Dunkel System

Dunkel System
AbbreviationDuS
Formation1929
Purposecollege football ratings, national championship selections
Websitehttps://www.dunkelindex.com/

The Dunkel System, also known as the Dunkel College Football Index,[1][2] is a college football rating system developed in 1929 by Richard C. "Dick" Dunkel, Sr. (1906–1975), to determine a national champion.[3] Dunkel rated college football teams from 1929 until his death in 1975.[4] His ratings are recognized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in its Football Bowl Subdivision record book.[4] The NCAA describes Dunkel's methodology as a "power index system."[4] Dunkel described his system an index and claimed that "his difference by scores is scientifically produced."[5] It was cited as the first college football ratings system.[6]

From the late 1930s through the early 1960s, Dunkel also hosted a weekly radio program called "Dick Dunkel Football Forecasts".[7][8][9] He also issued college basketball forecasts and rankings in conjunction with Converse, starting in the 1940s.[10][11]

Dunkel died at age 69 in December 1975 at Daytona Beach, Florida.[12] From 1975 to 2002, Dunkel's son, Dick Dunkel, Jr., continued to issue ratings,[4] but the popularity of the syndicated service declined. Starting in 2002, the rankings were prepared jointly by Dick Dunkel, Jr., Bob Dunkel, and John Duck, executive producer of the Daytona Beach News Journal.[4]

Dunkel national champions

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The following list identifies the college football national champions as selected by the Dunkel System, according to the 2015 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records book.[4]

Season Champion
1929 Notre Dame
1930 Notre Dame
1931 USC
1932 USC
1933 Ohio State
1934 Alabama
1935 Princeton
1936 Minnesota
1937 California
1938 Tennessee
1939 Texas A&M
1940 Tennessee
1941 Minnesota
1942 Ohio State
1943 Notre Dame
1944 Army
1945 Army
1946 Notre Dame
1947 Michigan
1948 Michigan
1949 Notre Dame
1950 Tennessee
1951 Maryland
1952 Michigan State
1953 Notre Dame
1954 UCLA
1955 Oklahoma
1956 Oklahoma
1957 Michigan State
1958 LSU
1959 Ole Miss
1960 Ole Miss
1961 Alabama
1962 USC
1963 Texas
1964 Michigan
1965 Michigan State
1966 Notre Dame
1967 Notre Dame
1968 Ohio State
1969 Texas
1970 Nebraska
1971 Nebraska
1972 USC
1973 Oklahoma
1974 Oklahoma
1975 Oklahoma
1976 USC
1977 Notre Dame
1978 Oklahoma
1979 Alabama
1980 Oklahoma
1981 Penn State
1982 Penn State
1983 Miami
1984 Florida
1985 Oklahoma
1986 Oklahoma
1987 Miami
1988 Notre Dame
1989 Miami
1990 Georgia Tech
1991 Washington
1992 Alabama
1993 Florida State
1994 Florida State
1995 Nebraska
1996 Florida
1997 Nebraska
1998 Tennessee
1999 Florida State
2000 Oklahoma
2001 Miami
2002 USC
2003 LSU
2004 USC
2005 Texas
2006 Florida
2007[13] USC
2008 Florida
2009 Alabama
2010 Auburn
2011 Alabama
2012 Alabama
2013 Florida State

† Dunkel's archived official website gives USC as its 2007 selection,[13] while the 2017 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records book lists Dunkel's selection as LSU.[14]: 112 

The July, 2023, website for the Dunkel Index displays revised rankings for seasons from 2002 to the present, based on "index rating for the season adjusted by won/loss record", which results in different top-ranked teams (compared to the Dunkel "pure index rating") for the 2005 through 2010 seasons.[15]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Simple, says Dunkel". Tucson Daily Citizen. November 11, 1976. p. 43.
  2. ^ "Dunkel rates Huskers fourth". Columbus Telegram. November 27, 1974. p. 50.
  3. ^ "About Us". Dunkel Index. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d e f National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) (2015). "National Poll Rankings" (PDF). NCAA Division I Football Records. NCAA. pp. 105–106. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 9, 2016. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  5. ^ "Dick Dunkel". The Daily Standard (MO). September 9, 1966. p. 4.
  6. ^ Dunekl: Oldest Index in US, web: The Sacramento Bee, 1978, retrieved 13 March 2023
  7. ^ "Football Forecast on KRNR Program". The News-Review. October 20, 1938. p. 8.
  8. ^ "Spotlight Features". The Lincoln Star. October 17, 1939.
  9. ^ "Tonight". The Ogden Standard-Examiner. November 24, 1939.
  10. ^ Walt Dobbins (January 5, 1944). "I May Be Wrong". The Nebraska State Journal. p. 7.
  11. ^ "Four New Teams Rated in Top Ten". Delaware County Daily Times. January 23, 1947. p. 31.
  12. ^ "Dick Dunkel Dies". Cumberland Evening Times. December 5, 1975. p. 13.
  13. ^ a b Dunkel, Bob. "Final 2007: Trojans Finish Ranked No. 1". The Dunkel Index. Archived from the original on September 6, 2008. Retrieved October 31, 2024. LSU was able to beat Ohio State (38-24) to claim its second BCS championship, but it was USC that finished with the top rating in the Index after dismantling Illinois in the Rose Bowl (49-17). The Trojans' domination of the Illini -- a team that had beaten Ohio State on the road during the final weeks of the regular season -- vaulted USC to the top spot while the Tigers finished No. 2.
  14. ^ 2017 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). Indianapolis: The National Collegiate Athletic Association. July 2017. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  15. ^ Dunkel, Bob. "FBS 2023 Teams Rankings". The Dunkel Index. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
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