Alabama claims 18 national championships, and 16 of them are recognised by the NCAA, which is more than any program in the poll era. Nick Saban won six of them in eleven seasons, a run that has no equivalent in the sport’s history.
Every Title Season
| Season | Coach | Record | How it was decided |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925 | Wallace Wade | 10, 0 | Rose Bowl win over Washington |
| 1926 | Wallace Wade | 9, 0, 1 | Rose Bowl tie with Stanford |
| 1930 | Wallace Wade | 10, 0 | Rose Bowl win over Washington State |
| 1934 | Frank Thomas | 10, 0 | Claimed, not NCAA recognised |
| 1941 | Frank Thomas | 9, 2 | Claimed, not NCAA recognised |
| 1961 | Bear Bryant | 11, 0 | AP and Coaches polls |
| 1964 | Bear Bryant | 10, 1 | Polls, awarded before Orange Bowl loss |
| 1965 | Bear Bryant | 9, 1, 1 | AP poll, shared with Michigan State |
| 1973 | Bear Bryant | 11, 1 | Coaches poll, shared with Notre Dame |
| 1978 | Bear Bryant | 11, 1 | AP poll, shared with USC |
| 1979 | Bear Bryant | 12, 0 | Consensus |
| 1992 | Gene Stallings | 13, 0 | Consensus, Sugar Bowl over Miami |
| 2009 | Nick Saban | 14, 0 | BCS title game over Texas |
| 2011 | Nick Saban | 12, 1 | BCS title game over LSU |
| 2012 | Nick Saban | 13, 1 | BCS title game over Notre Dame |
| 2015 | Nick Saban | 14, 1 | CFP title game over Clemson |
| 2017 | Nick Saban | 13, 1 | CFP title game over Georgia, overtime |
| 2020 | Nick Saban | 13, 0 | CFP title game over Ohio State |
Gold rows are Nick Saban’s six titles. Red rows are the two claimed championships the NCAA does not recognise.
The Saban Six
Six national championships in eleven seasons between 2009 and 2020, across two different systems. Three came in the BCS era and three in the College Football Playoff. Alabama played in nine championship games in that span and the three losses were to Clemson twice and Georgia once.
The 2020 title was the last, and the team that won it produced the Heisman winner, the Heisman third place finisher and the fifth place finisher. Our College Football Playoff results page has every championship game.
The Bryant Six
Bear Bryant won titles in 1961, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1978 and 1979, and only the last was undisputed. The 1964 championship was awarded before Alabama lost the Orange Bowl to Texas, which was how the polls worked then. The 1973 title from the coaches poll came despite a Sugar Bowl loss to Notre Dame, who took the AP version.
The 1965 team is the one that got away and came back: Alabama lost its opener, then finished the season by beating Nebraska in the Orange Bowl while the two teams ahead of it both lost on the same day.
The Two the NCAA Doesn’t Count
Alabama claims 1934 and 1941 and the NCAA’s records book does not list either. The 1934 team went 10 and 0 and won the Rose Bowl, but the AP poll did not exist yet and the major selectors of the day split between Alabama and Minnesota. The 1941 team went 9 and 2 and finished 20th in the AP poll, and the claim rests on a single mathematical rating system that named them champion retroactively.
That is why Alabama’s total is 18 in Tuscaloosa and 16 everywhere else. Our page on most national championships explains how claimed and recognised counts diverge across the sport.
Wallace Wade and the Rose Bowl
Alabama’s first three titles all came under Wade and all ran through Pasadena. The 1926 Rose Bowl win over Washington is credited with establishing Southern football as a national force, and it is the reason Alabama has the most bowl appearances in the sport. Our Alabama bowl history page covers all 80.
The Bottom Line
Alabama claims 18 national championships and 16 are recognised, the most of any program in the poll era. Bear Bryant and Nick Saban won six each, Wallace Wade three, Frank Thomas two and Gene Stallings one. Saban’s six came in eleven seasons, and the 2020 title is the most recent. The two disputed claims, 1934 and 1941, are the reason the number changes depending on who is counting.