Nebraska, Miami (FL) and Penn State dominated college football while Ronald Reagan was President of the United States.
Those three teams combined for 233 wins and four national championships from 1981-88, Nebraska was the only team in the country to win more than 80 games, and Miami was the only team to win at least 75 games and two national championships.
Who was the best team of the Reagan Administration?
Here's the best college football team during each of the 19 presidencies:
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William Howard Taft
March 4, 1909 – March 4, 1913
Best Team: Harvard
Two of Harvard's 12 claimed national championships came during the Taft Administration: 1910 and 1912.
They had a winning percentage of .889 from 1909-12, tied for the fourth-highest in the country among teams who played at least 20 games.
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Woodrow Wilson
March 4, 1913 – March 4, 1921
Best Team: Notre Dame
Notre Dame led the country in winning percentage (.883), posting a record of 55-6-3, from 1913-1920. Over those eight seasons, they went undefeated three times, including back-to-back 9-0 records in 1919 and 1920, both of which resulted in national championships from NCAA-recognized organizations.
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Warren G. Harding
March 4, 1921 – August 2, 1923
Best Team: Cornell
Cornell was one of four teams that went undefeated during Warren G. Harding's two seasons in the White House; Iowa, Cal and Vandy also went undefeated.
Cornell went 8-0 in both 1921 and 1922 and were awarded back-to-back national championships by several organizations.
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Calvin Coolidge
August 2, 1923 – March 4, 1929
Best Team: USC
Of the five teams who played more than 60 games from 1923-28, USC was the only team to win at least 82 percent of their games; USC went 51-9-2 (.839) over those six seasons, the most wins and best winning percentage in college football.
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Herbert Hoover
March 4, 1929 – March 4, 1933
Best Team: Tennessee
Tennessee doesn't claim any national championships from 1929-32 despite a 36-1-3 record over those four seasons. They went undefeated in 1929, 1931 and 1932.
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Franklin D. Roosevelt
March 4, 1933 – April 12, 1945
Best Team: Minnesota
Franklin D. Roosevelt, the longest-serving U.S. President, was in office for 12 college football seasons.
His presidency was dominated by the likes of Alabama, Duke, Minnesota and others, and while the Gophers own just the fourth-best winning percentage over this period (.768, 73-20-6), they did win AP national championships in 1936, 1940 and 194, the only program to win multiple AP titles under FDR.
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Harry S. Truman
April 12, 1945 – Jan. 20, 1953
Best Team: Notre Dame
Notre Dame is the only team to win multiple AP national championships during Truman's presidency.
The Irish were champions in 1946, 1947 and 1949, and posted the highest winning percentage in the country from 1945-52, winning over 83 percent of their games (61-10-6).
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Dwight D. Eisenhower
Jan. 20, 1953 – Jan. 20, 1961
Best Team: Oklahoma
President Eisenhower's first term was dominated by the Sooners.
They won championships in both 1955 and 1956, enough to earn the nod over Ole Miss despite the Rebels having a slightly better record, 71-12-3 vs. 70-12-2.
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John F. Kennedy
Jan. 20, 1961 – Nov. 22, 1963
Best Team: Texas
For the sake of simplicity, all 1963 college football results have been applied to John F. Kennedy despite his assassination on Nov. 22, 1963, weeks before the season concluded.
Alabama (1961), USC (1962) and Texas (1963) won the three titles under JFK, but the Trojans won just 22 games while the Longhorns and Crimson Tide each won 30.
The difference: Texas went 30-2-1 and Alabama 30-3.
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Lyndon B. Johnson
Nov. 22, 1963 – Jan. 20, 1969
Best Team: Alabama
By attributing all 1963 results to the JFK Administration, Lyndon B. Johnson was president for five full college football seasons.
During LBJ's presidency, Alabama led the nation in wins (46-7-2) and were AP national champions in 1964 and 1965. Notre Dame and USC, two of the other four teams to win 40 or more games under LBJ, won titles in 1966 and 1967, respectively, while Ohio State (34-12) was named national champs days before Johnson departed the Oval Office in 1969.
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Richard Nixon
Jan. 20, 1969 – Aug. 9, 1974
Best Team: Nebraska
Nebraska was one of three teams to win 51 games between 1969-1973. The Cornhuskers (51-6-3) had identical win-loss records as both Arizona State and Penn State (51-6), but they captured two more titles than those teams, combined.
Hall of Fame coach Bob Devaney led Nebraska to the 1970 and 1971 AP titles, which were sandwiched by crowns from Texas (1969), USC (1972) and Notre Dame (1973). None of those three teams, however, won more than 47 games during Nixon's run.
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Gerald Ford
Aug. 9, 1974 – Jan. 20, 1977
Best Team: Oklahoma
Three teams won 30 or more games during Ford's three seasons in office: Oklahoma (31-3-1), Alabama (31-5) and Ohio State (30-5-1). Of those three, only Alabama won an AP title.
The Crimson Tide claimed the championship in both 1974 and 1975, while Pittsburgh (1976) won the other title during Ford's brief administration.
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Jimmy Carter
Jan. 20, 1977 – Jan. 20, 1981
Best Team: Alabama
Alabama won half of the four championships during the Carter Administration: 1978 and 1979.
The Crimson Tide, one of four teams to win 40 or more games over this four-year period (Oklahoma, 42; BYU, 41; Penn State, 40) won nearly 92 percent of their games (44-4), and their titles were sandwiched by AP crowns from Notre Dame (1997) and Georgia (1980).
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Ronald Reagan
Jan. 20, 1981 – Jan. 20, 1989
Best Team: Miami (FL)
Nebraska had more wins (83) and higher win percentage (.865) than Miami (79 wins, .832), and the Huskers had six seasons of 10 wins or more, but captured zero titles during the Reagan Administration, whereas the Canes won championships in both 1983 and 1987.
Penn State also won two titles during the eight-year Reagan presidency, doing so in 1982 and 1986. The Joe Paterno-led Nittany Lions, however, went a combined 27-19-1 during the 1983, 1984, 1987 and 1988 seasons, severely impacting their eight-year win total of 71.
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George H.W. Bush
Jan. 20, 1989 – Jan. 20, 1993
Best Team: Miami (FL)
Miami's dominance during Reagan's reign carried into the George H.W. Bush Administration. The 'Canes lost just four games (44-4) during the Bush 41's time in the White House and won two more national titles: 1989 and 1991.
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Bill Clinton
Jan. 20, 1993 – Jan. 20, 2001
Best Team: Nebraska
Nebraska and Florida State dominated college football during Bill Clinton's eventful presidency.
The Tom Osborne-led Huskers (91-10) and Bobby Bowden-led Seminoles (88-10-1) combined for four national championships and only four losses in eight seasons; Nebraska won titles in 1994 and 1995 and Florida State won in 1993 and 1999.
Stunningly, it could have been six titles. Nebraska, who won 10 or more games in all but one year during the Clinton administration, went 13-0 in 1997, but Michigan was voted AP champs. Florida State, who won 10 or more games in all eight years, went 11-1 in 1996, but Florida nabbed the crown.
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George W. Bush
Jan. 20, 2001 – Jan. 20, 2009
Best Team: LSU
The wealth was spread during George W. Bush's two terms; four teams won at least 88 games (Boise State, Oklahoma, Texas and USC).
Boise State, Texas and USC tied for the best win percentage from 2001-2008 with an astounding .854 clip (88-15), but the quartet combined to win just two national championships, while both LSU and Florida won two titles apiece. The Tigers have a slight edge in victories (82 vs. 77) due to the Gators' three-year stretch of mediocrity from 2002-2004 (23-15).
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Barack Obama
Jan. 20, 2009 – Jan. 20, 2017
Best Team: Alabama
Alabama owned college football during President Obama's time in the Oval Office.
The Crimson Tide were the only team with more than 88 wins (100 wins) and the only team with a winning percentage of at least .900. They won four national championships.
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Donald J. Trump
Jan. 20, 2017 – Present
Best Team: Clemson
Alabama and Clemson are both 27-2 in the last two seasons, tied for the most wins (and second-best winning percentage behind UCF) in the FBS. They each have a national championship while Donald Trump has been in office.
The difference: Clemson smoked Alabama in the 2019 national championship.
