Factoid 38 - College Football from 1940 to 1949

The 1940s would only see two schools add college football (Division 1) as a sport: the Houston Cougars and the Florida State Seminoles. The Seminoles started their program in 1947 and would emerge as a national power. To date they claim two national titles and are playing for a third this January.

Fourteen schools would go on to claim a national title via one polling service or another for the decade: Michigan; Minnesota; Army; Oklahoma; Notre Dame; Alabama; Stanford; Georgia; Tennessee; Boston; College; Ohio State; Texas; and Wisconsin.

This was also the decade of WW II, which resulted in men enlisting in the army in high numbers, including those who were on college teams, and even pro players. As a result of this, Army was dominant from 1944 to 1946 and won three titles in a row, going 27-0-1 during this period.

Also in this decade, Notre Dame would claim four titles, and Ohio State emerged as a powerhouse in college football, winning two championships in this decade. However, neither team played in a bowl game as their schools would not allow it. The Big Ten did finally end its ban on bowl games and started allowing its teams to play in bowl games starting in the 1946/1947 season when Illinois beat UCLA 45 to 14 in the 1947 Rose Bowl. Notre Dame would only start playing in bowl games in the 1969/1970 season.