College sports
College football history
How the competition came to look the way it does.
Conferences, rivalries, a short season
The sport's rules diverged from rugby in the nineteenth century and have been rewritten repeatedly, often after safety crises.
Conferences formed as regional scheduling agreements and became the sport's real organising unit.
The postseason moved from a bowl-only structure to a selected playoff, which changed how the regular season is valued.
Season-by-season champions, records and historical tables need a licensed historical data source. Until we have one, this page carries written history only.