Last first-time national champion in football: How Indiana can join 1996 Florida after run of repeats

Last first-time national champion in football: How Indiana can join 1996 Florida after run of repeats originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The college football postseason has undergone significant change in recent years. The BCS Era lasted from 1998 through 2013 and used computer-generated rankings to pit the top two teams in the country against each other. 

This process was heavily criticized, so the playoff format was born in 2014, with the four top teams, as judged by a committee, playing a bracket-style playoff. With heavy repetition of schools in the national championship, there was a further call for expansion and in 2024, the field was expanded to the current 12-team system. 

Only two years in, there is a chance for something that hasn't happened for nearly 30 years. In nearly three decades, there hasn't been a program that has won a national championship in football for the first time. But that can change if Indiana beats Miami in the 2025-2026 national championship game. 

Here is more on the last first-time national champion in college football.

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Last first-time national champion in football

One of the biggest gripes about college football's postseason has been that it wasn't allowing much year-to-year disparity. Even when the NCAA went from the BCS era, where the top two-ranked teams played in the national title, to the four-team playoff that began in 2014, the disparity didn't get much better. From 2014 to 2023, nine different teams played for the national championship out of 18 spots. 

The last time that the college football national champion was a first-time champion came in 1996 when the No. 3 Florida Gators beat No. 1 Florida State. 

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1996 Florida football season

The Gators began the 1996 season as the No. 4 team in the country. Florida began the season with two home wins before its first test of the season. The Gators went on the road to take on No. 2 Tennessee and won 35-29. This bumped Florida to the No. 1 team in the country. The Gators won their next seven games to be 10-0 at the time of their rivalry game against Florida State. 

Florida suffered its first loss of the season, falling 24-21 to Florida State. The Gators qualified for the SEC Championship and beat No. 11 Alabama 45-30. 

Florida was No. 4 and trailing No. 3 Nebraska, No. 2 Arizona State and No. 1 Florida State. Nebraska lost to Texas in the inaugural Big 12 championship game, so Florida moved to No. 3. Arizona State was contractually obligated to play in the Rose Bowl where they lost to Ohio State. Florida State was locked into the Sugar Bowl, which became the national championship game, and saw Florida slotted in for their second game against their rival of the season. 

The Gators won when it mattered, picking up the 52-20 win to earn the first national championship in program history. 

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Has Indiana ever won a national championship in football?

No, Indiana has never won a national championship. 2024 marked the program's first playoff appearance, but the Hoosiers were eliminated in the first round 27-17 by Notre Dame.

Indiana made the playoffs again in 2025 after an undefeated regular season. The Hoosiers are known more as a basketball school because they have five national championships in that sport.

College Football Playoff winners by year

Here is a look at the College Football Playoff winners by year. 

*The CFP expanded to 12 teams in 2024.