# The Coaches' 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 national champion as determined by the Coaches Poll. The trophy has been presented since 1986 and was contractually given to the winner of the BCS National Championship Game and its predecessors from 1992 to 2013. Since then, it continues to be awarded to the top-ranked team in the final Coaches Poll of the season.

## History

Patrick and Michael Gerrits came up with the idea for a college football trophy to be awarded to the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) national champions along with an academic scholarship award to a non-athlete. The intent was to honor the memory of the patriarch of the Gerrits family, Edward J. Gerrits. The trophy consists of a Waterford Crystal football affixed to an ebony base, and carries a value of over $30,000. The winning school retains permanent possession of the trophy, as a new one is awarded every year. The football portion of the trophy weighs approximately eight pounds and together with the stand, it weighs about 45 pounds (20 kg) and stands 34 inches (86 cm) tall. It is handmade by master craftspeople at Waterford Crystal and reportedly takes nearly three months to complete.
The official name is the American Football Coaches Association National Championship Trophy; it was given this permanent name by the association in 2006. In 2009, the AFCA allowed universities to buy replica trophies for any year a school finished first in the Coaches Poll, from the 1950 to 1985 seasons, prior to the trophy's creation in 1986. Around this time, the AFCA also began the process of awarding retroactive titles for the 1922 to 1949 seasons. The AFCA asked schools who felt they had a legitimate bid for the title to submit their reasons why so that their committee could hear the case and decide. Since then, TCU (1935, 1938), Texas A&M (1939), and Oklahoma State (1945) have received AFCA national championship selections and been awarded The Coaches’ Trophy.
Through the 1973 season, the final Coaches Poll was released in early December, after the regular season, but before postseason bowl games. Beginning with the 1974 season, the final poll has been conducted after the bowl games.
Throughout the eras of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) and its predecessors (1992–2013), no separate national championship trophy was commissioned by those bodies, with the AFCA trophy serving that role. During the BCS era, the trophy was presented to the winning team in an on-field ceremony after the title game. With the end of the BCS, its successor playoff system, the College Football Playoff (CFP), commissioned a new trophy for its champion; officials wanted a new trophy that was unconnected with the previous championship system. However, coaches were "adamant" that the AFCA trophy continue to be awarded. Since the 2014 season, the trophy has been awarded to the team ranked No. 1 in the final Coaches Poll of the season in a celebration at that team's stadium sometime after the College Football Playoff National Championship.

## Sponsorship

The trophy has undergone several sponsorship changes over the years. It was sponsored by the Gerrits Foundation during the initial 1986 and 1987 seasons and, through the Gerrits' family Pepsi bottling business, Pepsi became a co-sponsor with the Gerrits Foundation in 1988 and 1989. Due to the poll's affiliation with the United Press International wire service, it was known as the Gerrits Foundation-UPI Coaches Trophy, the UPI Coaches Trophy or UPI Trophy during that time. McDonald's was the sole sponsor from 1990 to 1992. Sears began its sponsorship in 1993 and remained until 2001. Circuit City assumed the sponsorship for the 2002 season. ADT Security Services was the title sponsor from 2003 to 2005; and from 2009 to 2013, Dr Pepper sponsored the trophy. Since 2014, Amway has been the trophy sponsor.

## Coaches Poll national champions

| Season | School | Head coach | AP poll champion (if different) |
| 1950 | Oklahoma | Bud Wilkinson | |
| 1951 | Tennessee | Robert Neyland | |
| 1952 | Michigan State | Biggie Munn | |
| 1953 | Maryland | Jim Tatum | |
| 1954 | UCLA | Red Sanders | Ohio State |
| 1955 | Oklahoma | Bud Wilkinson | |
| 1956 | Oklahoma | Bud Wilkinson | |
| 1957 | Ohio State | Woody Hayes | Auburn |
| 1958 | LSU | Paul Dietzel | |
| 1959 | Syracuse | Ben Schwartzwalder | |
| 1960 | Minnesota | Murray Warmath | |
| 1961 | Alabama | Bear Bryant | |
| 1962 | USC | John McKay | |
| 1963 | Texas | Darrell Royal | |
| 1964 | Alabama | Bear Bryant | |
| 1965 | Michigan State | Duffy Daugherty | Alabama |
| 1966 | Notre Dame | Ara Parseghian | |
| 1967 | USC | John McKay | |
| 1968 | Ohio State | Woody Hayes | |
| 1969 | Texas | Darrell Royal | |
| 1970 | Texas | Darrell Royal | Nebraska |
| 1971 | Nebraska | Bob Devaney | |
| 1972 | USC | John McKay | |
| 1973 | Alabama | Bear Bryant | Notre Dame |
| 1974 | USC | John McKay | Oklahoma |
| 1975 | Oklahoma | Barry Switzer | |
| 1976 | Pittsburgh | Johnny Majors | |
| 1977 | Notre Dame | Dan Devine | |
| 1978 | USC | John Robinson | Alabama |
| 1979 | Alabama | Bear Bryant | |
| 1980 | Georgia | Vince Dooley | |
| 1981 | Clemson | Danny Ford | |
| 1982 | Penn State | Joe Paterno | |
| 1983 | Miami (FL) | Howard Schnellenberger | |
| 1984 | BYU | LaVell Edwards | |
| 1985 | Oklahoma | Barry Switzer | |
| 1986 | Penn State | Joe Paterno | |
| 1987 | Miami (FL) | Jimmy Johnson | |
| 1988 | Notre Dame | Lou Holtz | |
| 1989 | Miami (FL) | Dennis Erickson | |
| 1990 | Georgia Tech | Bobby Ross | Colorado |
| 1991 | Washington | Don James | Miami (FL) |
| 1992 | Alabama | Gene Stallings | |
| 1993 | Florida State | Bobby Bowden | |
| 1994 | Nebraska | Tom Osborne | |
| 1995 | Nebraska | Tom Osborne | |
| 1996 | Florida | Steve Spurrier | |
| 1997 | Nebraska | Tom Osborne | Michigan |
| 1998 | Tennessee | Phillip Fulmer | |
| 1999 | Florida State | Bobby Bowden | |
| 2000 | Oklahoma | Bob Stoops | |
| 2001 | Miami (FL) | Larry Coker | |
| 2002 | Ohio State | Jim Tressel | |
| 2003 | LSU | Nick Saban | USC |
| 2004 | vacated | vacated | USC |
| 2005 | Texas | Mack Brown | |
| 2006 | Florida | Urban Meyer | |
| 2007 | LSU | Les Miles | |
| 2008 | Florida | Urban Meyer | |
| 2009 | Alabama | Nick Saban | |
| 2010 | Auburn | Gene Chizik | |
| 2011 | Alabama | Nick Saban | |
| 2012 | Alabama | Nick Saban | |
| 2013 | Florida State | Jimbo Fisher | |
| 2014 | Ohio State | Urban Meyer | |
| 2015 | Alabama | Nick Saban | |
| 2016 | Clemson | Dabo Swinney | |
| 2017 | Alabama | Nick Saban | |
| 2018 | Clemson | Dabo Swinney | |
| 2019 | LSU | Ed Orgeron | |
| 2020 | Alabama | Nick Saban | |
| 2021 | Georgia | Kirby Smart | |
| 2022 | Georgia | Kirby Smart | |
| 2023 | Michigan | Jim Harbaugh | |
| 2024 | Ohio State | Ryan Day | |
* ↑ USC was later stripped of its 2004 Coaches' Poll championship due to NCAA sanctions.

## Blue Ribbon Commission

In 2016, the AFCA tasked a "Blue Ribbon Commission" to select AFCA national champions and Coaches' Trophy winners for 1922–1949, representing the years between the establishment of the AFCA and the inaugural Coaches Poll in 1950.
The commission consisted of former college football coaches Grant Teaff, Vince Dooley, and R. C. Slocum.
| Season | School | Head coach | AP poll champion (if different) |
| 1935† | SMU | Matty Bell | none |
| 1935† | TCU | Dutch Meyer | none |
| 1938 | TCU | Dutch Meyer | |
| 1939 | Texas A&M | Homer Norton | |
| 1945 | Oklahoma A&M | Jim Lookabaugh | Army |
† Photos of the trophies retroactively awarded to the TCU and SMU teams of 1935 show that different wording was used. The 1935 TCU trophy reads (in part) "The National Football Champions" while the 1935 SMU trophy reads (in part) "For Their Championship Season". Different NCAA-recognized selectors have honored different teams as national champions for the 1935 college football season.

## By school

| School | Number | Seasons |
| Alabama | 11 | 1961, 1964, 1973, 1979, 1992, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2020 |
| Oklahoma | 6 | 1950, 1955, 1956, 1975, 1985, 2000 |
| Ohio State | 5 | 1957, 1968, 2002, 2014, 2024 |
| USC | 5 | 1962, 1967, 1972, 1974, 1978 |
| LSU | 4 | 1958, 2003, 2007, 2019 |
| Nebraska | 4 | 1971, 1994, 1995, 1997 |
| Miami (FL) | 4 | 1983, 1987, 1989, 2001 |
| Texas | 4 | 1963, 1969, 1970, 2005 |
| Clemson | 3 | 1981, 2016, 2018 |
| Florida State | 3 | 1993, 1999, 2013 |
| Notre Dame | 3 | 1966, 1977, 1988 |
| Florida | 3 | 1996, 2006, 2008 |
| Georgia | 3 | 1980, 2021, 2022 |
| Michigan State | 2 | 1952, 1965 |
| Penn State | 2 | 1982, 1986 |
| TCU | 2 | 1935,† 1938† |
| Tennessee | 2 | 1951, 1998 |
| Auburn | 1 | 2010 |
| BYU | 1 | 1984 |
| Georgia Tech | 1 | 1990 |
| Maryland | 1 | 1953 |
| Michigan | 1 | 2023 |
| Minnesota | 1 | 1960 |
| Oklahoma State | 1 | 1945† |
| Pittsburgh | 1 | 1976 |
| Syracuse | 1 | 1959 |
| Texas A&M | 1 | 1939† |
| UCLA | 1 | 1954 |
| Washington | 1 | 1991 |
† Retroactively awarded.