List of Alabama Crimson Tide football national championships

This is a list of Alabama Crimson Tide football national championships. The national championship in NCAA Division I FBS is the subject of much debate. Alabama claims 15 national championships, of the 20 documented by the NCAA in its list of Past Division I National Champions. Championships prior to 1945 were selected by numerous organizations and associations (some retroactively); these organizations include the National Championship Foundation (NCF), Helms Athletic Foundation, Dunkel Index, Houlgate, Litkenhaus, and the College Football Research Association (CFRA). Since 1936, the AP Poll has been the most widely-circulated national championship selector. The AFCA Coaches Poll has also been widely recognized since 1950. Since 1998, the national championship has been officially determined by the Bowl Championship Series (BCS).

The NCAA does not itself recognize official national champions, but does provide a partial listing of various organizations' selections of a champion, often noting several teams in the same year. In addition to the 15 claimed by the Alabama program, the Official NCAA Football Records Book cites 5 additional Alabama championships: 1945, 1962, 1966, 1975 and 1977.

• 1925 -- The 1925 team, coached by Wallace Wade, completed the regular season 9-0-0, winning the Southern Conference championship. Alabama was then invited to play Washington in the January 1, 1926 Rose Bowl. Coach Wade's team initially fell behind the undefeated Huskies, but rallied in the second half to defeat Washington 20-19. The outstanding player of the game was Johnny Mack Brown. The 1925 Alabama football team finished the season with a 10-0-0 record and was selected national champions by Football Annual and the Helms Athletic Foundation.

• 1926 -- The 1926 team, coached by Wallace Wade, completed the regular season 9-0-0, winning the Southern Conference championship. Alabama was then invited to play Stanford in the January 1, 1927 Rose Bowl. Coach Wade's team tied the Indians 7-7 to finish the season 9-0-1. The outstanding player of the game was Fred Pickhard.

• 1930 -- The 1930 team, coached by Wallace Wade, completed the regular season 9-0-0, winning the Southern Conference championship. Alabama was then invited to play Washington State in the January 1, 1931 Rose Bowl. Coach Wade's team defeated the Cougars 24-0 to finish the season 10-0-0. The outstanding player of the game was John Campbell.

• 1934 -- The 1934 team, coached by Frank W. Thomas, completed the regular season 9-0-0, winning the Southeastern Conference championship. Alabama was then invited to play Stanford in the January 1, 1935 Rose Bowl. Coach Thomas' team defeated the Indians 29-13 to finish the season 10-0-0. The outstanding player of the game was Millard "Dixie" Howell.

• 1941 -- The 1941 team, coached by Frank W. Thomas, completed the regular season 8-2-0. Alabama's squad finished 3rd in the Southeastern Conference after suffering losses to Mississippi State and Vanderbilt. Alabama was then invited to play Texas A&M in the January 1, 1942 Cotton Bowl. Coach Thomas' team defeated the Aggies 29-21 to finish the season 9-2-0. The outstanding players of the game were Holt Rast, Don Whitmire, and Jimmy Nelson.

• 1961 -- The 1961 team, coached by Bear Bryant, completed the regular season 10-0-0, winning the Southeastern Conference championship. Led by quarterback Pat Trammell, linebacker Lee Roy Jordan and two-way lineman Billy Neighbors, Alabama outscored their opponents 297-25. Alabama was then invited to play the #9-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks in the January 1, 1962 Sugar Bowl. Coach Bryant's team defeated the Razorbacks 10-3 to finish the season 11-0-0. The outstanding player of the game was Mike Fracchia.

• 1964 -- The 1964 team, coached by Bear Bryant, completed the regular season 10-0-0, winning the Southeastern Conference championship. Alabama was led by quarterback Joe Namath. Alabama was then invited to play the Texas Longhorns in the January 1, 1965 Orange Bowl. Coach Bryant's team lost to the Longhorns 21-17 to finish the season 10-1-0. The outstanding player of the game was Joe Namath. Because of the controversy, the AP Poll decided to wait until after the bowl games to select their champion in the 1965 season.

• 1965 -- The 1965 team, coached by Bear Bryant, completed the regular season 8-1-1, winning the Southeastern Conference championship. The Tide lost to Georgia and tied Tennessee during the regular season. Alabama was then invited to play Nebraska in the January 1, 1966 Orange Bowl. Coach Bryant's team defeated the Cornhuskers 39-28 to finish the season 9-1-1. The outstanding player of the game was Steve Sloan.

• 1973 -- The 1973 team, coached by Bear Bryant, completed the regular season 11-0-0, winning the Southeastern Conference championship. Alabama was then invited to play Notre Dame in the December 31, 1973 Sugar Bowl. Coach Bryant's team lost to the Fighting Irish 24-23 to finish the season 11-1-0. The 1973 Alabama football team was selected national champions by the Coaches Poll as at the time the final poll was announced prior to the bowl games. Because of the controversy after the bowl loss, the Coaches Poll began selecting their champion after the bowl games starting in 1974.

• 1978 -- The 1978 team, coached by Bear Bryant, completed the regular season 10-1-0, winning the Southeastern Conference championship. The Tide defeated #10-ranked Nebraska 20-3, and defeated #11-ranked Missouri 38-20, and lost to Southern Cal during the regular season. Alabama was then invited to play #1-ranked Penn State in the January 1, 1979 Sugar Bowl. Coach Bryant's team defeated the Nitanny Lions 14-7 to finish the season 11-1-0. The outstanding player of the game was linebacker Barry Krauss.

• 1979 -- The 1979 team, coached by Bear Bryant, completed the regular season 11-0-0, winning the Southeastern Conference championship. The Tide defeated #18-ranked Tennessee 27-17, and defeated #14-ranked Auburn University 25-18 during the regular season. Alabama was then invited to play #6-ranked Arkansas in the January 1, 1980 Sugar Bowl. Coach Bryant's team defeated the Razorbacks 24-9 to finish the season 12-0-0. The outstanding player of the game was running back Major Ogilvie.

• 1992 -- The 1992 team, coached by Gene Stallings, completed the regular season 11-0-0. They then defeated #12-ranked Florida in the inaugural SEC Championship Game at Legion Field, defeating the Gators 28-21; the win gave Alabama its 20th SEC title and a record of 12-0-0. Alabama was then invited to play #1-ranked Miami in the January 1, 1993 Sugar Bowl. Coach Stallings' team defeated the Hurricanes 34-13 to finish the season 13-0-0. The outstanding player of the game was Derrick Lassic.

• 2009 — The 2009 team, coached by Nick Saban, finished with a 12–0 regular season. The team then faced Florida in the SEC Championship Game, the team defeated the Gators 32–13 in a rematch of the previous year's championship. Alabama then traveled to Pasadena to face Texas in the 2010 BCS National Championship Game at the Rose Bowl. After Texas quarterback Colt McCoy left the game due to injury, Alabama's Heisman winning running back Mark Ingram rushed for 116 yards and two touchdowns in a 37–21 win. Ingram was named the game's offensive MVP in Alabama's first ever BCS victory.

• 2011 — The 2011 team, also coached by Nick Saban, finished with an 11-1 regular season and was left out of the SEC Champsionship Game after losing to LSU at Bryant-Denny Stadium. When all of the other undefeated teams eventually posted losses, the polls sent the Tide to a rematch in the 2012 BCS National Championship Game at the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. Alabama's defense held the Tigers to 92 combined yards on offense on the way to a 21-0 shutout. Jeremy Shelley kicked a bowl-record 5 of 7 field goals and Trent Richardson closed the scoring with a 34-yard touchdown run in the 4th quarter.

• 2012 — The 2012 team, coached by Nick Saban, finished with an 11-1 regular season and defeated the Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC Champsionship Game. Another round of upsets gave the Tide a match-up against the storied Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the 2013 BCS National Championship Game at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Alabama burst out of the gate, scoring its fourth unanswered touchdown at the start of the 2nd quarter and rolled to a 42-14 win. Quarterback A. J. McCarron threw four touchdown passes; two to freshman Amari Cooper; and running back Eddie Lacy rumbled for 140 yards and a score.

References

• Solomon, Jon (January 6, 2010) "Got 12? Here's how Alabama bumped up its claim to a dozen national titles". The Birmingham News
• "Alabama Crimson Tide football". (January 7, 2012) Wikipedia - accessed January 8, 2012