Florida Gators prepare to defend the Perpetual National Championship against Charleston Southern September 5th in Ben Hill Griffith Stadium. This will be Florida’s 27th chance at the title, which they’ve won 11 times.

College Football Heavyweight Champs

Charleston Southern University will play for the “Grandaddy of All National Championships,” the Perpetual National Championship, September 5th when the Buccaneers face off against current title holder, the University of Florida. The Gators took the title from Oklahoma in the 2009 BCS game. This will be the 1,359th title game for the Perpetual National Championship. The Gators have played in 27 of those title games and have won or defended the title eleven times. The last time Florida held the title was in 2007, when after winning and defending the title five consecutive times, the Gators lost to Auburn 20-17 on a last minute field goal by Auburn’s Wes Byrum.

What is the Perpetual National Championship?

The Perpetual National Championship is awarded to college football teams in a continuous series of boxing-style title matches. The title is contested every time the holder of the title takes the field. The first title was won by Rutgers in 1869 when they defeated Princeton 6-5 in the first college football game. Princeton won the title back seven days later, beating Rutgers 8-0. The winner of the tittle match wins an award affectionately referred to as The Perp. The All-Time Perp is the team who won or defended the Perpetual National Championship the most times. To determine the All-tIme Perp, teams were given one point for winning or defending the title and zero points for a tie. Since Division I-A college football doesn’t currently have a playoff and relies on voters to determine a championship game, the Perpetual National Championship is the only national championship decided on the field.

The Perpetual National Championship has several advantages over the current mythical national championship determined by the Bowl Championship Series.

• It continues college football’s emphasis on the regular season because the title is contested every time the title-holder takes the field.

• It can co-exist with the current BCS system or any future playoff and will often have a different champion than other national championships.

• It doesn’t rely on biased votes from coaches and assistants, like those of the USA Today coaches poll, or uninformed parties like the Harris Poll.

• The lesser conferences and independent teams get to play for the title anytime a larger school has the courage to schedule them.

To find out more on the Perpetual National Championship visit their website.