NCAA Football: When was the last time the Michigan Wolverines won a national championship?
In Michigan Wolverines’ storied history, many players and titles have come. But when was their last National Collegiate Athletic Association championship?
Though the program is undoubtedly one of the most prestigious in the college game, it might surprise you that it’s not the winningest. How many titles have the Wolverines won, and when was the last time?
Can Jim Harbaugh & the Wolverines bring glory back to Michigan?
The 2023 College Football Playoff marked the second straight year that head Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh guided the team to the tournament. Of course, the Wolverines would eventually suffer an upset 51-45 loss to TCU at the semifinal stage in the Fiesta Bowl. It was the highest-scoring Fiesta Bowl in history and will go down in memory as epic, but suffice it to say it was not the result the Wolverines wanted. As they head into this season, hopes are high with Harbaugh now free of the controversial suspension he had to serve and the team being led by the very talented quarterback, J.J. McCarthy. Of course, this is the present, but what about the Wolverines’ past?
Has Michigan won a national championship?
Yes, they have, and several of them to boot; however, it’s got to be said that the Wolverines have seldom played in title games. To be clear, Michigan has won nine national championships throughout its football program’s history. The caveat here is that most of those titles were claimed before the poll era, while the others weren’t even in what can be called the modern era of college football. With that said, here’s a look at when the Wolverines won each of their titles:
| Year | Selecting Organization | Split | Bowl Game Win |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1901 | HAF, NCF | No | Rose Bowl |
| 1902 | HAF, NCF | No | |
| 1903 | NCF, HAF | Princeton | |
| 1904 | NCF, HAF | Penn State | |
| 1918 | NCF, HAF | Pittsburgh | |
| 1923 | CFRA, HAF, NCF | Illinois | |
| 1933 | CFRA, HAF, NCF | No | |
| 1948 | AP | No | |
| 1997 | AP, FWAA, NFF, USA/ESPN | Nebraska | Rose Bowl |
As you can see, most of the Wolverines’ national championships occurred before 1997, with just two being won in the poll era. Before 1936, the NCAA listed various selecting organizations that named national championship winners. Of those, the most prominent would have to be the Helms Athletic Foundation (HAF) and the National Championship Foundation (NCF). The HAF and NCF both picked retroactive national champions, with the HAF picking retroactively before 1936 and the NCF picking retroactively before 1979.
So, 1997 was the last time Michigan won a title? Sort of
As the No. 1 ranked team in 1997, the Wolverines defeated No. 7 Washington State in the Rose Bowl, but again, there is a caveat as some didn’t consider the team the rightful national champion that year. Why? It was down to the fact that Big 12 champion and undefeated No. 2 Nebraska beat No. 3 Tennessee in the Orange Bowl, leading to a contested national championship, as six of the selecting organizations (led by the AP, FWAA, NFF) picked the Wolverines as the title-winner and 13 (led by the coaches poll and USA Today/ESPN) picked Nebraska. Another called the two co-champions. To that end, it can be said that only one Michigan team has been crowned national champion by unanimous decision, the team of 1948, which all NCAA organizations selected.
What about Michigan’s record in bowl games?
If it wasn’t clear, it’s important to understand that the NCAA hasn’t always had a designated national championship game. That means that not all teams who have clinched a title have played in a title-winning game. As you can see, this is the case with the Michigan Wolverines. While there have been titles, the team has never played in a national championship game. To date, Michigan’s record in major bowl games is 21-28.