The Associated Press Trophy is the annual award given by the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
(AP) to the team ranked No. 1 in the season's final
AP Poll
The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...
. The trophy is emblematic of the
college football national championship
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 co ...
as awarded by the Associated Press.
The current version of trophy consists of a
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
or
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
football suspended above a base which contains the letters "AP" (for Associated Press), along with the information on who the recipient of the trophy was.
Until the 1968 college football season, the final AP poll of the season was released following the end of the regular season, with the exception of the 1965 season.
Prior to the
College Football Playoff
The College Football Playoff (CFP) is an annual postseason knockout invitational tournament to determine a national champion for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the highest level ...
(CFP) and
Bowl Championship Series
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 ...
(BCS), the
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
had not held a tournament or championship game to determine the
national champion of what is now the highest level, NCAA Division I
Football Bowl Subdivision
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 ...
(FBS) due to the long-standing historical ties between individual college football conferences and high-paying
bowl games
In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...
like the
Rose Bowl and
Orange Bowl
The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in th ...
. The NCAA did, however, recognize a national champion based upon the final results of major "wire-service" (
AP and
Coaches') polls. The extent of that recognition came in the form of acknowledgment in the annual ''NCAA Football Guide'' of the "unofficial" national champions. As a result, the public and the media began to acknowledge the leading vote-getter in the final AP Poll as the national champion for that season.
The Associated Press was not tied to the BCS, and the trophy could be awarded to a team which did not win the
BCS National Championship Game
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 fo ...
. This has happened once after the
2003 season
3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...
when
LSU
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...
won the BCS title game, but
USC
USC most often refers to:
* University of South Carolina, a public research university
** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses
**South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program
* University of ...
received a higher total of votes in the AP Poll, and therefore received the AP National Championship Trophy. Teams serving NCAA postseason bans are still eligible for the AP National Championship. This has occurred twice, following the
1957
1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...
and
1974
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...
seasons.
Trophies
No trophy (1936–1940)
In its initial years, the
AP Poll
The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...
did not award a trophy.
The preeminent national championship trophy of the era was the
Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy A Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy was awarded by several organizations in honor of the great college football coach Knute Rockne, who died in a plane crash at the age of 43.
* Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy, presented annually by the DC Touchdown Club ...
awarded by the
Dickinson System
The Dickinson System was a mathematical point formula that awarded national championships in college football. Devised by University of Illinois economics professor Frank G. Dickinson, the system crowned national champions from 1925 to 1940. Dicki ...
.
Following the retirement of Frank G. Dickinson and his rating system in 1940, Minnesota tasked the AP Poll with awarding the new trophy it put into play.
Williams Trophy (1941–1947)
From 1941–1947, the No. 1 team in the final Associated Press poll was awarded the Dr. Henry L. Williams Trophy.
The trophy, named in honor of
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
head coach
Henry L. Williams
Henry Lane Williams (July 26, 1869 – June 14, 1931) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the United States Military Academy in 1891 and the University of Minnesota from 1900 to 1921, compiling a care ...
, was donated by the Golden Gophers after they permanently retired the
Dickinson System's Rockne Trophy by winning it for the third time in 1940.
The Williams trophy was retired when it was won for the third time by
Notre Dame in 1947.
O'Donnell Trophy (1948–1956)
Following their retirement of the Williams trophy, Notre Dame donated the Rev. J. Hugh O'Donnell Memorial Trophy to be presented to the 1948 national champion as determined by the Associated Press poll.
Like the previous college football national championship trophies, it was to be permanently retired by the first team to win it three times.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
retained permanent possession of the O'Donnell trophy after winning it for the third time in 1956.
Bryant Trophy (1957–1965)
A dedicated Associated Press Trophy was commissioned following the retirement of the O'Donnell Trophy by Oklahoma.
The AP Trophy was first awarded to
Auburn
Auburn may refer to:
Places Australia
* Auburn, New South Wales
* City of Auburn, the local government area
*Electoral district of Auburn
*Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region
*Auburn, South Australia
*Auburn, Tasmania
*Aub ...
for their 1957 AP national championship.
Like the previous national championship trophies, the "huge, 40-inch high, bronze" Associated Press trophy would be kept by the first school to win it three times.
This original "big, silver" AP trophy was retired by Alabama in 1965, upon winning their third AP title in five years.
Upon permanently awarding the trophy to Alabama, the Associated Press named it the Paul W. Bryant Trophy.
This AP trophy is still held by Alabama and is on display at the
Paul W. Bryant Museum
The Paul W. Bryant Museum is located on the campus of the University of Alabama, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Founded in 1985, the museum was opened in 1988 to "house the history of Alabama football, with special emphasis on the legendary coach" Bear ...
on the university campus in
Tuscaloosa
Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal and Piedmont plains meet. Alabama's fifth-largest city, it had an estimated population of 1 ...
.
AP Trophy (1966–1977)
Another traveling Associated Press Trophy was awarded from 1966–1977. It was retired permanently by Notre Dame following their third win of the trophy.
Bryant Trophy (1978–1989)
A new traveling Associated Press Trophy was put into competition for the 1978 season.
Following the death of the
great coach in January 1983, this trophy was renamed the Paul W. "Bear" Bryant Trophy.
This same name had previously been given to the AP trophy used from 1957–1965, upon it being won 3 times and retired by the coach's Alabama team.
This Bryant trophy was retired by the
University of Miami
The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...
, which gained permanent possession after their 3 wins in 1983, 1987, and 1989.
The trophy currently resides at the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame.
AP Trophy (1990–present)
Since the conclusion of the 1990 season, the AP has annually awarded an individual Associated Press Trophy to the school that finishes No. 1 in the final AP Poll (signifying that team as the
national champion in Division I-A / FBS).
Winners
The following teams have finished in the #1 spot in the final
AP Poll
The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...
of the season for college football:
By year
By school
See also
*
AP Poll
The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...
*
AFCA National Championship Trophy
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 ...
*
Grantland Rice Trophy
*
MacArthur Bowl
The MacArthur Bowl is a trophy awarded annually by the National Football Foundation (NFF) (owners and operators of the College Football Hall of Fame) to the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football team(s) that are recognized by ...
*
BCS National Championship Game
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 fo ...
*
College Football Playoff National Championship Trophy
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 ...
*
NCAA Division I FBS national football championship
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 coll ...
References
{{College Football National Championship Awards
College football championship trophies
Associated Press awards