Tennessee claims six national championships, and the Associated Press recognises two of them, 1951 and 1998. Four came under General Robert Neyland between 1938 and 1951, one under Doug Dickey in 1967, and the last, the first BCS championship ever played, under Phillip Fulmer in 1998 with a 13 and 0 team that beat Florida State in the Fiesta Bowl.
The Six Claimed Titles
| Season | Coach | Record | How it was decided |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | Robert Neyland | 11, 0 | Multiple selectors, Orange Bowl over Oklahoma; AP chose TCU |
| 1940 | Robert Neyland | 10, 1 | Multiple selectors; lost Sugar Bowl to Boston College |
| 1950 | Robert Neyland | 11, 1 | Multiple selectors, Cotton Bowl over Texas; AP chose Oklahoma |
| 1951 | Robert Neyland | 10, 1 | AP and Coaches, voted before the Sugar Bowl loss to Maryland |
| 1967 | Doug Dickey | 9, 2 | Litkenhous ratings; AP chose USC |
| 1998 | Phillip Fulmer | 13, 0 | BCS title game, Fiesta Bowl over Florida State |
Gold rows are the two championships recognised by the AP. The NCAA records book lists all six. One further season, 1931, was named by a single selector and is not claimed.
1998: The First BCS Champion
Tennessee lost Peyton Manning to the NFL and won the national championship without him. Tee Martin’s team went 13 and 0, beat Florida 20 to 17 in overtime when the Gators’ kicker missed in the extra period, the first win in that series since 1992, survived Arkansas on a late fumble, beat Mississippi State in the SEC championship game and then Florida State 23 to 16 in the Fiesta Bowl, the first championship game of the BCS era. Al Wilson led the defence. Our College Football Playoff results page has every championship game since.
Neyland’s Four
The 1938 team went 11 and 0 and did not allow a point in the regular season, then shut out Oklahoma 17 to 0 in the Orange Bowl. The 1939 team did the same in the regular season, extending the shutout streak to 17 games and 71 quarters, before losing the Rose Bowl to USC; it is unclaimed because no selector chose it. The 1940 team went 10 and 0 before losing the Sugar Bowl, and the 1950 and 1951 teams went back to back, the second of them taking the AP and coaches polls before the bowl, which was how the polls worked until 1965.
Neyland’s four titles came across two of his three stints, either side of five years of Army service in the Second World War. Our head coaches page covers his tenure.
1967: The Disputed One
The 1967 team went 9 and 2, won the SEC, and lost the Orange Bowl to Oklahoma. It was named national champion by the Litkenhous ratings, a mathematical system, while the AP and coaches chose USC. Tennessee claims it and most other observers do not count it, which is the difference between six and five in the program’s own materials over the years.
The Near Misses
The 1997 team won the SEC with Manning and lost the Orange Bowl to Nebraska with the title on the line. The 2001 team was one win from the BCS championship game before losing to LSU in the SEC final. The 1985 team, the 1989 team and the 2022 team all finished in the top ten with a case for more, and the 2024 team reached the playoff and lost at Ohio State. Our page on most national championships explains how claimed and recognised counts diverge.
The Bottom Line
Tennessee claims six national championships: 1938, 1940, 1950 and 1951 under Robert Neyland, 1967 under Doug Dickey, and 1998 under Phillip Fulmer. The AP recognises 1951 and 1998. The 1998 title, the first of the BCS era, is the most recent, and the 1938 team that did not allow a point all regular season is the one the program’s history is built on. Our national champions by year page has every season.