Texas claims four national championships, and the gap between the third and fourth was 35 years. For a program with the fourth most wins in college football history and 34 conference titles, four is a modest number, and it is one of the reasons the 2005 Rose Bowl means as much as it does.
The Four Claimed Titles
| Season | Coach | Record | How it was decided |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | Darrell Royal | 11, 0 | Consensus, Cotton Bowl over Navy |
| 1969 | Darrell Royal | 11, 0 | Consensus, Cotton Bowl over Notre Dame |
| 1970 | Darrell Royal | 10, 1 | Coaches poll, shared with Nebraska |
| 2005 | Mack Brown | 13, 0 | BCS title game, Rose Bowl over USC |
Gold rows are undisputed titles. The 1970 championship came from the coaches poll, which voted before the bowls; Texas then lost the Cotton Bowl to Notre Dame and the AP named Nebraska.
1963: The First
Texas went 11 and 0 in Royal’s seventh season, beat Oklahoma 28 to 7 and Navy’s Heisman winner Roger Staubach 28 to 6 in the Cotton Bowl, and won every major selector. It was the program’s first consensus championship after 70 years of football, and it came a week after the Kennedy assassination had cast a pall over the state.
1969: The Game of the Century
Texas and Arkansas met in Fayetteville on December 6, 1969, ranked first and second, with President Nixon in attendance promising a plaque to the winner. Texas trailed 14 to 0 in the fourth quarter and won 15 to 14, then beat Notre Dame 21 to 17 in the Cotton Bowl to finish 11 and 0. It was the first full season of the wishbone offence, which Royal’s staff had introduced the year before.
The 1970 team won its first ten games and was ranked first in both polls when the coaches voted, before the bowls, and named Texas champion. Notre Dame then beat Texas 24 to 11 in the Cotton Bowl, ending a 30 game winning streak, and the AP gave its title to Nebraska. Texas claims the coaches version.
2005: The Rose Bowl
Vince Young’s fourth and five scramble with 19 seconds left gave Texas a 41 to 38 win over two time defending champion USC, ending a 34 game Trojans winning streak and a 35 year gap between Texas titles. Young ran for 200 yards and threw for 267 more in a game that is still routinely called the best in college football history.
Texas finished 13 and 0, and it remains the only undisputed championship in the BCS or playoff era for the program. Our College Football Playoff results page covers what has happened since.
The Five Unclaimed Titles
At least one recognised selector named Texas champion in 1914, 1941, 1968, 1977 and 1981. The school claims none of them.
Three are worth explaining. The 1968 team lost its opener, tied its second game, and then won nine straight in the wishbone’s debut season, including the Cotton Bowl; a few selectors preferred it to Ohio State. The 1977 team went 11 and 0 in the regular season behind Heisman winner Earl Campbell, was ranked first, and lost the Cotton Bowl to Notre Dame, who took the title. The 1981 team beat Alabama in the Cotton Bowl to finish 10, 1 and 1 and was named champion by a single computer rating.
Our page on most national championships explains how claimed and recognised counts diverge.
Why Only Four
Texas has finished in the AP top five 20 times and won the title four. The Southwest Conference, which Texas dominated for 80 years, was rarely strong enough to carry a champion through a one loss season in the poll era, and the program’s bowl record, a shade above .500, cost it several titles that were decided in January. The 1977 season is the clearest example: unbeaten, top ranked, and undone by a single Cotton Bowl.
The Bottom Line
Texas claims four national championships: 1963, 1969 and 1970 under Darrell Royal, and 2005 under Mack Brown. The first three were won with the wishbone, the fourth by Vince Young on fourth down in Pasadena. Five other seasons produced championships from at least one selector that the school does not claim, and the gap between the third title and the fourth was 35 years.