Overview
Since 1950, the AFCA has conducted a weekly Top 20/Top 25 poll during the college football season. The AFCA awards the AFCA Coaches’ Trophy to the No. 1-ranked team in the final FBS Coaches Poll each season.
Format
The FBS Coaches Poll is conducted weekly throughout the regular season using a panel of head coaches at FBS schools. The panel is chosen by random draw, conference by conference plus independents, from a pool of coaches who have indicated to the AFCA their willingness to participate. Each coach submits a Top 25 with a first-place vote worth 25 points, second place 24, and so on down to one point for 25th.
The US LBM Board of Coaches for the 2025 season:
Tim Albin, Charlotte; Dave Aranda, Baylor; Tim Beck, Coastal Carolina; David Braun, Northwestern; Jeff Brohm, Louisville; Fran Brown, Syracuse; Troy Calhoun, Air Force; Jason Candle, Toledo; Ryan Carty, Delaware; Jamey Chadwell, Liberty; Bob Chesney, James Madison; Curt Cignetti, Indiana; Chris Creighton, Eastern Michigan; Spencer Danielson, Boise State; Ryan Day, Ohio State; Kalen DeBoer, Alabama; Manny Diaz, Duke; Dave Doeren, North Carolina State; Eliah Drinkwitz, Missouri; Sonny Dykes, TCU; Jason Eck, New Mexico; Mike Elko, Texas A&M; Luke Fickell, Wisconsin; Jedd Fisch, Washington; James Franklin, Penn State; Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame; Hugh Freeze, Auburn; Willie Fritz, Houston; Alex Golesh, South Florida; Thomas Hammock, Northern Illinois; Blake Harrell, East Carolina; Tyson Helton, Western Kentucky; Charles Huff, Southern Mississippi; Brent Key, Georgia Tech; GJ Kinne, Texas State; Zach Kittley, Florida Atlantic; Tre Lamb, Tulsa; Dan Lanning, Oregon; Rhett Lashlee, SMU; Clark Lea, Vanderbilt; Lance Leipold, Kansas; Pete Lembo, Buffalo; Sean Lewis, San Diego State; Mike Locksley, Maryland; Chuck Martin, Miami (Ohio); Joey McGuire, Texas Tech; Bronco Mendenhall, Utah State; Jeff Monken, Army; Jim Mora, Connecticut; Eric Morris, North Texas; Billy Napier, Florida; Pat Narduzzi, Pittsburgh; Brian Newberry, Navy; Ken Niumatalolo, San Jose State; Jay Norvell, Colorado State; Gerad Parker, Troy; Brent Pry, Virginia Tech; Matt Rhule, Nebraska; Rich Rodriguez, West Virginia; Jay Sawvel, Wyoming, Willie Simmons, Florida International; Kirby Smart, Georgia; Mark Stoops, Kentucky; Jon Sumrall, Tulane; Lance Taylor, Western Michigan; Jeff Traylor, Texas-San Antonio; Scotty Walden, Texas-El Paso.
- 1950
- Oklahoma
- Bud Wilkinson
- 1951
- Tennessee
- Robert Neyland
- 1952
- Michigan State
- Biggie Munn
- 1953
- Maryland
- Jim Tatum
- 1954
- UCLA
- Red Sanders
- 1955
- Oklahoma
- Bud Wilkinson
- 1956
- Oklahoma
- Bud Wilkinson
- 1957
- Ohio State
- Woody Hayes
- 1958
- LSU
- Paul Dietzel
- 1959
- Syracuse
- Ben Schwartzwalder
- 1960
- Minnesota
- Murray Warmath
- 1961
- Alabama
- Bear Bryant
- 1962
- USC
- John McKay
- 1963
- Texas
- Darrell Royal
- 1964
- Alabama
- Bear Bryant
- 1965
- Michigan State
- Duffy Daugherty
- 1966
- Notre Dame
- Ara Parseghian
- 1967
- USC
- John McKay
- 1968
- Ohio State
- Woody Hayes
- 1969
- Texas
- Darrell Royal
- 1970
- Texas
- Darrell Royal
- 1971
- Nebraska
- Bob Devaney
- 1972
- USC
- John McKay
- 1973
- Alabama
- Bear Bryant
- 1974
- USC
- John McKay
- 1975
- Oklahoma
- Barry Switzer
- 1976
- Pittsburgh
- Johnny Majors
- 1977
- Notre Dame
- Dan Devine
- 1978
- USC
- John Robinson
- 1979
- Alabama
- Bear Bryant
- 1980
- Georgia
- Vince Dooley
- 1981
- Clemson
- Danny Ford
- 1982
- Penn State
- Joe Paterno
- 1983
- Miami (FL)
- Howard Schnellenberger
- 1984
- BYU
- LaVell Edwards
- 1985
- Oklahoma
- Barry Switzer
- 1986
- Penn State
- Joe Paterno
- 1987
- Miami (FL)
- Jimmy Johnson
- 1988
- Notre Dame
- Lou Holtz
- 1989
- Miami (FL)
- Dennis Erickson
- 1990
- Georgia Tech
- Bobby Ross
- 1991
- Washington
- Don James
- 1992
- Alabama
- Gene Stallings
- 1993
- Florida State
- Bobby Bowden
- 1994
- Nebraska
- Tom Osborne
- 1995
- Nebraska
- Tom Osborne
- 1996
- Florida
- Steve Spurrier
- 1997
- Nebraska
- Tom Osborne
- 1998
- Tennessee
- Phil Fulmer
- 1999
- Florida State
- Bobby Bowden
- 2000
- Oklahoma
- Bob Stoops
- 2001
- Miami (FL)
- Larry Coker
- 2002
- Ohio State
- Jim Tressel
- 2003
- LSU
- Nick Saban
- 2004
- USC
- Pete Carroll
- 2005
- Texas
- Mack Brown
- 2006
- Florida
- Urban Meyer
- 2007
- LSU
- Les Miles
- 2008
- Florida
- Urban Meyer
- 2009
- Alabama
- Nick Saban
- 2010
- Auburn
- Gene Chizik
- 2011
- Alabama
- Nick Saban
- 2012
- Alabama
- Nick Saban
- 2013
- Florida State
- Jimbo Fisher
- 2014
- Ohio State
- Urban Meyer
- 2015
- Alabama
- Nick Saban
- 2016
- Clemson
- Dabo Swinney
- 2017
- Alabama
- Nick Saban
- 2018
- Clemson
- Dabo Swinney
- 2019
- LSU
- Ed Orgeron
- 2020
- Alabama
- Nick Saban
- 2021
- Georgia
- Kirby Smart
- 2022
- Georgia
- Kirby Smart
- 2023
- Michigan
- Jim Harbaugh
- 2024
- Ohio State
- Ryan Day
| Rank | School (1st votes) | Pts. | Prev. | 2024 Rec. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas (28) | 1,606 | 3 | 13-3 | |
| 2 | Ohio State (20) | 1,565 | 1 | 14-2 | |
| 3 | Penn State (14) | 1,525 | 5 | 13-3 | |
| 4 | Georgia (3) | 1,466 | 6 | 11-3 | |
| 5 | Notre Dame | 1,360 | 2 | 14-2 | |
| 6 | Clemson (2) | 1,324 | 11 | 10-4 | |
| 7 | Oregon | 1,307 | 4 | 13-1 | |
| 8 | Alabama | 1,210 | 17 | 9-4 | |
| 9 | LSU | 1,056 | NR | 9-4 | |
| 10 | Miami (Fla.) | 823 | 18 | 10-3 | |
| 11 | Arizona State | 806 | 7 | 11-3 | |
| 12 | Illinois | 734 | 16 | 10-3 | |
| 13 | South Carolina | 665 | 19 | 9-4 | |
| 14 | Michigan | 580 | NR | 8-5 | |
| 15 | Ole Miss | 573 | 13 | 10-3 | |
| 16 | SMU | 555 | 11 | 11-3 | |
| 17 | Florida | 498 | NR | 8-5 | |
| 18 | Tennessee | 492 | 8 | 10-3 | |
| 19 | Indiana | 460 | 10 | 11-2 | |
| 20 | Kansas State | 438 | NR | 9-4 | |
| 21 | Texas A&M | 392 | NR | 8-5 | |
| 21 | Iowa State | 392 | 15 | 11-3 | |
| 23 | BYU | 287 | 14 | 11-2 | |
| 24 | Texas Tech | 261 | NR | 8-5 | |
| 25 | Boise State | 246 | 9 | 12-2 |
Dropped out: No. 20 Missouri (10-3); No. 21 Army (12-2); No. 22 Syracuse (10-3); No. 23 Memphis (11-2); No. 24 UNLV (11-3); No. 25 Colorado (9-4).
Others receiving votes: Oklahoma (6-7) 221; Missouri (10-3) 142; Louisville (9-4) 126; Southern California (7-6) 116; Utah (5-7) 86; Baylor (8-5) 76; Auburn (5-7) 50; Iowa (8-5) 49; Memphis (11-2) 34; Army (12-2) 33; Tulane (9-5) 31; Georgia Tech (7-6) 27; TCU (9-4) 24; Nebraska (7-6) 19; Syracuse (10-3) 16; Washington (6-7) 15; Navy (10-3) 14; Arkansas (7-6) 14; Duke (9-4) 12; Colorado (9-4) 12; Minnesota (8-5) 11; UNLV (11-3) 8; Florida State (2-10) 8; Kansas (5-7) 6; Vanderbilt (7-6) 3; Buffalo (9-4) 1.
Overview
In response to overwhelming support by NCAA FCS coaches, the American Football Coaches Association began publishing a FCS Top 25 Coaches’ Poll in 2018. Prior to 2018, the NCAA FCS Coaches Poll was administered by the Southern Conference.
Format
The FCS poll follows the same basic format as the US LBM Coaches Poll. The FCS Board of Coaches will have 26 voters representing all FCS football-playing conferences, as well as independent schools. The FCS Coaches’ Poll will be released on Mondays beginning with a preseason poll in August and will run through the final week of the regular season in November. A final poll will be released on the Monday following the NCAA FCS championship game.
| Rank | School (1st votes) | 2024 Rec. | Pts. | 2024 Rank | Season Opener | Head Coach | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Dakota St. (26) | 14-2 | 650 | 1 | Aug. 30 at The Citadel | Tim Polasek | |
| 2 | Montana St. | 15-1 | 612 | 2 | Aug. 30 at Oregon | Brent Vigen | |
| 3 | South Dakota St. | 12-3 | 581 | 3 | Aug. 30 vs. No. 14 Sacramento St. | Dan Jackson | |
| 4 | UIW | 11-3 | 541 | 6 | Aug. 23 at Nichols | Clint Killough | |
| 5 | South Dakota | 11-3 | 521 | 4 | Aug. 30 at Iowa St. | Travis Johansen | |
| 6 | Illinois St. | 10-4 | 466 | 9 | Aug. 30 at Oklahoma | Brock Spack | |
| 7 | UC Davis | 11-3 | 456 | 5 | Aug. 23 vs. No. 11 Mercer | Tim Plough | |
| 8 | Tarleton St. | 10-4 | 454 | 12 | Aug. 23 at Portland St. | Todd Whitten | |
| 9 | Montana | 9-5 | 447 | 13 | Sept. 6 vs. Central Washington | Bobby Hauck | |
| 10 | Rhode Island | 11-3 | 416 | 11 | Aug. 29 vs. Campbell | Jim Fleming | |
| 11 | Mercer | 11-3 | 396 | 7 | Aug. 23 vs. No. 7 UC Davis | Mike Jacobs | |
| 12 | Idaho | 10-4 | 371 | 8 | Aug. 30 at Washington St. | Thomas Ford Jr. | |
| 13 | Villanova | 10-4 | 338 | 10 | Sept. 6 vs. Colgate | Mark Ferrante | |
| 14 | Sacramento St. | 3-9 | 265 | NR | Aug. 30 at No. 3 South Dakota St. | Brennan Marion | |
| 15 | Lehigh | 9-4 | 207 | 22 | Aug. 30 vs. No. 22t Richmond | Kevin Cahill | |
| 16 | ACU | 9-5 | 203 | 15 | Aug. 30 at Tulsa | Keith Patterson | |
| 17 | Jackson St. | 12-2 | 200 | 14 | Aug. 30 vs. Hampton | T.C. Taylor | |
| 18 | Northern Arizona | 8-5 | 168 | 21 | Aug. 30 at Arizona St. | Brian Wright | |
| 19 | Western Carolina | 7-5 | 147 | NR | Aug. 30 vs. Gardner-Webb | Kerwin Bell | |
| 20 | Southern Illinois | 4-8 | 132 | NR | Aug. 30 vs. Thomas More | Nick Hill | |
| 21 | Monmouth (N.J.) | 6-6 | 116 | NR | Aug. 29 at Colgate | Kevin Callahan | |
| 22t. | Richmond | 10-3 | 111 | 17 | Aug. 30 at No. 15 Lehigh | Russ Huesman | |
| 22t. | Tennessee Tech | 7-5 | 111 | NR | Aug. 30 vs. Cumberland | Bobby Wilder | |
| 24 | Stephen F. Austin | 7-5 | 82 | NR | Aug. 28 at Houston | Colby Carthel | |
| 25 | Stony Brook | 8-4 | 69 | NR | Aug. 28 at San Diego St. | Billy Cosh |
Others Receiving Votes: UT Martin, 50; Harvard, 40; Southeastern Louisiana, 36; South Carolina St., 25; Southeast Missouri St., 25; East Tennessee St., 24; New Hampshire, 21; Eastern Kentucky, 19; North Dakota, 19; Youngstown St., 16; Chattanooga, 14; Tennessee St., 14; Dartmouth, 13; North Carolina Central, 13; Central Connecticut St., 11; Southern Utah, 9; Lafayette, 6; Central Arkansas, 5; Northern Iowa, 5; San Diego, 5; Indiana St., 4; Lindenwood, 4; Lamar, 3; Holy Cross, 2; Southern, 2; Yale, 2; Bucknell, 1; Eastern Washington, 1; Samford, 1.
Overview
In response to overwhelming support by NCAA Division II coaches, the American Football Coaches Association began publishing a Division II Top 25 Coaches’ Poll in 2000. Prior to 2000, there was no coaches’ polls for NCAA Division II. The regional poll had been used to rank teams for consideration for the NCAA playoffs.
Format
The Division II poll follows the same basic format as the US LBM Coaches Poll. The Division II Board of Coaches will have 2 voters from each Division II conference, as well as independent schools. The Division II Coaches’ Poll will be released on Mondays beginning with a preseason poll in August and will run through the final week of the regular season in November. A final poll will be released the Monday following the NCAA Division II championship game.
| Rank | School (1st votes) | 2024 Rec. | Pts. | 2024 Rank | Season Opener | Head Coach | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ferris St. (30) | 14-1 | 773 | 1 | Aug. 28 vs. No. 9 Pittsburg St. | Tony Annese | |
| 2 | Harding | 12-2 | 734 | 4 | Sept. 4 at Northwestern Oklahoma St. | Paul Simmons | |
| 3 | Grand Valley St. | 11-2 | 669 | 6 | Aug. 30 vs. Lincoln (Pa.) | Scott Wooster | |
| 4 | Slippery Rock (1) | 12-2 | 576 | 3 | Sept. 5 at Franklin Pierce | Shawn Lutz | |
| 5 | Central Oklahoma | 11-2 | 569 | 9 | Aug. 30 at UT-Permian Basin | Adam Dorrel | |
| 6 | Colorado St.-Pueblo | 10-2 | 549 | 8 | Aug. 28 vs. South Dakota Mines | Philip Vigil | |
| 7 | Kutztown | 11-1 | 517 | 5 | Sept. 4 vs. Assumption | Jim Clements | |
| 8 | West Florida | 7-3 | 504 | NR | Aug. 29 vs. No. 17 Lenoir-Rhyne | Kaleb Nobles | |
| 9 | Pittsburg St. | 8-3 | 451 | 17 | Aug. 28 at No. 1 Ferris St. | Tom Anthony | |
| 10 | Western Colorado | 11-2 | 450 | 10 | Aug. 28 vs. West Texas A&M | Jas Bains | |
| 11 | Minnesota St. | 11-4 | 449 | 7 | Aug. 28 vs. Northwest Missouri St. | Todd Hoffner | |
| 12 | Valdosta St. | 13-1 | 402 | 2 | Aug. 30 vs. Clark Atlanta | Graham Craig | |
| 13 | Angelo St. | 9-3 | 352 | 20 | Aug. 28 at Fort Hays St. | Jeff Girsch | |
| 14 | Charleston | 11-1 | 337 | 15 | Aug. 28 vs. Livingstone | Mike Tesch | |
| 15 | California (Pa.) | 10-3 | 275 | 12 | Sept. 4 vs. No. 14 Charleston | Gary Dunn | |
| 16 | Bemidji St. | 10-4 | 254 | 13 | Aug. 28 at Michigan Tech | Brent Bolte | |
| 17 | Lenoir-Rhyne | 10-3 | 248 | 16 | Aug. 29 at No. 8 West Florida | Doug Socha | |
| 18 | Ouachita Baptist | 10-2 | 246 | 14 | Sept. 4 at East Central | Todd Knight | |
| 19 | Virginia Union | 10-4 | 228 | 11 | Aug. 31 vs. No. 24t Miles | Alvin Parker | |
| 20 | UIndy | 10-2 | 191 | 19 | Aug. 28 at Marian | Chris Keevers | |
| 21 | Central Washington | 8-4 | 176 | 24 | Aug. 28 vs. Colorado Mesa | Chris Fisk | |
| 22 | Central Missouri | 9-3 | 149 | NR | Aug. 28 at Delta St. | Josh Lamberson | |
| 23 | Augustana (S.D.) | 8-4 | 127 | 25 | Aug. 30 vs. Missouri Western | Jerry Olszewski | |
| 24t. | Ashland | 9-4 | 114 | 23 | Sept. 4 at Indiana (Pa.) | Doug Geiser | |
| 24t. | Miles | 10-3 | 114 | 22 | Aug. 31 vs. No. 19 Virginia Union | Chris Goode |
Others Receiving Votes: West Alabama, 113; Carson-Newman, 100; Wingate, 74; Fort Hays St., 66; Colorado School of Mines, 42; Saginaw Valley St., 35; Minnesota-Duluth, 29; Albany St., 26; Northwest Missouri St., 21; Indiana (Pa.), 16; UT-Permian Basin, 16; Delta St., 13; Findlay, 12; UNC-Pembroke, 12; Davenport, 10; Johnson C. Smith, 9; East Stroudsburg, 7; Fairmont St., 7; Southern Arkansas, 6; Texas A&M-Kingsville, 5; Colorado Mesa, 1; Truman St., 1.
Overview
In response to overwhelming support by NCAA Division III coaches, the American Football Coaches Association began publishing a Division III Top 25 Coaches’ Poll in 1999.
Prior to 1999, there were no coaches’ polls for any NCAA divisions other than the Football Bowl Subdivision. The NCAA had published a regional poll for Division III prior to 1999, but discontinued the poll because of changes in the selection process for the Division III playoffs that took effect in 1999.
Format
The Division III poll follows the same basic format as the US LBM Coaches’ Poll. The Division III Board of Coaches will have 2 voters representing each Division III conference. The Division III Coaches’ Poll will be released on Mondays beginning with a preseason poll in August and will run through the final week of the regular season in November. A final poll will be released the Monday following the NCAA Division III championship game.
| Rank | School (1st votes) | 2024 Rec. | Pts. | 2024 Rank* | Season Opener | Head Coach | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Central (51) | 15-0 | 1275 | 1 | Sept. 13 vs. UW-Oshkosh | Brad Spencer | |
| 2 | Mount Union | 14-1 | 1218 | 2 | Sept. 6 vs. No. 17 Wheaton | Geoff Dartt | |
| 3 | Johns Hopkins | 12-2 | 1097 | 3 | Sept. 6 at Ithaca | Dan Wodicka | |
| 4 | St. John’s (Minn.) | 11-1 | 1058 | 7 | Sept. 13 vs. Minnesota-Morris | Gary Fasching | |
| 5 | Susquehanna | 12-2 | 1016 | 4 | Sept. 6 vs. Union (N.Y.) | Tom Perkovich | |
| 6 | Hardin-Simmons | 10-1 | 975 | 15 | Sept. 6 at Chapman | Jesse Burleson | |
| 7 | Salisbury | 12-1 | 870 | 5 | Sept. 6 at Washington and Lee | Sherman Wood | |
| 8 | Mary Hardin-Baylor | 8-4 | 861 | 11 | Sept. 6 vs. Bethel (Tenn.) | Larry Harmon | |
| 9 | Wartburg | 10-2 | 811 | 12 | Sept. 6 vs. Monmouth (Ill.) | Chris Winter | |
| 10 | UW-La Crosse | 8-4 | 763 | 21 | Sept. 13 at No. 18 Carnegie Mellon | Matt Janus | |
| 11 | Cortland | 11-1 | 742 | 8 | Sept. 6 vs. No. 23 Grove City | Tom Blumenauer | |
| 12 | Bethel (Minn.) | 11-3 | 706 | 10 | Sept. 13 vs. Northwestern (Minn.) | Mike McElroy | |
| 13 | Springfield | 12-1 | 627 | 6 | Sept. 6 at Western New England | Mike Cerasuolo | |
| 14 | UW-Platteville | 9-2 | 609 | 17 | Sept. 6 at No. 24 Aurora | Ryan Munz | |
| 15 | Linfield | 10-2 | 516 | 16 | Sept. 6 vs. UW-Oshkosh | Joseph Smith | |
| 16 | DePauw | 11-1 | 490 | 9 | Sept. 6 at Rose-Hulman | Brett Dietz | |
| 17 | Wheaton | 9-2 | 423 | NR | Sept. 6 at No. 2 Mount Union | Jesse Scott | |
| 18 | Carnegie Mellon | 10-2 | 382 | 14 | Sept. 6 at Chicago | Ryan Larsen | |
| 19 | UW-River Falls | 7-3 | 354 | NR | Sept. 6 vs. Alma | Matt Walker | |
| 20 | Hope | 11-1 | 332 | 13 | Sept. 6 at Loras | Peter Stuursma | |
| 21 | Randolph-Macon | 10-2 | 254 | 18 | Sept. 5 vs. Dickinson | Pedro Arruza | |
| 22 | UW-Whitewater | 6-4 | 238 | NR | Sept. 6 vs. Carleton | Jace Rindahl | |
| 23 | Grove City | 9-2 | 229 | 20 | Sept. 6 at No. 11 Cortland | Andrew DiDonato | |
| 24 | Aurora | 9-2 | 194 | 22 | Sept. 6 vs. No. 14 UW-Platteville | Don Beebe | |
| 25 | John Carroll | 9-3 | 128 | NR | Sept. 6 at Waynesburg | Jeff Behrman | |
Others Receiving Votes: Washington & Jefferson, 71; UW-Oshkosh, 70; Endicott, 46; Whitworth, 38; Alma, 35; Trinity (Tex.), 27; Hobart, 19; Ithaca, 18; Delaware Valley, 17; Coe, 15; UW-Stout, 13; Berry, 12; Brockport, 8; Lake Forest, 5; Chapman, 3; Mount St. Joseph, 2; UMass-Dartmouth, 2; Baldwin-Wallace, 1; Central (Iowa), 1; Rowan, 1; Washington (Mo.), 1; Wesleyan, 1; Westminster (Pa.), 1.
