The Alabama Crimson Tide college football team compete as part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, representing the University of Alabama in the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Alabama has played their home games at Bryant–Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama since 1929.[1]
The Crimson Tide acknowledge 18 national championships, from various and legitimate organizations of their time, 13 of which were awarded by the AP or Coaches' wire-service polls.[2] Alabama has 32 conference championships and holds NCAA records with 73 postseason bowl game appearances and 44 bowl game victories.[3][4] The Crimson Tide has also had 11 undefeated seasons, a longest winning streak of 28 games between 1978 and 1980 and a home winning streak of 57 games between 1963 and 1982.[5] Alabama leads the SEC West Division with 13 appearances in the SEC Championship Game, and has a winning record against every SEC team. The Associated Press (AP) ranks Alabama 5th all-time in total appearances in the AP Poll.[6] With 954 official wins in over 126 seasons of football, Alabama ranks sixth all-time in win–loss records in the NCAA.[7][A 1]
Football was introduced to the university by W. G. Little in 1892. The first win in the history of the program came in its inaugural game, a 56–0 shutout over Birmingham High School on November 11, 1892.[3] From 1892 to 1894, Alabama competed as a football independent, before they joined the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) as a charter member in 1895. From 1895 to 1921, Alabama saw some success, as they had only three losing seasons as a member of the SIAA. In 1922, Alabama left the SIAA and became a charter member of the Southern Conference (SoCon).[3] As a member of the Southern Conference, Alabama won conference championships in 1924, 1925, 1926 and 1930. Additionally, Alabama won their first three National Championships in the 1925, 1926 and 1930 seasons.[3]
By 1933, Alabama again switched conferences, joining the SEC as a charter member. Alabama won the first SEC title in 1933 and its fourth and fifth national championship in the 1934 and 1941 seasons.[3] After winning five national championships and nine conference championships through 1946, Alabama saw a decline between 1946 and 1957 and captured a single conference title. After they only won four games over a period of three seasons, Bear Bryant was hired as head coach in 1958. Under his guidance Alabama won thirteen SEC championships and national championships in the 1961, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1978 and 1979 seasons.[3] After the retirement of Bryant in 1982, Alabama had two coaches, and won one SEC championship before Gene Stallings was hired in 1990. Stallings coached Alabama for seven years, won a national championship in 1992 season, an SEC championship that same season, and four SEC West Division titles. His retirement was followed by a succession of four coaches who only won one SEC championship among them.
In 2007, Alabama hired coach Nick Saban, who led the program to their thirteenth national championship in the 2009 season, fourteenth in the 2011 season, fifteenth in the 2012 season, sixteenth in the 2015 season, seventeenth in the 2017 season, and eighteenth in the 2020 season. Through the 2020 season, Alabama has compiled an official overall record of 929 wins, 331 losses, 43 ties and has appeared in 73 bowl games, with the most recent appearance and win coming in the 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship.[8] On 10 January 2024, Saban announced his retirement.[9] Soon after, on 12 January 2024, Alabama hired head coach Kalen DeBoer from the University of Washington.
National champions † | Conference champions * | Division champions ‡ | Bowl game berth ^ |
Season [A 2] |
Head coach [10] |
Conference | Conference finish | Division finish [A 3] |
Wins | Losses | Ties | Bowl result | AP Poll [A 4] |
Coaches' Poll [A 5] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1892 | E. B. Beaumont | Independent | — | — | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A |
1893 | Eli Abbott | — | — | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | |
1894 | — | — | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | ||
1895 | SIAA | — | — | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | |
1896 | Otto Wagonhurst | — | — | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | |
1897 | Allen McCants | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | |
1899 | W. A. Martin | — | — | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | |
1900 | Malcolm Griffin | — | — | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | |
1901 | M. S. Harvey | — | — | 2 | 1 | 2 | — | N/A | N/A | |
1902 | Eli Abbott | — | — | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | |
1903 | W. B. Blount | — | — | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | |
1904 | — | — | 7 | 3 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | ||
1905 | Jack Leavenworth | — | — | 6 | 4 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | |
1906 | J. W. H. Pollard | — | — | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | |
1907 | — | — | 5 | 1 | 2 | — | N/A | N/A | ||
1908 | — | — | 6 | 1 | 1 | — | N/A | N/A | ||
1909 | — | — | 5 | 1 | 2 | — | N/A | N/A | ||
1910 | Guy Lowman | — | — | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | |
1911 | D. V. Graves | — | — | 5 | 2 | 2 | — | N/A | N/A | |
1912 | — | — | 5 | 3 | 1 | — | N/A | N/A | ||
1913 | — | — | 6 | 3 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | ||
1914 | — | — | 5 | 4 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | ||
1915 | Thomas Kelley | — | — | 6 | 2 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | |
1916 | — | — | 6 | 3 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | ||
1917 | — | — | 5 | 2 | 1 | — | N/A | N/A | ||
1919 | Xen C. Scott | — | — | 8 | 1 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | |
1920 | — | — | 10 | 1 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | ||
1921 | — | — | 5 | 4 | 2 | — | N/A | N/A | ||
1922 | SoCon | 8th | — | 6 | 3 | 1 | — | N/A | N/A | |
1923 | Wallace Wade | 4th | — | 7 | 2 | 1 | — | N/A | N/A | |
1924* | 1st * | — | 8 | 1 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | ||
1925 †* | T–1st * | — | 10 | 0 | 0 | Won 1926 Rose Bowl vs. Washington Huskies, 20–19 ^ | N/A | N/A | ||
1926 †* | 1st * | — | 9 | 0 | 1 | Tie 1927 Rose Bowl vs. Stanford, 7–7 ^ | N/A | N/A | ||
1927 | 10th | — | 5 | 4 | 1 | — | N/A | N/A | ||
1928 | 5th | — | 6 | 3 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | ||
1929 | 11th | — | 6 | 3 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | ||
1930 †* | T–1st * | — | 10 | 0 | 0 | Won 1931 Rose Bowl vs. Washington State Cougars, 24–0 ^ | N/A | N/A | ||
1931 | Frank Thomas | 3rd | — | 9 | 1 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | |
1932 | T–5th | — | 8 | 2 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | ||
1933 * | SEC | 1st * | — | 7 | 1 | 1 | — | N/A | N/A | |
1934 †* | T–1st * | — | 10 | 0 | 0 | Won 1935 Rose Bowl vs. Stanford Indians, 29–13 ^ | N/A | N/A | ||
1935 | 5th | — | 6 | 2 | 1 | — | N/A | N/A | ||
1936 | 2nd | — | 8 | 0 | 1 | — | 4 | N/A | ||
1937 * | 1st * | — | 9 | 1 | 0 | Lost 1938 Rose Bowl to California Golden Bears, 0–13 ^ | 4 | N/A | ||
1938 | T–2nd | — | 7 | 1 | 1 | — | 13 | N/A | ||
1939 | 8th | — | 5 | 3 | 1 | — | — | N/A | ||
1940 | 4th | — | 7 | 2 | 0 | — | — | N/A | ||
1941 † | 3rd | — | 9 | 2 | 0 | Won 1942 Cotton Bowl Classic vs. Texas A&M Aggies, 29–21 ^ | 20 | N/A | ||
1942 | 5th | — | 8 | 3 | 0 | Won 1943 Orange Bowl vs. Boston College Eagles, 37–21 ^ | 10 | N/A | ||
1944 | 4th | — | 5 | 2 | 2 | Lost 1945 Sugar Bowl to Duke Blue Devils, 26–29 ^ | — | N/A | ||
1945 * | 1st * | — | 10 | 0 | 0 | Won 1946 Rose Bowl vs. USC Trojans, 34–14 ^ | 2 | N/A | ||
1946 | 6th | — | 7 | 4 | 0 | — | — | N/A | ||
1947 | Harold Drew | 3rd | — | 8 | 3 | 0 | Lost 1948 Sugar Bowl to Texas Longhorns, 7–27 ^ | 6 | N/A | |
1948 | 6th | — | 6 | 4 | 1 | — | — | N/A | ||
1949 | 6th | — | 6 | 3 | 1 | — | — | N/A | ||
1950 | 3rd | — | 9 | 2 | 0 | — | 16 | 17 | ||
1951 | T–7th | — | 5 | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | ||
1952 | 4th | — | 10 | 2 | 0 | Won 1953 Orange Bowl vs. Syracuse Orangemen, 61–6 ^ | 9 | 9 | ||
1953 * | 1st * | — | 6 | 3 | 3 | Lost 1954 Cotton Bowl Classic to Rice Owls, 6–28 ^ | 13 | 11 | ||
1954 | 8th | — | 4 | 5 | 2 | — | — | — | ||
1955 | Jennings B. Whitworth | 12th | — | 0 | 10 | 0 | — | — | — | |
1956 | T–8th | — | 2 | 7 | 1 | — | — | — | ||
1957 | 11th | — | 2 | 7 | 1 | — | — | — | ||
1958 | Bear Bryant | T–6th | — | 5 | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | |
1959 | 4th | — | 7 | 2 | 2 | Lost 1959 Liberty Bowl to Penn State Nittany Lions, 0–7 ^ | 10 | 13 | ||
1960 | 3rd | — | 8 | 1 | 2 | Tie 1960 Bluebonnet Bowl vs. Texas Longhorns, 3–3 ^ | 9 | 10 | ||
1961 †* | T–1st * | — | 11 | 0 | 0 | Won 1962 Sugar Bowl vs. Arkansas Razorbacks, 10–3 ^ | 1 | 1 | ||
1962 | 2nd | — | 10 | 1 | 0 | Won 1963 Orange Bowl vs. Oklahoma Sooners, 17–0 ^ | 5 | 5 | ||
1963 | 3rd | — | 9 | 2 | 0 | Won 1964 Sugar Bowl vs. Ole Miss Rebels, 10–7 ^ | 8 | 9 | ||
1964 †* | 1st * | — | 10 | 1 | 0 | Lost 1965 Orange Bowl to Texas Longhorns, 17–21 ^ | 1 | 1 | ||
1965 †* | 1st * | — | 9 | 1 | 1 | Won 1966 Orange Bowl vs. Nebraska Cornhuskers, 39–28 ^ | 1 | 4 | ||
1966 * | T–1st * | — | 11 | 0 | 0 | Won 1967 Sugar Bowl vs. Nebraska Cornhuskers, 34–7 ^ | 3 | 3 | ||
1967 | 2nd | — | 8 | 2 | 1 | Lost 1968 Cotton Bowl Classic to Texas A&M Aggies, 16–20 ^ | 8 | 7 | ||
1968 | T–3rd | — | 8 | 3 | 0 | Lost 1968 Gator Bowl to Missouri Tigers, 10–35 ^ | 17 | 12 | ||
1969 | 8th | — | 6 | 5 | 0 | Lost 1969 Liberty Bowl to Colorado Buffaloes, 33–47 ^ | — | — | ||
1970 | T–7th | — | 6 | 5 | 1 | Tie 1970 Bluebonnet Bowl to Oklahoma Sooners, 24–24 ^ | — | — | ||
1971 * | 1st * | — | 11 | 1 | 0 | Lost 1972 Orange Bowl to Nebraska Cornhuskers, 6–38 ^ | 4 | 2 | ||
1972 * | 1st * | — | 10 | 2 | 0 | Lost 1973 Cotton Bowl Classic to Texas Longhorns, 13–17 ^ | 7 | 4 | ||
1973 †* | 1st * | — | 11 | 1 | 0 | Lost 1973 Sugar Bowl to Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 23–24 ^ | 4 | 1 | ||
1974 * | 1st * | — | 11 | 1 | 0 | Lost 1975 Orange Bowl to Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 11–13 ^ | 5 | 2 | ||
1975 * | 1st * | — | 11 | 1 | 0 | Won 1975 Sugar Bowl vs. Penn State Nittany Lions, 13–6 ^ | 3 | 3 | ||
1976 | 2nd | — | 9 | 3 | 0 | Won 1976 Liberty Bowl vs. UCLA Bruins, 36–6 ^ | 11 | 9 | ||
1977 * | 1st * | — | 11 | 1 | 0 | Won 1978 Sugar Bowl vs. Ohio State Buckeyes, 35–6 ^ | 2 | 2 | ||
1978 †* | 1st * | — | 11 | 1 | 0 | Won 1979 Sugar Bowl vs. Penn State Nittany Lions, 14–7 ^ | 1 | 2 | ||
1979 †* | 1st * | — | 12 | 0 | 0 | Won 1980 Sugar Bowl vs. Arkansas Razorbacks, 24–9 ^ | 1 | 1 | ||
1980 | T–2nd | — | 10 | 2 | 0 | Won 1981 Cotton Bowl Classic vs. Baylor Bears, 30–2 ^ | 6 | 6 | ||
1981 * | T–1st * | — | 9 | 2 | 1 | Lost 1982 Cotton Bowl Classic to Texas Longhorns, 12–14 ^ | 7 | 6 | ||
1982 | T–6th | — | 8 | 4 | 0 | Won 1982 Liberty Bowl vs. Illinois Fighting Illini, 21–15 ^ | — | 17 | ||
1983 | Ray Perkins | T–3rd | — | 8 | 4 | 0 | Won 1983 Sun Bowl vs. SMU Mustangs, 28–7 ^ | 15 | 12 | |
1984 | T–7th | — | 5 | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | ||
1985 | T–3rd | — | 9 | 2 | 1 | Won 1985 Aloha Bowl vs. USC Trojans, 24–3 ^ | 13 | 14 | ||
1986 | T–2nd | — | 10 | 3 | 0 | Won 1986 Sun Bowl vs. Washington Huskies, 28–6 ^ | 9 | 9 | ||
1987 | Bill Curry | T–4th | — | 7 | 5 | 0 | Lost 1988 Hall of Fame Bowl to Michigan Wolverines, 24–28 ^ | — | — | |
1988 | T–4th | — | 9 | 3 | 0 | Won 1988 Sun Bowl vs. Army, 29–28 ^ | 17 | 17 | ||
1989 * | T–1st * | — | 10 | 2 | 0 | Lost 1990 Sugar Bowl to Miami Hurricanes, 25–33 ^ | 9 | 7 | ||
1990 | Gene Stallings | T–3rd | — | 7 | 5 | 0 | Lost 1991 Fiesta Bowl to Louisville Cardinals, 7–34 ^ | — | — | |
1991 | 2nd | — | 11 | 1 | 0 | Won 1991 Blockbuster Bowl vs. Colorado Buffaloes, 30–25 ^ | 5 | 5 | ||
1992 †* | 1st * | 1st ‡ | 13 | 0 | 0 | Won 1993 Sugar Bowl vs. Miami Hurricanes, 34–13 ^ | 1 | 1 | ||
1993 [A 6] |
2nd | 2nd ‡ [A 7] |
1 (9) | 12 (3) | 0 (1) | Won 1993 Gator Bowl vs. North Carolina Tar Heels, 24–10 ^ | 14 | 13 | ||
1994 | 2nd | 1st ‡ | 12 | 1 | 0 | Won 1995 Citrus Bowl vs. Ohio State Buckeyes, 24–17 ^ | 5 | 4 | ||
1995 [A 8] |
— | T–2nd | 8 | 3 | 0 | Ineligible | 21 | — | ||
1996 | 2nd | T–1st ‡ | 10 | 3 | — [A 9] |
Won 1997 Outback Bowl vs. Michigan Wolverines, 17–14 ^ | 11 | 11 | ||
1997 | Mike DuBose | — | T–5th | 4 | 7 | — | — | — | — | |
1998 | — | 3rd | 7 | 5 | — | Lost 1998 Music City Bowl to Virginia Tech Hokies, 7–38 ^ | — | — | ||
1999 * | 1st * | 1st ‡ | 10 | 3 | — | Lost 2000 Orange Bowl to Michigan Wolverines, 34–35 ^ | 8 | 8 | ||
2000 | — | T–5th | 3 | 8 | — | — | — | — | ||
2001 | Dennis Franchione | — | T–3rd | 7 | 5 | — | Won 2001 Independence Bowl vs. Iowa State Cyclones, 14–13 ^ | — | — | |
2002 [A 10] |
— | 1st [A 11] |
10 | 3 | — | Ineligible | 11 | — | ||
2003 | Mike Shula | — | 5th | 4 | 9 | — | Ineligible | — | — | |
2004 | — | T–3rd | 6 | 6 | — | Lost 2004 Music City Bowl to Minnesota Golden Gophers, 16–20 ^ | — | — | ||
2005 [A 12] |
— | 3rd | 0 (10) | 2 | — | Won (vacated) 2006 Cotton Bowl Classic vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders, 13–10 ^ | 8 | 8 | ||
2006 [A 13][A 14] |
— | T–4th | 0 (6) | 7 | — | Lost 2006 Independence Bowl to Oklahoma State Cowboys, 31–34 ^ | — | — | ||
2007 [A 15] |
Nick Saban | — | T–3rd | 2 (7) | 6 | — | Won 2007 Independence Bowl vs. Colorado Buffaloes, 30–24 ^ | — | — | |
2008 | 2nd | 1st ‡ | 12 | 2 | — | Lost 2009 Sugar Bowl to Utah Utes, 17–31 ^ | 6 | 6 | ||
2009 †* | 1st * | 1st ‡ | 14 | 0 | — | Won 2010 BCS National Championship Game vs. Texas Longhorns, 37–21 ^ | 1 | 1 | ||
2010 | — | 4th | 10 | 3 | — | Won 2011 Capital One Bowl vs. Michigan State Spartans, 49–7 ^ | 10 | 11 | ||
2011 † | — | 2nd | 12 | 1 | — | Won 2012 BCS National Championship Game vs. LSU Tigers, 21–0 ^ | 1 | 1 | ||
2012 †* | 1st * | 1st ‡ | 13 | 1 | — | Won 2013 BCS National Championship Game vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 42–14 ^ | 1 | 1 | ||
2013 | — | T–1st ‡ | 11 | 2 | — | Lost 2014 Sugar Bowl to Oklahoma Sooners, 31–45 ^ | 7 | 8 | ||
2014 * | 1st * | 1st ‡ | 12 | 2 | — | Lost 2015 Sugar Bowl to Ohio State Buckeyes, 35–42 ^ | 4 | 4 | ||
2015 †* | 1st * | 1st ‡ | 14 | 1 | — | Won 2015 Cotton Bowl Classic vs. Michigan State Spartans, 38–0 ^ Won 2016 CFP National Championship vs. Clemson Tigers, 45–40 ^ |
1 | 1 | ||
2016 * | 1st * | 1st ‡ | 14 | 1 | — | Won 2016 Peach Bowl vs. Washington Huskies, 24–7 ^ Lost 2017 CFP National Championship to Clemson Tigers, 31–35 ^ |
2 | 2 | ||
2017 † | — | T–1st ‡ | 13 | 1 | — | Won 2018 Sugar Bowl vs. Clemson Tigers, 24–6 ^ Won 2018 CFP National Championship vs. Georgia Bulldogs, 26–23 ^ |
1 | 1 | ||
2018 * | 1st * | 1st ‡ | 14 | 1 | — | Won 2018 Orange Bowl vs. Oklahoma Sooners, 45–34 ^ Lost 2019 CFP National Championship to Clemson Tigers, 16–44 ^ |
2 | 2 | ||
2019 | — | 2nd | 11 | 2 | — | Won 2020 Citrus Bowl vs. Michigan Wolverines, 35–16 ^ | 8 | 8 | ||
2020 †* | 1st * | 1st ‡ | 13 | 0 | — | Won 2021 Rose Bowl vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 31–14 ^ Won 2021 CFP National Championship vs. Ohio State Buckeyes, 52–24 ^ |
1 | 1 | ||
2021 * | 1st * | 1st ‡ | 13 | 2 | — | Won 2021 Cotton Bowl Classic vs. Cincinnati Bearcats, 27–6 ^ Lost 2022 CFP National Championship to Georgia Bulldogs, 18–33 ^ |
2 | 2 | ||
2022 | — | T–1st ‡ | 11 | 2 | — | Won 2022 Sugar Bowl vs. Kansas State Wildcats, 45–20 ^ | 5 | 5 | ||
2023 * | 1st * | 1st ‡ | 12 | 2 | — | Lost Rose Bowl to Michigan Wolverines, 20–27 ^ | 5 | 5 |
Wins | Losses | Ties | Win percentage | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Regular season games | 853 | 304 | 40 | .728 |
Conference Championship games | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 |
Bowl games | 46 | 27 | 3 | .620 |
All games | 954 | 336 | 43 | .733 |
Reference:[3] |