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Just about every sport has their form of MVP award, whether they have a special name for it or not. However, perhaps none is more prestigious than the Heisman Trophy in college football. Despite it not being for a professional sport, many sports fans appreciate the Heisman Trust, and we’ve broken down the collegiate programs with the most winners.
The list of NCAAF programs with the most Heisman Trophies has a four-way tie atop the list, but it feels appropriate to begin with the University of Southern California. That’s because their seventh Heisman winner was actually just recently added to the list during this past offseason.
That would be Reggie Bush, who was stripped of his Heisman that he won in 2005 due to off-field issues. However, with the prominence of NIL in college football over the past few years, money acceptance has become much more accepted. Regardless, the focus is their seven winners, and USC has been a running back factory.
Although the most recent winner was quarterback Caleb Williams in 2022, it also includes Mike Garrett (1965), OJ Simpson (1968), Charles White (1979), Marcus Allen (1981), Carson Palmer (2002), Matt Leinhart (2004) and Bush (2005).
Another collegiate football program that has been dominant is the Ohio State Buckeyes, who have made seven appearances in the College Football Playoff. That doesn’t include the BCS days, and they’ve had high-profile individuals propelling them to that success.
In fact, the Buckeyes have the only back-to-back Heisman winner – Archie Griffin – which is remarkable given its rich and lengthy history. Ohio State also boasts the first winner of the Heisman Trophy, which was Les Horvath way back in 1944.
Since then, their winners include Vic Janowicz (1950), Howard Cassady (1955), Archie Griffin (1974 & 1975), Eddie George (1995) and Troy Smith (2006)
The most recent Buckeye winner is a perfect transition to the Sooners, as many modern fans likely remember Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray winning the award in 2018. Now a member of the Arizona Cardinals, he has a similar running style to Troy Smith.
Athletic quarterbacks have been a theme of Heisman winners over the past two decades, and Murray was no exception. Prior to his claim to the award was another quarterback that remains in the NFL with Baker Mayfield.
Better yet, quarterbacks have been prominent overall with the Sooners’ Heisman winners, as they include Billy Vessels (1952), Steve Owens (1969), Billy Sims (1978), Jason White (2003), Sam Bradford (2008), Mayfield (2017) and Murray (2018).
Even without their seven Heisman Trophy winners, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish always seem to find a way to be in the headlines. That is often due to being independent rather than playing in an established conference, which has added an extra layer to the College Football Playoff.
Regardless, it’s been a prestigious program for several decades, and much of their success came back in the 1940s through to the 1960s. However, they have also had a more recent Heisman Trophy winner in Tim Brown, who went on to make the Hall of Fame but was never able to grab an elusive Super Bowl ring.
Prior to Brown in 1987 was Angelo Bertelli (1943), John Lujack (1947), Leon Hart (1949), John Lattner (1953), Paul Hornung (1956) and John Huarte (1964).
The final team, and only one on our list of NCAAF programs with the most Heisman Trophy winners without seven, brings us to the program that has been thought of as the most dominant in the sport. Of course, that may change with the retirement of head coach Nick Saban, but the Crimson Tide have won six of the last 14 National Championships.
However, it’s mostly been down to team success as opposed to individuals, as they have barely over half the Heisman winners as the others above them. Despite it being primarily a quarterback award, they’ve had running backs and wide receivers among their winners, and three of the four remain in the NFL today.
The Alabama Heisman Trophy winners include Mark Ingram (2009), Derrick Henry (2015), Devonta Smith (2020) and Bryce Young (2021).
Mark has been a lifelong fan of all sports, and five years ago turned it into a profession, specializing in the NFL, NHL and MLB. He is a diehard Baltimore Ravens fan and has had his work published in sites such as Sports Illustrated, Pickswise and other top outlets.