American Football Coaches Association Coaches Poll
Overview

Since 1950, the AFCA has conducted a weekly Top 20/Top 25 poll during the college football season. The AFCA, in partnership with USA Today and Amway, awards the AFCA Coaches’ Trophy to the No. 1-ranked team in the final Amway Coaches Poll each season. The head coach of the No. 1-ranked team receives the trophy at the American Football Coaches Awards show in early January.

Format

The Amway 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 Amway Board of Coaches is made up of 65 head coaches at Bowl Subdivision schools. All are members of the American Football Coaches Association. The board for the 2017 season:

Major Applewhite, Houston; David Bailiff, Rice; David Beaty, Kansas; Bret Bielema, Arkansas; Craig Bohl, Wyoming; John Bonamego, Central Michigan; Terry Bowden, Akron; Jeff Brohm, Purdue; Matt Campbell, Iowa State; Rod Carey, Northern Illinois; Mark Dantonio, Michigan State; Butch Davis, Florida International; Dave Doeren, North Carolina State; DJ Durkin, Maryland; Shawn Elliott, Georgia State; Larry Fedora, North Carolina; Luke Fickell, Cincinnati; Jimbo Fisher, Florida State; P.J. Fleck, Minnesota; James Franklin, Penn State; Willie Fritz, Tulane; Justin Fuente, Virginia Tech; Bryan Harsin, Boise State; Clay Helton, Southern California; Tom Herman, Texas; Doc Holliday, Marshall; Mark Hudspeth, Louisiana-Lafayette; Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech; Joey Jones, South Alabama; Mike Leach, Washington State; Lance Leipold, Buffalo; Tim Lester, Western Michigan; Seth Littrell, North Texas; Rocky Long, San Diego State; Mike MacIntyre, Colorado; Gus Malzahn, Auburn; Derek Mason, Vanderbilt; Urban Meyer, Ohio State; Jeff Monken, Army; Philip Montgomery, Tulsa; Scottie Montgomery, East Carolina; Jim Mora, UCLA; Dan Mullen, Mississippi State; Pat Narduzzi, Pittsburgh; Ken Niumatalolo, Navy; Barry Odom, Missouri; Gary Patterson, TCU; Mike Riley, Nebraska; Rich Rodriguez, Arizona; Nick Rolovich, Hawaii; Nick Saban, Alabama; Tony Sanchez, UNLV; Mike Sanford Jr., Western Kentucky; Scott Satterfield, Appalachian State; Bill Snyder, Kansas State; Frank Solich, Ohio; Rick Stockstill, Middle Tennessee; Mark Stoops, Kentucky; Tyson Summers, Georgia Southern; Dabo Swinney, Clemson; Matt Wells, Utah State; Mark Whipple, Massachusetts; Kyle Whittingham, Utah; Bobby Wilder, Old Dominion; Everett Withers, Texas State.

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
RankSchool (record)Pointsrankvotes
1Alabama (4-0)1597161
2Clemson (4-0)149722
3Georgia (4-0)147330
4Ohio State (4-0)143141
5Oklahoma (4-0)130050
6LSU (4-0)123460
7Stanford (4-0)120670
8Notre Dame (4-0)113580
9Penn State (4-0)110890
10Auburn (3-1)997110
11Washington (3-1)959120
12West Virginia (3-0)946130
13Wisconsin (3-1)776160
14Central Florida (3-0)705180
15Michigan (3-1)603210
16Miami (Fla.) (3-1)554200
17Kentucky (4-0)531not ranked0
18Michigan State (2-1)376230
19Mississippi State (3-1)311140
20Oregon (3-1)281190
21Oklahoma State (3-1)199150
22Texas (3-1)171not ranked0
23Duke (4-0)170not ranked0
24Virginia Tech (2-1)160100
25Boise State (2-1)145240

Dropped out: No. 17 TCU (2-2), No. 22 Texas A&M (2-2), No. 25 Boston College (3-1).

Others receiving votes: Brigham Young (3-1) 141; South Florida (4-0) 113; Syracuse (4-0) 83; Colorado (3-0) 73; TCU (2-2) 67; North Carolina State (3-0) 61; Texas Tech (3-1) 56; South Carolina (2-1) 52; California (3-0) 38; Washington State (3-1) 34; Florida (3-1) 29; Texas A&M (2-2) 29; Appalachian State (2-1) 25; Iowa (3-1) 23; Cincinnati (4-0) 22; North Texas (4-0) 17; Missouri (3-1) 14; Maryland (3-1) 9; Arizona State (2-2) 8; Boston College (3-1) 8; Southern California (2-2) 8; San Diego State (3-1) 6; Troy (3-1) 5; Army (2-2) 4; Arkansas State (3-1) 3; Virginia (3-1) 3; Buffalo (4-0) 2; Utah (2-1) 2.

Note: DJ Durkin of Maryland is currently not eligible to participate in the poll.

*Games Played through September 22nd

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 Southland Conference. The regional poll had been used to rank teams for consideration for the NCAA playoffs.

Format

The FCS  poll follows the same basic format as the Amway Coaches Poll. The FCS Board of Coaches will have 30 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 the Monday following the NCAA FCS championship game.

FCS Poll Voters

RankSchool (1st votes)Rec.Pts.Prev.Week 4Next Game
1.North Dakota St. (26)3-06501D. Delaware, 38-10Sept. 29 vs. No. 3 South Dakota St.
2. James Madison3-16232D. William & Mary, 51-0Sept. 29 at Richmond
3.South Dakota St.2-05963Idle Sept. 29 at No. 1 North Dakota St.
4.Kennesaw St.3-15635D. Clark Atlanta, 70-13Sept. 29 vs. Samford
5.Eastern Washington3-15476tD. Cal Poly, 70-17Sept. 29 at Montana St.
6.Wofford2-15196tIdleSept. 29 at Gardner-Webb
7.Weber St.3-14738D. Northern Colorado, 45-28Oct. 6 at Northern Arizona
8.Jacksonville St.2-14549D. Tennessee Tech, 48-20Sept. 29 vs. Austin Peay
9.Elon2-140912D. Charleston Southern, 31-22Sept. 29 vs. New Hampshire
10.Illinois St.3-039015D. Colorado St., 35-19Sept. 29 at Missouri St.
11.McNeese3-137610Lost to BYU, 30-3Sept. 29 vs. Stephen F. Austin
12.Central Arkansas2-136713IdleSept. 29 vs. No. 19 Sam Houston St.
13.North Carolina A&T3-13414Lost to Morgan St., 16-13Sept. 27 vs. South Carolina St.
14.Villanova3-132014D. Bucknell, 49-7Sept. 29 at No. 17 Stony Brook
15.Nicholls2-229318D. No. 11 Sam Houston St., 27-7Sept. 29 vs. Lamar
16.Maine2-124116Lost to Central Michigan, 17-5Sept. 29 at Yale
17.Stony Brook3-123319D. Richmond, 36-10Sept. 29 vs. No. 14 Villanova
18. Montana3-119420D. Sacramento St., 41-34Sept. 29 at Cal Poly
19.Sam Houston St.1-215511Lost to No. 18 Nicholls, 27-7Sept. 29 at No. 12 Central Arkansas
20.Rhode Island2-112623IdleSept. 28 at Harvard
21.Northern Iowa1-212522D. Hampton, 44-0Sept. 27 at Indiana St.
22.UC Davis3-112025D. Idaho, 44-21Oct. 6 at Northern Colorado
23.Colgate3-011924D. Lafayette, 45-0Sept. 29 at William & Mary
24.Chattanooga4-068NRD. No. 17 Samford, 27-20Sept. 29 at East Tennessee St.
25.Princeton2-027NRD. Monmouth (N.J.), 51-9Sept. 28 at Columbia

Dropped Out: Samford (17), Austin Peay (21)

Others Receiving Votes: Towson, 26; Montana St., 22; Samford, 21; Western Carolina, 16; Harvard, 9; South Dakota, 8; Austin Peay, 7; Southeastern Louisiana, 5; Sacramento St., 3; Northern Arizona, 2; Delaware, 1; Youngstown St., 1.

*Games Played through September 22nd

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 Amway Coaches Poll. The Division II Board of Coaches will have 30 voters representing all Division II conferences, 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.

Forty-six schools spent at least one week ranked in the 2015 AFCA Division II Coaches Poll … Eight schools were ranked in the Top 25 all 13 weeks the poll was released in 2015 (Colorado State-Pueblo, Ferris State (Mich.), Minnesota State, North Alabama, Northwest Missouri State, Sioux Falls (S.D.), Texas A&M-Commerce and West Georgia) … Since the AFCA Division II Coaches’ Top 25 Poll debuted in 2000, Grand Valley State has been ranked No. 1 for 88 weeks …

The other 13 schoolswhich have appeared No. 1 in the AFCA Division II Coaches’ Top 25 Poll are Northwest Missouri State (29 weeks), Valdosta State (25), Minnesota State (19), Pittsburg State (12), Delta State (11), Minnesota-Duluth (eight), Colorado State-Pueblo (seven), North Alabama (five), Saginaw Valley State (three), West Georgia (two), Abilene Christian (one), Central Washington (one) and North Dakota (one) … Northwest Missouri State owns the record for the most consecutive weeks ranked in the AFCA Division II Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, which currently stands at 161 … Northwest Missouri State also holds the record for being ranked the most times in the AFCA Division II Coaches Poll at 203 weeks out of a possible 213 since 2000.

RankSchool (1st votes)Rec.Pts.Prev.Week 4Next Game
1. Minnesota St. (26)4-08112D. Winona St. (Minn.), 31-21Sept. 29 vs. St. Cloud State (Minn.)
2.Indiana (Pa.) (5)4-07613D. Mercyhurst (Pa.), 34-7Sept. 29 at California (Pa.)
3.Grand Valley St. (Mich.)4-07465D. Michigan Tech, 45-20Sept. 29 at Northwood (Mich.)
4.Ferris St. (Mich.) (2)4-07346D. Northern Michigan, 35-19Sept. 29 vs. Ashland (Ohio)
5.Midwestern St. (Texas)4-07067D. Angelo St. (Texas), 57-36Sept. 29 at Eastern New Mexico
6.West Georgia4-06568D. Florida Tech, 30-21Sept. 29 at Shorter (Ga.)
7.Ouachita Baptist (Ark.)4-05939D. East Central (Okla.), 42-0Sept. 29 vs. Arkansas Tech
8.Minnesota-Duluth4-052611D. Bemidji St. (Minn.), 26-19 2OTSept. 29 at Concordia-St. Paul (Minn.)
9.Texas A&M-Commerce3-14441Lost to No. 22 Colorado St.-Pueblo, 23-13Sept. 29 vs. Lock Haven (Pa.)
10.Pittsburg St. (Kan.)4-044215D. Nebraska-Kearney, 30-17Sept. 29 at Lindenwood (Mo.)
11.West Florida3-143310D. Mississippi College, 34-21Sept. 29 at Delta St. (Miss.)
12.West Chester (Pa.)4-043013D. Millersville (Pa.), 42-16Sept. 29 vs. Shippensburg (Pa.)
13.Valdosta St. (Ga.)4-042116D. Shorter (Ga.), 52-0Sept. 29 at Mississippi College
14t.Central Washington3-139712D. Simon Fraser (B.C.), 63-10Sept. 29 vs. West Texas A&M
14t.Colorado School of Mines4-039717D. New Mexico Highlands, 43-14Sept. 29 vs. No. 24 Colorado Mesa
16.Colorado St.-Pueblo3-138222D. No. 1 Texas A&M-Commerce, 23-13Sept. 29 vs. South Dakota Mines
17.Northwest Missouri St.3-13314Lost to Central Oklahoma, 31-21Sept. 29 vs. Emporia St. (Kan.)
18.Fort Hays St. (Kan.)3-126718D. Missouri Southern St., 55-20Sept. 29 vs. Central Oklahoma
19.Southern Arkansas4-025021D. Northwestern Oklahoma St., 27-14Sept. 29 at Oklahoma Baptist
20.Harding (Ark.)3-122319tD. Oklahoma Baptist, 56-7Sept. 29 at Arkansas-Monticello
21. West Alabama3-113423D. Limestone (S.C.), 16-13Sept. 29 at North Greenville (S.C.)
22.Indianapolis (Ind.)2-110525D. William Jewell (Mo.), 41-14Sept. 29 vs. Lincoln (Mo.)
23.Notre Dame (Ohio)4-099NRD. Concord (W.Va.), 47-22Sept. 29 vs. West Liberty (W.Va.)
24.Colorado Mesa3-18914Lost to Chadron St. (Neb.), 38-34Sept. 29 at No. 14t Colorado School of Mines
25.Tarleton St. (Texas)3-080NRD. UT-Permian Basin (Texas), 35-13Sept. 29 at Angelo St. (Texas)

Dropped Out: Central Missouri (19t), Azusa Pacific (Calif.) (24)

Others Receiving Votes: Azusa Pacific (Calif.), 69; Sioux Falls (S.D.), 54; Ohio Dominican, 36; Kutztown (Pa.), 30; Ashland (Ohio), 17; Hillsdale (Mich.), 11; Charleston (W.Va.), 10; Tiffin (Ohio), 9; Chadron St. (Neb.), 7; Florida Tech, 7; Washburn (Kan.), 5; Central Missouri, 4; LIU-Post (N.Y.), 4; Bowie St. (Md.), 2; Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.), 1; New Haven (Conn.), 1; Saginaw Valley St. (Mich.), 1.

*Games Played through September 22nd

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 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.

The regional poll had been used to rank teams for consideration for the 16-team playoff tournament. But in 1999, the Division III playoffs expanded to 28 teams and the regional format was no longer used.

Format

The Division III poll follows the same basic format as the USA Today Coaches’ Poll. The Division III Board of Coaches will have 42 voters, representing all Division III conferences. The Division III Coaches’ Poll will be released on Mondays beginning in September and will run through the completion of the regular season in mid-November. A final poll will be released on the Monday following the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl.

Forty-one schools spent at least one week ranked in the Division III Coaches Poll in 2015 … Sixteen schools were ranked in the Top 25 all 10 weeks the poll was released in 2015: Mount Union (Ohio), St. Thomas (Minn.), Linfield (Ore.), Wisconsin-Whitewater, Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Mary Hardin-Baylor (Texas), Wesley (Del.), Wabash (Ind.), Wheaton (Ill.), Johns Hopkins (Md.), St. John’s (Minn.), Thomas More (Ky.), Hardin-Simmons (Texas), Wartburg (Iowa), Wisconsin-Platteville, John Carroll (Ohio) … Mount Union has appeared in every Top 25 since the AFCA first released the poll in 1999 …

The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference had five schools ranked in the Top 25 poll at least once in 2015 (St. Thomas, Concordia-Moorhead, Bethel, St. John’s and Gustavus Adolphus) … The Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC), Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC), New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC), the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) and the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) all had three schools ranked in the Top 25 this season: (Wisconsin-Whitewater, -Platteville and -Oshkosh for the WIAC; Mount Union, John Carroll and Ohio Northern for the OAC; Wesley, Rowan (N.J.) and Salisbury (Md.) for the NJAC; Wheaton, North Central (Ill.) and Illinois Wesleyan for the CCIW; and Wabash, Wittenberg (Ohio) and DePauw (Ind.) for the NCAC) … Washington & Lee (Va.) began the season unranked but was No. 16 in the final poll, which represented the largest jump by a team that wasn’t ranked in the season-opening poll.

RankSchool (1st votes)Rec.Pts.Prev.Last WeekNext Game
1.Mount Union (Ohio) (45)3-012931D. No. 15 John Carroll (Ohio), 23-10Sept. 29 at Otterbein (Ohio)
2.Mary Hardin-Baylor (Tex.) (7)3-012552D. Texas Lutheran, 47-14Sept. 29 vs. Southwestern (Texas)
3.St. Thomas (Minn.)3-011903D. Wisconsin-Eau Claire, 49-0Sept. 29 at Concordia-Moorhead (Minn.)
4.Brockport (N.Y.)3-010924IdleSept. 29 vs. St. John Fisher (N.Y.)
5.North Central (Ill.)3-010715D. North Park (Ill.), 35-0Sept. 29 vs. No. 24 Wheaton (Ill.)
6.Wesley (Del.)3-09957D. William Paterson (N.J.), 43-7Sept. 29 at Southern Virginia
7.Hardin-Simmons (Tex.)3-09726D. Howard Payne (Texas), 65-14Sept. 29 vs. East Texas Baptist
8.Wisconsin-Whitewater2-09218IdleSept. 29 at No. 25 Wisconsin-La Crosse
9.Frostburg St. (Md.)3-08919D. Rowan (N.J.), 34-7Oct. 6 at No. 6 Wesley (Del.)
10.St. John’s (Minn.)3-085310D. Carleton (Minn.), 59-0Sept. 29 at Augsburg (Minn.)
11.Wittenberg (Ohio)3-070411D. Kenyon (Ohio), 45-3Sept. 29 at Denison (Ohio)
12.Washington & Jefferson (Pa.)4-069512D. Grove City (Pa.), 62-10Sept. 29 at Bethany (W.Va.)
13.Wisconsin-Oshkosh2-167613IdleSept. 29 at Wisconsin-River Falls
14.Linfield (Ore.)1-164614IdleSept. 29 at Whitworth (Wash.)
15.Trine (Ind.)3-048416IdleSept. 29 at Hope (Mich.)
16.Berry (Ga.)4-048117D. Centre (Ky.), 38-35 OTSept. 29 vs. Austin College (Texas)
17.John Carroll (Ohio)2-142715Lost to No. 1 Mount Union (Ohio), 23-10Sept. 29 at Muskingum (Ohio)
18.Case Western Reserve (Ohio)3-040318D. Thiel (Pa.), 63-20Sept. 29 at Westminster (Pa.)
19.Rensselaer (N.Y.)4-027819D. Buffalo St. (N.Y.), 44-14Oct. 6 at Ithaca (N.Y.)
20.Delaware Valley (Pa.)3-123920D. Alvernia (Pa.), 41-10Sept. 29 at Stevenson (Md.)
21.Illinois Wesleyan2-118923D. Augustana (Ill.), 41-24Sept. 29 at Carroll (Wis.)
22.Wabash (Ind.)3-018422IdleSept. 29 vs. Wooster (Ohio)
23.Franklin & Marshall (Pa.)4-018221D. Susquehanna (Pa.), 14-7 OTSept. 29 at Muhlenberg (Pa.)
24.Wheaton (Ill.)2-113524D. Millikin (Ill.), 63-6Sept. 29 at No. 5 North Central (Ill.)
25.Wisconsin-La Crosse2-111425IdleSept. 29 vs. No. 8 Wisconsin-Whitewater

Dropped Out: None

Others Receiving Votes: Central (Iowa), 91; Wisconsin-Platteville, 49; Johns Hopkins (Md.), 47; Wartburg (Iowa), 42; Salisbury (Md.), 39; Ohio Northern, 34; Concordia-Moorhead (Minn.), 33; Ithaca (N.Y.), 29; Muhlenberg (Pa.), 22; Whitworth (Wash.), 21; East Texas Baptist, 17; Trinity (Conn.), 15; Union (N.Y.), 15; Monmouth (Ill.), 13; Washington & Lee (Va.), 12; Amherst (Mass.), 11; Baldwin-Wallace (Ohio), 9; Bethel (Minn.), 9; Redlands (Calif.), 5; Hope (Mich.), 3; Mount St. Joseph (Ohio), 3; Rowan (N.J.), 3; Wisconsin-Stout, 3; Centre (Ky.), 2; Alfred (N.Y.), 1; Framingham St. (Mass.), 1; George Fox (Ore.), 1.

*Games Played through September 22nd

 

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