The Associated Press (AP) Trophy is the annual award given by the Associated Press (AP) to the team ranked No. 1 in the season's final AP Poll. The trophy is emblematic of the college football national championship as awarded by the Associated Press.

The current version of trophy consists of a silver or gold 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 (CFP) and Bowl Championship Series (BCS), a tournament or championship game was not held to determine the national champion of what is now the highest level, NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) due to the long-standing historical ties between individual college football conferences and high-paying bowl games like the Rose Bowl and Orange Bowl. 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. This has happened once after the 2003 season when LSU won the BCS title game, but USC received a higher total of votes in the final 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 and 1974 seasons.

Trophies

No trophy (1936–1940)

In its initial years, the AP Poll did not award a trophy.

The preeminent national championship trophy of the era was the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy awarded by the Dickinson System. 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 head coach Henry L. Williams, 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 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 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 on the university campus in Tuscaloosa.

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, 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 No. 1 spot in the final AP Poll of the season for college football:

By year Season School Head coach 1936 Minnesota Bernie Bierman 1937 Pittsburgh Jock Sutherland 1938 TCU Dutch Meyer 1939 Texas A&M Homer Norton 1940 Minnesota Bernie Bierman 1941 Minnesota Bernie Bierman 1942 Ohio State Paul Brown 1943 Notre Dame Frank Leahy 1944 Army Earl Blaik 1945 Army Earl Blaik 1946 Notre Dame Frank Leahy 1947 Notre Dame Frank Leahy 1948 Michigan Bennie Oosterbaan 1949 Notre Dame Frank Leahy 1950 Oklahoma Bud Wilkinson 1951 Tennessee Robert Neyland 1952 Michigan State Biggie Munn 1953 Maryland Jim Tatum 1954 Ohio State Woody Hayes 1955 Oklahoma Bud Wilkinson 1956 Oklahoma Bud Wilkinson 1957 Auburn Ralph Jordan 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 Alabama Bear Bryant 1966 Notre Dame Ara Parseghian 1967 USC John McKay 1968 Ohio State Woody Hayes 1969 Texas Darrell Royal 1970 Nebraska Bob Devaney 1971 Nebraska Bob Devaney 1972 USC John McKay 1973 Notre Dame Ara Parseghian 1974 Oklahoma Barry Switzer 1975 Oklahoma Barry Switzer 1976 Pittsburgh Johnny Majors 1977 Notre Dame Dan Devine 1978 Alabama Bear Bryant 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 Colorado Bill McCartney 1991 Miami (FL) Dennis Erickson 1992 Alabama Gene Stallings 1993 Florida State Bobby Bowden 1994 Nebraska Tom Osborne 1995 Nebraska Tom Osborne 1996 Florida Steve Spurrier 1997 Michigan Lloyd Carr 1998 Tennessee Phillip Fulmer 1999 Florida State Bobby Bowden 2000 Oklahoma Bob Stoops 2001 Miami (FL) Larry Coker 2002 Ohio State Jim Tressel 2003 USC Pete Carroll 2004 USC Pete Carroll 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 2025 Indiana Curt Cignetti

By team Team Number SeasonsAlabama121961, 1964, 1965, 1978, 1979, 1992, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2020Notre Dame81943, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1966, 1973, 1977, 1988Oklahoma71950, 1955, 1956, 1974, 1975, 1985, 2000Ohio State61942, 1954, 1968, 2002, 2014, 2024Miami (FL)51983, 1987, 1989, 1991, 2001USC51962, 1967, 1972, 2003, 2004Minnesota41936, 1940, 1941, 1960Nebraska41970, 1971, 1994, 1995 Clemson31981, 2016, 2018Florida31996, 2006, 2008Florida State31993, 1999, 2013Georgia31980, 2021, 2022LSU31958, 2007, 2019Michigan31948, 1997, 2023Texas 3 1963, 1969, 2005Army21944, 1945Auburn21957, 2010Penn State21982, 1986Pittsburgh21937, 1976Tennessee21951, 1998BYU11984Colorado11990Indiana12025Maryland11953Michigan State11952Syracuse11959TCU11938Texas A&M11939

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