List of Heisman Trophy winners The Heisman Trophy , one of the highest individual awards in the American college football , has been awarded 77 times since its creation in 1935 , including 76 individual winners and one two - time winner . ( The 2005 award was declared vacant subsequent to it having been awarded , so only 75 individuals are officially recognized as having won the award . ) The trophy is given annually to the most outstanding college football player in the National Collegiate Athletic Association , and is awarded by the Heisman Trust , successors of the awards from the Downtown Athletic Club at an annual ceremony at the Nokia Theatre in New York City . In 1935 , the award , then known as the DAC Trophy , was created by New York City ' s Downtown Athletic Club to recognize the best college football player " east of the Mississippi River " . In that inaugural year , the award went to Jay Berwanger from the University of Chicago . Berwanger was later drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League but declined to sign for them . He never played professional football for any team , instead choosing to pursue a career in business . In 1936 , the club ' s athletic director , football pioneer John Heisman , died and the trophy was renamed in his honor . Larry Kelley , the second winner of the award , was the first person to win it as the " Heisman Trophy " . In addition to the name change , the award also became a nationwide achievement . With the new name , players west of the Mississippi became eligible , though the first player from the western United States was not selected until 1938 . Only one player , Ohio State ' s Archie Griffin , has won the award more than once . Between 1936 and 2001 , the award was given at an annual gala ceremony at the Downtown Athletic Club in New York City . The Downtown Athletic Club ' s facilities were damaged during the September 11 , 2001 attacks . Due to financial difficulties stemming from the damage , the DAC declared bankruptcy in 2002 , turning over its building to creditors . Following the club ' s bankruptcy and the loss of the original Downtown Athletic Club building , the Yale Club of New York City assumed presenting honors in 2002 and 2003 . The ceremony was moved to the New York Marriott Marquis in Times Square for the 2002 , 2003 , and 2004 presentations , but since 2005 , the event has been held at the Nokia Theatre Times Square . The move to the Nokia Theatre allowed the Downtown Athletic Club ( and ultimately , the award ' s successor , The Heisman Trust ) to resume full control of the event — the most prominent example of which was the return of the official portraits of past winners — despite the loss of the original presentation hall . In terms of balloting , the fifty states of the U . S . are split into six regions , and six regional representatives are selected to appoint voters in their states ( the regions include the Far West , the Mid Atlantic , Mid West , North East , South , and South West ) . Each region has 145 media votes , for a total of 870 votes . In addition , all previous Heisman winners may vote , and one final vote is counted through public balloting . The Heisman ballots contain a 3 - 2 - 1 point system , in which each ballot ranks the voter ' s top three players and awards them three points for a first - place vote , two points for a second - place vote , and one point for a third - place vote . The points are tabulated , and the player with the highest total of points across all ballots wins the Heisman Trophy . Trophies won by school . This is a list of the colleges and universities who have had a player win a Heisman trophy . Ohio State and Notre Dame are tied for the most trophies at 7 each , although Ohio State has the distinction of the only two time winner , Archie Griffin , leaving their total players to have won the trophy at six . In total , players from 37 different schools have won a Heisman Trophy . Heisman curse . The Heisman curse is a term coined to reference a two - part assertion of a negative future for the winning player . The " curse " supposes that any college football player who wins the Heisman Trophy will lose his subsequent bowl game . The last Heisman winner to lose a bowl game was in 2008 , when the University of Oklahoma ' s Sam Bradford lost the 2009 BCS National Championship Game to the University of Florida , 24 - 14 .