# Grantland Rice Trophy

The Grantland Rice Trophy was an annual award presented in the United States from 1954 to 2013 to the college football team recognized by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) as the national champions.
Named for the legendary sportswriter Grantland Rice, the trophy was presented annually after the college football bowl games. A committee of five writers from different areas was appointed each season to select a champion by secret ballot. Voting was conducted initially by a positional voting system but after 1994 by a single-team vote. Beginning in 2002, the FWAA also began issuing a national poll to go along with the Grantland Rice Trophy. The top team in the final poll was awarded the trophy. The trophy itself consisted of a bronze football atop a four-sided pedestal.
On August 26, 2010, the FWAA announced that the 2004 award presented to the USC Trojans had been rescinded, the first time in the award's history that a winner has vacated the honor. The FWAA declined to name a replacement for that year's award.
With the advent of the College Football Playoff (CFP) for the 2014 season, the FWAA quietly retired the Grantland Rice Trophy, joining with the National Football Foundation (NFF) to instead publish the FWAA-NFF Grantland Rice Super 16 Poll during the regular season, with the CFP champion automatically receiving the NFF's MacArthur Bowl Trophy.

## Winners

| Season | Team | Conference | Head Coach | Record |
| 1954 | UCLA | Pacific Coast | Henry Russell Sanders | 9–0 |
| 1955 | Oklahoma | Big 7 | Bud Wilkinson | 11–0 |
| 1956 | Oklahoma | Big 7 | Bud Wilkinson | 10–0 |
| 1957 | Ohio State | Big Ten | Woody Hayes | 9–1 |
| 1958 | Iowa | Big Ten | Forest Evashevski | 8–1–1 |
| 1959 | Syracuse | Independent | Ben Schwartzwalder | 11–0 |
| 1960 | Ole Miss | SEC | Johnny Vaught | 10–0–1 |
| 1961 | Ohio State | Big Ten | Woody Hayes | 8–0–1 |
| 1962 | USC | AAWU | John McKay | 11–0 |
| 1963 | Texas | Southwest | Darrell Royal | 11–0 |
| 1964 | Arkansas | Southwest | Frank Broyles | 11–0 |
| 1965 | Alabama Michigan State (joint) | SEC Big Ten | Bear Bryant Duffy Daugherty | 9–1–1 10–1 |
| 1966 | Notre Dame | Independent | Ara Parseghian | 9–0–1 |
| 1967 | USC | AAWU | John McKay | 10–1 |
| 1968 | Ohio State | Big Ten | Woody Hayes | 10–0 |
| 1969 | Texas | Southwest | Darrell Royal | 11–0 |
| 1970 | Nebraska | Big 8 | Bob Devaney | 11–0–1 |
| 1971 | Nebraska | Big 8 | Bob Devaney | 13–0 |
| 1972 | USC | Pac-8 | John McKay | 12–0 |
| 1973 | Notre Dame | Independent | Ara Parseghian | 11–0 |
| 1974 | USC | Pac-8 | John McKay | 10–1–1 |
| 1975 | Oklahoma | Big 8 | Barry Switzer | 11–1 |
| 1976 | Pittsburgh | Independent | Johnny Majors | 12–0 |
| 1977 | Notre Dame | Independent | Dan Devine | 11–1 |
| 1978 | Alabama | SEC | Bear Bryant | 11–1 |
| 1979 | Alabama | SEC | Bear Bryant | 12–0 |
| 1980 | Georgia | SEC | Vince Dooley | 12–0 |
| 1981 | Clemson | ACC | Danny Ford | 12–0 |
| 1982 | Penn State | Independent | Joe Paterno | 11–1 |
| 1983 | Miami (FL) | Independent | Howard Schnellenberger | 11–1 |
| 1984 | BYU | WAC | LaVell Edwards | 13–0 |
| 1985 | Oklahoma | Big 8 | Barry Switzer | 11–1 |
| 1986 | Penn State | Independent | Joe Paterno | 12–0 |
| 1987 | Miami (FL) | Independent | Jimmy Johnson | 12–0 |
| 1988 | Notre Dame | Independent | Lou Holtz | 12–0 |
| 1989 | Miami (FL) | Independent | Dennis Erickson | 11–1 |
| 1990 | Colorado | Big 8 | Bill McCartney | 11–1–1 |
| 1991 | Washington | Pac-10 | Don James | 12–0 |
| 1992 | Alabama | SEC | Gene Stallings | 13–0 |
| 1993 | Florida State | ACC | Bobby Bowden | 12–1 |
| 1994 | Nebraska | Big 8 | Tom Osborne | 13–0 |
| 1995 | Nebraska | Big 8 | Tom Osborne | 12–0 |
| 1996 | Florida | SEC | Steve Spurrier | 12–1 |
| 1997 | Michigan | Big Ten | Lloyd Carr | 12–0 |
| 1998 | Tennessee | SEC | Phillip Fulmer | 13–0 |
| 1999 | Florida State | ACC | Bobby Bowden | 12–0 |
| 2000 | Oklahoma | Big 12 | Bob Stoops | 13–0 |
| 2001 | Miami (FL) | Big East | Larry Coker | 12–0 |
| 2002 | Ohio State | Big Ten | Jim Tressel | 14–0 |
| 2003 | USC | Pac-10 | Pete Carroll | 12–1 |
| 2004 | None (The 13-0 USC Trojans were stripped of the title.) | None (The 13-0 USC Trojans were stripped of the title.) | None (The 13-0 USC Trojans were stripped of the title.) | None (The 13-0 USC Trojans were stripped of the title.) |
| 2005 | Texas | Big 12 | Mack Brown | 13–0 |
| 2006 | Florida | SEC | Urban Meyer | 13–1 |
| 2007 | LSU | SEC | Les Miles | 12–2 |
| 2008 | Florida | SEC | Urban Meyer | 13–1 |
| 2009 | Alabama | SEC | Nick Saban | 14–0 |
| 2010 | Auburn | SEC | Gene Chizik | 14–0 |
| 2011 | Alabama | SEC | Nick Saban | 12–1 |
| 2012 | Alabama | SEC | Nick Saban | 13–1 |
| 2013 | Florida State | ACC | Jimbo Fisher | 14–0 |

### By school

| School | Number | Seasons |
| Alabama | 7 | 1965, 1978, 1979, 1992, 2009, 2011, 2012 |
| Oklahoma | 5 | 1955, 1956, 1975, 1985, 2000 |
| USC | 5 | 1962, 1967, 1972, 1974, 2003 |
| Miami (FL) | 4 | 1983, 1987, 1989, 2001 |
| Nebraska | 4 | 1970, 1971, 1994, 1995 |
| Notre Dame | 4 | 1966, 1973, 1977, 1988 |
| Ohio State | 4 | 1957, 1961, 1968, 2002 |
| Florida | 3 | 1996, 2006, 2008 |
| Florida State | 3 | 1993, 1999, 2013 |
| Texas | 3 | 1963, 1969, 2005 |
| Penn State | 2 | 1982, 1986 |
| Auburn | 1 | 2010 |
| Arkansas | 1 | 1964 |
| BYU | 1 | 1984 |
| Clemson | 1 | 1981 |
| Colorado | 1 | 1990 |
| Georgia | 1 | 1980 |
| Iowa | 1 | 1958 |
| LSU | 1 | 2007 |
| Michigan | 1 | 1997 |
| Michigan State | 1 | 1965 |
| Ole Miss | 1 | 1960 |
| Pittsburgh | 1 | 1976 |
| Syracuse | 1 | 1959 |
| Tennessee | 1 | 1998 |
| UCLA | 1 | 1954 |
| Washington | 1 | 1991 |