Factoid 210 - Odds to Win National Championships (based on team’s founding century) Part One

What are the odds of your team to win a national championship based on the century they started playing football?

Ninety-two percent of all national championships have been won by teams founded in the 19th century*, eight percent of all national championships have been won by teams founded in the 20th century**, and no teams founded in the 21st century*** have won a national championship.

So based on what year the team was founded and only on that factor: there is a 1.12% chance of your team winning the national championship if it was founded in the 19th century; there is a .2% chance of your team winning the national championship if it was founded in the 20th century; and a zero percent chance of winning the national championship if your team was founded in the 21st century.

Is this a useless statistic? In a sense maybe; on the other hand college football is about tradition. Tradition is stronger the longer your team has been around.

* 19th century: 1801 to 1900
** 20th century: 1901 to 2000
*** 21st century: 2001 to 2100