 90% of that article that contains interesting information is redundant with this article. The other 10% appears to be a very contrived attempt to come up with other MNCs to link to the term. It seems to me that since the CFB material is rendundant (think don't repeat yourself) that we'd do well to offload the other to one sentence each in high school football and college basketball, and perhaps create a section here called something like "'Mythical' national championship?". If the juxtaposition with other sports is needed, it's probably most appropriate here. I just don't think mythical national championships per se (as opposed to the mythical D-I-A football championship, which is where we've all heard the term) are a sufficiently encyclopedic topic to need a separate article. Cheers - PhilipR 02:35, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

I am (mildly) against the merge proposal. I do appreciate that a lack of redundancy can be a good thing (especially in computer programming per the link you cited). However, redundancy can also be a good thing. It is an essential component of virtually all human knowledge.
Also, similar information can be presented in differing ways, sometimes with good reason. For instance, until I just now re-read the article on Mythical national championship, I didn't realize any national publications tried to crown a national high school champion. I also did not know that college basketball ever lacked a playoff. In other words, having those things brought into one article was helpful to me, as it may be to other readers in the future.
Finally, this is a substantial article. I think having the info in mythical national championship makes the info easier to find. Johntex\talk 03:04, 6 December 2006 (UTC)
I am against a merger. The article has developed into a pretty good article and will only get better. I plan on improving it with sources and examples, especially for the college basketball and high school football sections. I cannot tell you how many times (trust me, it's a lot) I've seen people on the internet see the letters MNC in message board posts and have them ask, "What's MNC?" This article was created for that reason. And like Johntex said, many people don't even realize that there are MNC's in sports other than college football. This deserves its own article. Seancp 13:42, 6 December 2006 (UTC)
"This article was created for that reason." - WP:WINAD. Whatever suitable place is agreed upon for this material, we can certainly use disambiguation and redirects to make sure MNC and Mythical [Nn]ational [Cc]hampionship lead there. But you both raise some valid points that I'm still processing. - PhilipR 14:56, 6 December 2006 (UTC)
I am against a merger for the same reasons as above. Mythical national championship relates to any national championship declaration that doesn't have a national playoff to determine thus, thus adding a level of subjectiveness. While this has been mostly applied to college football, there are other examples that are just as valid. Merging them implies that Div. I-A is the mythical national championship, which, as apparent in the article, isn't the same thing. Besides, if this were to merge, I think it would be much better merged with the Bowl Championship Series page or the Bowl Game page rather than this one. Hawk405359 21:59, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Modified proposal

Executive summary: See "The new proposal" subheading. Sorry I'm so long-winded.

OK, as I'm processing the emerging consensus, here's my summary of what seems to be more-or-less the consensus or at least not-yet disputed:

  • The MNC article has some information of value
  • The juxtaposition of cfb to other sports, historical or present, without organized championships is interesting and encyclopedic
  • This existing article is already a good size, and moving material into it may not be a good idea.

Here are a couple of other points that you've made me think about:

  • While a certain amount of redundancy is tolerable in a prose encyclopedia, WP has a pretty standardized way to avoid extreme redundancy by setting up subordinate articles to deal with topics in depth. E.g. United States, History of the United States, History of the United States (1789–1849), etc. The reasons that make DRY applicable to programming also make it applicable to documentation. For example, I posted a quote from Bernie Machen on this article, but in principle I should also post it at MNC to keep it current, and any other article referencing the present playoff controversy. I would hope that each new piece of info would have an unambiguous home where it belongs, though I recognize there are exceptions (such as linking the same article at Bernie Machen, etc.).
  • I'm still not convinced that Mythical national championship isn't in essentially intended to be a dictionary entry. Indeed, Seancp's reply actually confirms this original impression. I've recently been looking into an example where WP:WINAD was absolutely flouted. A Motorway and a Freeway are virtually the exact same thing, but because they've grown up on a term-by-term basis instead of a concept-by-concept basis, each article is now jealously guarded by its editors in its US-centric or UK-centric form. Wikipedia articles are about concepts, not specific terms.

Now, that said, there's obviously material there that people think is beneficial to maintain separate from NCAA Division I-A national football championship, and I've come to agree. So how about this?

[edit] The new proposal

  • Migrate material from both this article and Mythical national championship concerning the college football controversy to something like, NCAA Division I-A national football championship debate (although I'd like to make the title shorter). There's precedent for this: Free trade and Free trade debate, for example.
  • Make what remains of Mythical national championship into a list. Wikipedia has all kinds of useful lists and I think a list of sports with mythical championships (or list of sports without established championships or pseudo-championships) is certainly valid. I don't actually think it should just be "national championships" though, because that's fairly arbitrary. (Why wouldn't something transnational like a poll of European soccer clubs predating the European Champions' Cup not be equally relevant to this list?)
  • Use the {{main}} template and disambiguation as appropriate:
  • Mythical national championship should probably direct to the appropriate college football articles. Someone looking under the term "mythical national championship" almost certainly either doesn't know what the term means or wants to read about the football debate.
  • Of course the debate article should explain the term MNC and probably have a templated dab at the top like
.
  • The debate article should cross-reference the list of other sports in addition to the dab
  • The present article NCAA Division I-A national football championship should give a brief intro to the debate but point to the debate article, cf. Free trade.

This would meet my needs because new material concerning the cfb debate would now have a single unambiguous home. At the same time, if we discover that say some prefecture in Japan has a Sumo "championship" that's as disorganized as I-A cfb, then that fact/juxtaposition has an unambiguous home too (the list).

As a fallback compromise, if Mythical National Championship is held to be the proper title for the article about the cfb debate then I would suggest moving the relevant material from here to avoid redundancy. But now we have an article both about the MNC and about various mncs. The confusion over capitalization, in my book, exposes a greater confusion about the purpose of that article. (The status quo has the title capitalized, but is an article ostensibly about various championships, not one particular one, which seems thoroughly inconsistent.)

I welcome your thoughts. - PhilipR 00:37, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

I appreciate all the effort you're putting in here, but I think what you suggested just makes everything way too complicated. I suggest we allow the article to develop as it has been. Like I mentioned before, I am going to get to work on sourcing it and adding info about high school football and college basketball. I'll also look for other sports that have mythical national championships. Separating the info, merging some here, moving some there, etc, etc just really makes things messy. They MNC article is a pretty decent article. If it is redundant it is redundant in a way that is useful. For instance, let's say a non-football fan overhears a reporter on ESPN mention "Mythical National Championship" and wonders what he means by that then he can just go to the wikipedia article and learn a lot about it. The information on the DI-A national football championship page would be harder to find for a non-football fan, and even if they did find it, they'd have to read through a lot of other information before finding the answer to their question. As far as the capitalization goes, I really don't see how that implies that there is only one MNC, especially when one reads the article. However, if Wikipedia has a capitalization policy that states it should be lowercased then we should make it lower case. To summarize, I would like the see the MNC page left as it is and allowed to develop. It is a decent page right now and will continue to get better. Seancp 13:51, 7 December 2006 (UTC)