Who has the most wins in college football history?

College football, aka gridiron, is primarily popular in the US and Canada, and the majority of colleges, particularly those at the top levels of competition, are members of the NCAA, even though there isn't a single organization that oversees college football in the US. In Canada, however, collegiate football competitions are overseen by U Sports for universities.

Each spring, 224 players are chosen from the NCAA and given contracts to play in the NFL, CFL, and XFL. As undrafted free agents, players who are not chosen can still try to make a professional roster. Only about 1.6% of NCAA college football players make it to the NFL as professionals, despite these possibilities.

In 1869, the first-ever national championship for college football was held. There were exactly two games played throughout the eight-day season: Princeton at Rutgers, which Princeton won, and Princeton at Princeton, which Princeton also won, as per the NCAA.

Yale was later proclaimed the first national champion by the Billingsley Report and the National Championship Foundation, but in 1933, Parke H. Davis, a college football historian, concluded that Yale and Rutgers shared the championship.

Despite Rutgers and Princeton being the founding teams of college football, a couple of the Midwest clubs have won the most games. At the moment, Michigan is the leader with 1003 victories, followed by Alabama with 965 and Ohio State with 964. Texas and Notre Dame are next, both with 948 victories.

Most Wins in College Football-Team Wise

Following are the college football teams with the most wins in the history of NCAA college football, as measured in both total wins and winning percentage as of January 2024. It also reflects official results after vacated and forfeited games and includes teams from the NCAA Division I-Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the NCAA Division I-Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), the NCAA Division II, and the NCAA Division III.

Michigan is ranked first among college football teams with the most wins, having amassed 1003 victories and a 73.3% winning rate. Ohio State, with 964 wins and a marginally higher winning percentage of 73.4%, and Alabama, with 965 wins and a 73.3% winning percentage, trail closely behind.

With 948 wins and respective winning percentages of 73.0% and 70.2%, Notre Dame and Texas are tied for fourth place. After 944 wins and a winning percentage of 72.6%, Oklahoma is ranked sixth, and Yale is ranked seventh after 936 wins and a winning percentage of 69.8%. The remaining three teams in the top ten are Penn State, Nebraska, and Harvard, with 930, 917, and 901 victories with winning percentages of 68.9%, 67.8%, and 68.0%, respectively.