There are 18 national championships. According to the Associated Press and the NCAA, the Crimson Tide has won a total of six national titles. Alabama claims 18 national championships, including triumphs in 1925, 1926, 1930, 1934, and 1941 prior to the arrival of famed Alabama head coach Bear Bryant. The NCAA doesn't include post-season tournaments in its calculations so Alabam's six official titles is still a record.
In fact, there are only five colleges or universities that have more national championships than Alabama: Ohio State, Oklahoma, USC, Texas A&M, and UCLA. If you include post-season tournaments as well, then Alabama's lead is even greater with seven national titles.
Ohio State has won more overall titles (82 vs. 78) but because they have more conference champions (14 vs. 12) the same team cannot win both awards. In other words, if Alabama had won just one more title over the years it would now be sharing its record with another school.
USC has won more individual titles (13 vs. 6) but again, because they have more conference champions (12 vs. 2) the same player can't win both awards. For example, Marcus Allen won the Heisman Trophy in 1975 but didn't receive any hardware because he also led USC to that year's national championship.
Alabama has won twelve national championships in the following years: 1925, 1926, 1930, 1934, 1941, 1961, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1978, 1979, and 1992. Individuals were also awarded national championships in 1945, 1962, 1966, 1975, and 1977. If a player from another team had been available for any of these titles, then he would have received the title too.
In 1950, the NCAA began awarding football championships. The organization stopped recognizing titles after that season but continued to award them privately until 1960. In 1963, the NCAA started awarding football championships again. Since then, all official national championships have been awarded by either the NCAA or its successor, the Football Association of America (FAA).
Both organizations split the title between Alabama and Georgia because they were deemed to be equal teams during this period. The NCAA decision was probably influenced by political factors since President Truman wanted to show his support for his former player, Joe Frago, who was running against Senator Richard Russell for reelection. The senator was known as the "Iron Man" for staying in office since 1932. The election was going to be close and needed to be swayed in the president's favor. It worked: The NCAA gave Alabama and Georgia equal titles.
In 1995, the College Football Hall of Fame was established and it starts honoring players, coaches, and others each year.
Wade, Thomas, Bryant, Stallings, and Saban all won national titles with the Crimson Tide during their tenures. Bryant is also the program's all-time leader in seasons coached and games won, with 232 victories throughout his 25-year tenure. He was fired after the 2008 season due to allegations of abuse toward women.
Stallings led the team to its first Southern Conference title in 1945 before moving on to coach Georgia Tech. He died of a heart attack on January 24, 1946, just three days into his new job at Georgia Tech.
Saban has the most wins with 91, followed by Jones with 70. They are the only two coaches to have been with the team for more than six years.
Of the nine coaches that have led the Crimson Tide to a National Championship, seven have also had previous head coaching experience at the college level prior to being hired by Alabama. The exception is Joe Lee Dunn, who served as an assistant under Ray Perkins at Alabama before becoming the first coach to guide the Crimson Tide to victory in its inaugural season (1931).
Dunn was let go after the 1933 season and failed to land another job at a major school. He died in poverty in Louisiana at the age of 49.
During the poll era of college football, Alabama has won twelve national championships while Ohio State has won eight. However, when you adjust the numbers for overall length of time in the game, it is clear that Ohio State is the winner. From 1869 to 1971, Ohio State played in all but one season, while Alabama only played during World War I and II. In those twenty-one years, Ohio State developed a strong program that included seven undefeated seasons and two world wars while Alabama did not qualify for the postseason until 1995.
In 1972, both programs joined the Big Ten, which forced them to play each other every year. This series is still going on today with both teams holding an even record of 26 wins against 26 losses. In addition, Ohio State has won the last three titles while Alabama has lost three out of four title games it has played in. Overall, Ohio State has won thirty-two titles to Alabama's twenty-eight.
The most recent championship was the Buckeyes' victory in 2011. Urban Meyer has led Ohio State to eight straight victories including a 42-14 blowout over Alabama in the 2012 Sugar Bowl. With the win, Ohio State became just the third team to repeat as National Champions after USC and Alabama.
| Alabama Crimson Tide football | |
|---|---|
| Bowl record | 44–26–3 (.623) |
| Playoff appearances | 6 (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020) |
| Playoff record | 8–3 |
| Claimed national titles | 18 (1925, 1926, 1930, 1934, 1941, 1961, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1978, 1979, 1992, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2020) |
The 2013 BCS National Championship was won by the Alabama Crimson Tide. The victory marks the first time that an SEC team has won the title.
Alabama defeated Oregon 42-35 in New York City to claim their second consecutive and third overall title. The Crimson Tide received about half of the possible points during the BCS system before winning the title game.
Alabama entered the season as one of the favorites to win the college football title after losing only one player to the NFL: Defensive end DeMarcus Ware. However, its title defense came up short as quarterback AJ McCarron suffered a shoulder injury early in the fourth quarter of the Sugar Bowl against Florida State. Backup Jacob Coker led the Crimson Tide to a 35-28 win over the Seminoles.
After the season, McCarron announced his intention to forgo his final year of eligibility and enter the 2014 NFL Draft. He was selected second overall by the Cincinnati Bengals.
Alabama will play Georgia in the SEC Championship on December 1st at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The winner will go to Super Bowl 50 in Santa Clara, California.
Can the Crimson Tide win the national championship again in 2021? The Alabama Crimson Tide completed an incredible 2020 season by defeating Ohio State 52-24 in the College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday night in South Florida. Head coach Nick Saban will be going for his sixth national title in seven years when his team returns for spring practice in April.
With one game left to play in the regular season, the Tide are still undefeated and remain in first place in the SEC West. They also have a bye this year in the SEC Championship Game due to having only one loss on the season.
In addition to winning the national championship, the Tide have also won the SEC three times (2009, 2011, 2020). If they were to repeat as champions, it would be their ninth overall title and third in the last four seasons.
The last time the Tide went into the season as the favorite for the national championship was 2015 when they lost to Clemson 34-31 in overtime in what many consider to be one of the greatest games ever played in college football. That season, Alabama finished with a 12-1 record and earned its fifth national championship.
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