History UsefulNotes / PowerFiveConferences

'''Notable Historic Players:''' Byron "Whizzer" White, Hale Irwin, Cliff Branch, Bo Matthews, J.V. Cain, [[Wrestling/{{Vader}} Leon White]], Eric Bieniemy, Darian Hagan, Tom Rouen, Rashaan Salaam, Rae Carruth, Kordell Stewart, Joel Klatt, Mason Crosby, David Bakhtiari, Shadeur Sanders, Travis Hunter\\

The [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers]] have major power in Eastern and Western UsefulNotes/{{Pennsylvania}} respectively, but the Nittany Lions of '''Pennsylvania State University''' reign supreme in the state's center. The school has a fairly well-rounded athletics offering, with esteemed programs in men's gymnastics (12 national titles) and wrestling (11, ten of them since 2011), women's volleyball (7), and the most-titled ''fencing'' program in the NCAA (13).[[note]]Plus 11 men's soccer titles from the pre-NCAA era in the early 20th century and 12 in women's rugby, not regulated by the NCAA but now recognized as one of its "Emerging Sports for Women".[[/note]] These all give the program the most national titles in the conference and fifth most in the nation, but all these other sports' popularities pale in comparison to the Nittany Lions' football team. "White Outs" of Penn State fans packing out the 100,000+ capacity Beaver Stadium dressed in all white comprise one of the most iconic (and intimidating) sights in all of sports.\\\

This page lays out the alignments of college football conferences as of the most recent 2023 season (with updates in progress for 2024) and provides a description of their more prominent programs. Below are descriptions of each of the conferences and of the individual programs. Win-loss records are (mostly) accurate as of the end of the 2023 season.[[note]]Disclaimer: Listing win-loss numbers and even national championships is ''complicated'', to say the least. College programs (and even colleges themselves) frequently dissolve and reform, change divisions and conferences, play in games not recognized by the NCAA, have wins officially rescinded due to rule violations, and do other things that make it hard to judge schools' true performance. Since the NCAA doesn't even officially ''recognize'' a national champion at the FBS level, teams are often inconsistent with what titles they acknowledge, sometimes leaving them unclaimed even if picked by numerous selectors and other times jumping on a title given by a random panel that no other school takes seriously. We try to provide context and qualifications when possible, but this isn't The Other Wiki.[[/note]] For information on the other five FBS college conferences, check out UsefulNotes/GroupOfFiveConferences. For independent schools and FCS conferences, see UsefulNotes/CollegiateAmericanFootballConferences. Notre Dame is also listed on that page, since it's considered Power 5 but is not a football member of such a conference.

'''Notable Historic Players:''' Paul Duhart, Rick Casares, Doug Dickey, Steve Spurrier, Carlos Alvarez, Jack Youngblood, John Reaves, John James, Wes Chandler, Cris Collinsworth, Lomas Brown, Emmitt Smith, Errict Rhett, Huey Richardson, Danny Wuerffel, Javon Kearse, [[Wrestling/TitusONeil Thaddeus Bullard]], Jesse Palmer, Gerard Warren, Fred Taylor, Rex Grossman, Chris Leak, Tim Tebow, Percy Harvin, Aaron Hernandez, Carlos Dunlap, Vernon Hargreaves\\

'''Notable Historic Players:''' Fielding H. Yost, Ben Schwartzwalder, Joe Strahan, Sam Huff, Chuck Howley, Dick Leftridge, Oliver Luck, Jeff Hostetler, Rich Rodriguez, Brian Jozwiak, Mike Vanderjagt, Todd Sauerbrun, Marc Bulger, Chris Henry, Adam "Pacman" Jones, Pat [=McAfee=], Pat White, Geno Smith, Tavon Austin, Kevin White, Stedman Bailey\\

'''Conference Affiliations:''' Ind. (1890-1901), OAC[[labelnote:*]]Ohio Athletic Conference, now D-III[[/labelnote]] (1902-11), Big Ten (1912-)\\
'''Overall Win Record:''' 964-333-53 (.734)\\
'''Bowl Record:''' 26-28 (.481)\\

'''National Championships:''' 8 (1942, 1954, 1957, 1961, 1968, 1970, 2002, 2014)[[note]]9 unclaimed (1933, 1944-45, 1969, 1973-75, 1998, 2006)[[/note]]\\
'''Conference Championships:''' 41 (2 OAC - 1906, 1912; 39 Big 10 - 1916-17, 1920, 1935, 1939, 1942, 1944, 1949, 1954-55, 1957, 1961, 1968-70, 1972-77, 1979, 1981, 1984, 1986, 1993, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2005-09, 2014, 2017-20)

Ohio is the cradle of pro football, being the literal birthplace of the NFL and home to two pro teams and the Hall of Fame. Despite all that, the Ohio State Buckeyes are indisputably the state's favorite team. '''''[[InsistentTerminology The]]''''' '''Ohio State University''' is one of the nation's largest schools in terms of student enrollment and is located in the heart of the state's capital. It has a lot of athletic success all around: its [[HeAlsoDid swim program]] is its most decorated with 11 national titles[[note]]Their women's ''synchronized'' swimming team, while not an NCAA recognized sport, is even ''more'' dominant, having won '''34''' such titles.[[/note]] and their men's track and golf programs respectively produced [[Film/{{Race}} Jesse Owens]] and Jack Nicklaus. However, their popularity pales in comparison to Buckeye football, which has been a major power for over a century. Winning is the standard at Ohio State; the school has the best win percentage of any FBS program,[[note]]though when only games played at the FBS level are counted, Boise State beats them[[/note]] hasn't had back-to-back losing seasons since 1924, has only lost more than six games in a year once since ''1897''[[note]]That being 2011, when the team finished 6-7 following the abrupt resignation of Jim Tressel amongst an NCAA investigation.[[/note]], and has spent more weeks in the AP Poll rankings than any other school by a sizable margin.[[note]]966 as of the end of the 2022 season; the nearest runner up (of course, Michigan) is more than five full seasons behind them.[[/note]] This prestige makes the school a prime recruiter of talent; its players have won 7 Heisman Trophies and earned more first-round draft picks (90 as of 2023) than any other program.\\\

"Cal" gets to go by the name of its state rather than its city due to being the first UC campus, which only fragmented into semi-autonomous schools in the mid-20th century. It is one of the only two founding Pac-12 members that has had uninterrupted membership in the Pac-12 and its predecessors, with Washington being the other. Their picturesque Memorial Stadium was built at the tail end of their dominant run in the early 1920s. The site's topography grants some attendees an excellent view of San Francisco Bay, though the best spot to take in that view is on "Tightwad Hill", a site right above the western stands where fans can get a free (albeit distant) view of the games. Unfortunately, the stadium is built right on top of a fault line, requiring a large-scale renovation after it literally began to break in half in the 2000s. After the Big Ten and Big 12 raided the Pac-12, Cal seemed all but certain to lose power conference status, and to make matters even worse for the Bears, no athletic department in the country was carrying more debt at the time—a reported ''$450 million''. However, Cal and Stanford eventually got a lifeline in the form of an ACC invitation, though both schools made major financial concessions to receive it.

The '''Big 12 Conference''' name is also an ArtifactTitle — for much of its recent history, it had 10 members, and now has 14. The conference is tied to the Sugar Bowl (no, not [[SugarBowl that one]]).[[note]]In the BCS era, they were tied to the Fiesta Bowl.[[/note]] There are also some very storied teams in this conference as well. The Texas-Oklahoma rivalry ranks right up there with Michigan-Ohio State. The Big 12 is also somewhat unique amongst major conferences in that it is a fairly recent merger (officially formed in 1994, but competition didn't start until 1996) between two older historic conferences: the ''Big Eight Conference'' (consisting of the Midwestern schools, which came together in 1928 as the Big Six after the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association dissolved) and several former members of the ''Southwest Conference'' (where the four Texas schools came from, having played in that conference since 1912) after the latter's fragmentation and demise in the fallout from the SMU "Death Penalty". Because of this, the Big 12's teams have less "loyalty" to each other than most other conferences and suffer from numerous internal tensions, divisions, and schools saying ScrewThisImOuttaHere.

'''Conference Affiliations:''' Ind. (1897-1930), Border (1931-61), WAC (1962-77), Pac-12 (1978–2023), Big 12 (2024–)\\

'''Conference Championships:''' 16 (2 Buckeye – 1933-34; 4 MAC – 1947, 1949, 1951-52; 2 MVC – 1963-64; 1 C-USA – 2002; 4 Big East – 2008-09, 2011-12; 3 American – 2014, 2020-21)

'''Notable Historic Players:''' Creator/WoodyStrode, UsefulNotes/JackieRobinson, Bob Waterfield, Tom Fears, Cal Rossi, Donn Moomaw, Billy Kilmer, Jimmy Johnson, Gary Beban, Terry Donahue, Creator/MarkHarmon, Kenny Easley, Freeman [=McNeil=], Don Rogers, John Lee, Troy Aikman, Ken Norton Jr., Flipper Anderson, Eric Turner, Tommy Maddox, Karim Abdul-Jabbar[[note]]Not [[Creator/KareemAbdulJabbar that one]], though he of course played basketball at UCLA[[/note]], Jonathan Ogden, Cade [=McNown=], Freddie Mitchell, Chris Kluwe, Marcedes Lewis, Matthew Slater, Maurice Jones-Drew, Josh Rosen, Dorian Thompson-Robinson\\

'''Current commissioner:''' George Kliavkoff (to be replaced by Teresa Gould on March 1, 2024)\\

'''Notable Historic Players:''' Curley Byrd, Jack Scarbath, Stan Jones, Gary Collins, Randy White, Neil O'Donnell, Mike Tice, Frank Reich, Boomer Esiason, Kevin Plank, Vernon Davis, Stefon Diggs, Jordan [=McNair=], Taulia Tagovailoa\\

'''Notable Historic Players:''' Gaynell Tinsley, Steve and Ebert Van Buren, Walter Barnes, Y. A. Tittle, Jim Taylor, Billy Cannon, Johnny Robinson, Jerry Stovall, Bert Jones, David Woodley, Ed Orgeron[[labelnote:*]]played one season before transferring to Northwestern State[[/labelnote]], Tommy Hodson, Kevin Mawae, Alan Faneca, Kevin Faulk, Booger [=McFarland=], Andrew Whitworth, [=JaMarcus=] Russell, Matt Flynn, Kyle Williams, Patrick Peterson, Barkevious Mingo, Odell Beckham Jr., Morris Claiborne, Leonard Fournette, Derrius Guice[[labelnote:*]]Now [[UnPerson un-personed]] by the Tigers; see his entry in the "Notorious Figures" folder of the "Names to Know" page.[[/labelnote]], Tyrann Mathieu, Joe Burrow, Justin Jefferson, Ja'Marr Chase, Jayden Daniels\\

'''Current commissioner:''' George Kliavkoff\\

The '''University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill'''[[note]]Since 1972, "University of North Carolina", without a location, has been the name of the state's ''public university system''. This also includes the state's other four FBS schools in Appalachian State, Charlotte, East Carolina, and NC State, 11 other universities, and a [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg residential]] [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers high]] [[NonIndicativeName school]].[[/note]] is one of the nation's oldest and most academically renowned public universities. It is likewise a powerhouse of D-I athletics, with 47 national championships split between programs that include one of the greatest in college basketball history (7 national titles,[[note]]one not recognized by the NCAA[[/note]] the second-highest all-time win percentage, and a host of all-time great alumni including UsefulNotes/MichaelJordan), ''the'' greatest in American women's soccer (''22'' national titles[[note]]With 21 since the NCAA started handing out official national championships in 1982, they own just over half of all possible victories.[[/note]] and their own host of all-time great alums, most notably Mia Hamm) and very esteemed women's field hockey (9) and men's lacrosse (5) teams. Their football program is... generally ''less'' renowned, though it has experienced several notable peaks and valleys. The Tar Heels' biggest contribution to football history was being the very first college team to successfully use the forward pass in 1895; it was also a founding member of the [=SoCon=] and ACC. Mack Brown launched his successful HC career with a decade-long tenure (1988-97) before moving on to Texas, [[HesBack only to return to the school in 2019]] after coming out of [[TenMinuteRetirement retirement]].\\\

The '''University of Iowa''' is distinct for a number of reasons (including being the first coed public university in the U.S.), but it is perhaps most unique among American universities in that it's historically most known for its wrestling program: Iowa wrestling has been ''dominant'' since the 1970s, winning ''24'' national titles as of 2022. Right now (2024), it's probably even ''more'' known for women's basketball in general and Caitlin Clark in particular (think a white female UsefulNotes/StephenCurry), who's on the verge of becoming the leading career scorer in D-I history. Their football program has been much less consistent, going through dramatic peaks and valleys in its storied history. Howard Jones (1916-23) led the team on two undefeated championship seasons before making the leap to his legendary run at USC. RB Nile Kinnick won the Heisman in 1939 while leading his "Ironmen" team; following his death a few years later while serving in WWII, the school renamed their stadium after him, making it the only college football stadium named after a Heisman winner. The program reached its peak in the late '50s under Forest Evashevski, claiming three national titles before his early retirement to become AD. He was much less suited for this job, and Iowa football cratered for the next two decades (including going winless in '73). The team's prospects were revived during the lengthy tenure of Hayden Fry (1979-98). His successor, current HC Kirk Ferentz, is the longest-tenured HC in FBS football, having held the position since 1999. Ferentz's tenure has established the Hawkeyes as the StoneWall of college football, almost always sporting excellent defenses that would be competing for national titles were it not consistently hindered by terrible offenses.\\\

'''Notable Historic Players:''' Doak Walker, Kyle Rote, Raymond Berry, Forrest Gregg, Don Meredith, Wrestling/JimDuggan, Eric Dickerson, David Stanley, Sean Stopperich, Josh [=McCown=], Thomas Morstead, Trey Quinn\\

'''Notable Historic Players:''' Doak Walker, Kyle Rote, Raymond Berry, Forrest Gregg, Don Meredith, Eric Dickerson, David Stanley, Sean Stopperich, Josh [=McCown=], Thomas Morstead, Trey Quinn\\

'''Notable Historic Players:''' Don Coryell, Hugh [=McElhenny=], Al Whorley, Warren Moon, Michael Jackson, Jim L. Mora, Jeff Jaeger, Reggie Rogers, Chris Chandler, Mario Bailey, Steve Emtman, Mark Brunell, Billy Joe Hobert, Wrestling/BobSapp, Corey Dillon, Olin Kreutz, Jerramy Stevens, Reggie Williams, Jake Locker, Danny Shelton, Hau'oli Kikaha, John Ross, Dante Pettis, Jake Browning, Myles Gaskin, Michael Penix, Rome Odunze\\

'''Current Head Coach:''' N/A\\

'''Notable Historic Players:''' Albert Herrnstein, Willie Heston, Dan [=McGugin=], Harry Kipke, Benny Friedman, Bennie Oosterbaan, UsefulNotes/GeraldFord, Bill Hewitt, The Wistert Brothers (Whitey, Al, and Alvin), Tom Harmon, Forest Evashevski, Bump Elliott, Bob Mann, Ron Kramer, Jim Pace, Tom Mack, Jim Detwiler, Dan Dierdorf, Dave Brown (CB), Rick Leach, Jim Harbaugh, Desmond Howard, Ty Law, Tim Biakabutuka, Amani Toomer, Brian Griese, Charles Woodson, Anthony Thomas, Creator/TomBrady, David Terrell, Braylon Edwards, Steve Hutchinson, Chad Henne, Mike Hart, Jake Long, Brandon Graham, Denard Robinson, Jabrill Peppers, Devin Bush Jr., Blake Corum, J.J [=McCarthy=]\\

'''Current Head Coach:''' N/A\\

'''Current Head Coach:''' Chip Kelly\\
'''Notable Historic Coaches:''' Red Sanders, Tommy Prothro, Dick Vermeil, Terry Donahue\\

'''Notable Historic Players:''' Bill Dudley, Don Majkowski, Herman Moore, Ronde and Tiki Barber, Thomas Jones, Matt Schaub, Heath Miller, D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Chris Long\\

'''Notable Historic Players:''' Yale Lary, Jack Pardee, Gene Stallings, John David Crow, Mike Clark, Larry Stegent, Lester Hayes, Jacob Green, Tony Franklin, Ray Childress, Darren Lewis, Dat Nguyen, Dante Hall, Shane Lechler, Don Muhlbach, Jorvorskie Lane, Von Miller, Ryan Tannehill, Luke Joeckel, Johnny Manziel, Mike Evans, Myles Garrett, Kyler Murray[[labelnote:*]]Transferred to Oklahoma after one season, enjoying ''far'' more success there. His father Kevin had more success as an Aggie QB.[[/labelnote]], Kellen Mond\\

'''Notable Historic Players:''' Chic Harley, Sid Gillman, Les Horvath, Bill Willis, Don [=McCafferty=], Lou Groza, Vic Janowicz, Howard Cassady, Dick [=LeBeau=], Jim Parker, Jim Marshall, Dick Schafrath, Paul Warfield, Jim Tyrer, Gary Moeller, Jack Tatum, John Brockington, Randy Gradishar, John Hicks, Doug Plank, Archie Griffin, Pete Johnson, Tom Cousineau, Art Schlichter, Keith Byars, Cris Carter, Chris Spielman, Eric Kumerow, Tom Tupa, Kirk Herbstreit, Dan Wilkinson, Joey Galloway, Terry Glenn, Eddie George, Mike Vrabel, Luke Fickell, Orlando Pace, David Boston, Maurice Clarett, Michael Jenkins, A.J. Hawk, Nick Mangold, Troy Smith, Vernon Gholston, James Laurinaitis, Terrelle Pryor, Cam Heyward, Ryan Shazier, Braxton Miller, J.T. Barrett, Cardale Jones, Ezekiel Elliott, Michael Thomas, Nick and Joey Bosa, Eli Apple, Dwayne Haskins, Damon Arnette, Chase Young, Jeff Okudah, J.K. Dobbins, Justin Fields, Chris Olave, C.J. Stroud, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Marvin Harrison Jr.\\

The '''University of UsefulNotes/{{Miami}}''' is a large private school that was a football (and baseball) powerhouse from the 1980s through the 2000s, having so much success that only the most diehard college fans need to emphasize that it's the FBS "Miami" from Florida rather than Ohio. In fact, Miami was ''so'' dominant for a time that students and fans now just call it "The U"; all other universities need not apply.[[note]]Except in Utah; see the Utah Utes entry in the Pac-12 folder.[[/note]] Its football program wasn't always so renowned, however, and in fact was on the verge of collapse or Division I-AA relegation after a fairly disastrous 1970s. Coach Howard Schnellenberger saved the program after his hiring in 1979, delivering on a promise to get the school a national championship in five years before immediately departing for a job opportunity in the pros. This set a precedent that was followed by both of his successors, Jimmy Johnson and Dennis Erickson, who both kept the Canes a national title-winning team (1987 and 1989/91, respectively) but left quickly for pro coaching gigs. The U likewise developed a reputation as an NFL talent factory and produced two Heisman-winning [=QBs=], Vinny Testaverde and Gino Toretta. For nearly a full decade (October 1985-September 1994), the Canes did not lose a single home game at the Orange Bowl, a 58-game streak that is the longest in NCAA history. After nearly half a century as an independent, they joined the Big East in 1991.\\\

'''Overall Win Record:''' 670-496-49 (.572)\\

The secondary nature of the team's football program is reflected in its stadium arrangement. After playing in the Colosseum-inspired Archbold Stadium for over 70 years, the team was forced to build a new venue in 1980 to retain their Division I-A status. Due to the cold and snowy weather of the region and the popularity of their basketball team, Syracuse built the Carrier Dome, now known as the JMA Wireless Dome, one of the few indoor domes in college football.[[labelnote:*]]One of exactly ''two'' in FBS; UNLV now shares the domed Allegiant Stadium with the NFL's Las Vegas Raiders. Seven FCS teams play in domes: Idaho, Idaho State, North Dakota, North Dakota State, Northern Arizona, Northern Iowa, and South Dakota. D-II Northern Michigan is the only non D-I team with a dome.[[/labelnote]] The "Loud House" is arguably more famous for regularly setting college basketball attendance records despite being fairly outdated by most standards; prior to a 2020 renovation, the dome was one of the last remaining structures to sport an inflatable fiberglass roof, making it a maintenance nightmare, and lacked any sort of air conditioning despite Carrier being an HVAC company. Ironically, the entire stadium finally got AC in 2022... just in time for it to be renamed after a locally based 5G infrastructure company.[[note]]Carrier had purchased perpetual naming rights for less than $3 million in 1979, before the value of naming deals skyrocketed. Cuse managed to get (presumably buy) Carrier out of that deal, paving the way for a much more lucrative sponsorship.[[/note]]\\\

'''Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University''', also known as Virginia Tech, VT or, less frequently, VPI (VPI was commonly used until TheEighties, when the school gradually phased it out in favor of Virginia Tech, though you still hear VPI on occasion in nostalgic or MaliciousMisnaming contexts) is a large public university and senior military college in the foothills of Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains. It has well-regarded engineering programs, but is tragically best known as the site of one of the deadliest lone gunman mass shootings in American history in 2007. While the school's athletic program is one of only two Power Five schools to have [[EveryYearTheyFizzleOut never won a national championship in any team sport]],[[note]]Pitt has never won an NCAA-awarded team title, but has several football championships. New Big 12 member UCF also has no NCAA-awarded team titles, but claims a share of the 2017 football natty.[[/note]] the Hokies (more on that name later) have generally been quite good on the football field; as of 2023, they hold the best lifetime win record of any Power Five program to never be selected national champion. The school was a founding member of the [=SoCon=] before going independent in 1965. Coach Frank Beamer returned to his alma mater in 1987 after it had been saddled with numerous sanctions for violations and, after a slow start, made the team into a power through the rest of his 29-season tenure. VT football joined the Big East in 1991, and the Hokies fell one game short of a national title in 1999 with superstar QB Michael Vick under center. They next became the dominant team of the ACC for several years after joining in 2004, though the program has receded to the middle of the pack in recent years.\\\

'''Conference Affiliations:''' Ind. (1894-1915, 1959-63), Pac-12 (1916-58, 1964-)[[note]]Did not play in the war years of 1943-44.[[/note]]\\
'''Overall Win Record:''' 704-511-46 (.577)\\
'''Bowl Record:''' 17-20 (.459)\\

The Ducks are perhaps even more famous for their flashy uniforms that ''[[UnlimitedWardrobe are different for each game]].'' Like Big 12 member Oklahoma State, Oregon and its athletic program are pet projects of a billionaire alum, in this case Phil Knight, co-founder of famed shoe company & sports outfitter Nike (and also a former member of the Ducks track team). While the university has an apparel contract with Nike, it's dwarfed by Knight's personal financial contributions to the Ducks' athletic facilities, having pumped ''over one billion'' of his own money into sports facilities and even more into academic programs and buildings. His investments into Autzen Stadium, whose field is built sunken into an artificial landfill, contributed to making the Ducks' house one of the loudest stadiums on Earth, punching well above its capacity weight class. The Ducks are also known for their affiliation with ''another'' MegaCorp: Creator/{{Disney}}. Ol' Creator/{{Walt|Disney}} himself permitted Oregon (whose teams originally held the much more original name of "Webfoots") to use WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck as the inspiration for their mascot all the way back in the '40s, and the school and company have stuck to that agreement ever since.

'''Conference Affiliations:''' Ind. (1919), SCIAC[[labelnote:*]]Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, now D-III[[/labelnote]] (1920-27), Pac-12 (1928-)\\
'''Overall Win Record:''' 630-453-37 (.579)\\
'''Bowl Record:''' 17-20-1 (.461)\\

'''Conference Affiliations:''' Ind. (1888-1921),[[note]]Did not play in 1890, 1892, or 1911–13.[[/note]] Pac-12 (1922-)\\
'''Overall Win Record:''' 875-368-54 (.695)\\
'''Bowl Record:''' 35-20 (.636)\\

'''Conference Affiliations:''' Ind. (1889-1915),[[note]]Did not play in 1891.[[/note]] Pac-12 (1916-)\\
'''Overall Win Record:''' 774-465-50 (.620)\\
'''Bowl Record:''' 19-21-1 (.476)\\

The '''University of Washington''' (or, more affectionately, U-Dub) is another academically prestigious public university that has had uninterrupted membership in the Pac-12 and its predecessors. It's enjoyed regional and occasional national success in a wide range of sports, but football is the flagship program. In addition to their two claimed and three unclaimed national championships, the Huskies hold the FBS record for the longest unbeaten streak (64 games from 1908-16 under coach Gil Dobie), are second to Oklahoma for the longest winning streak (40 games from 1908-14), and ended Miami's FBS-record home winning streak at 58 games in 1994 (a particularly notable victory, as the two schools split the '91 national title after both went undefeated). After a steep decline in the 2000s, including a winless 2008, the team bounced back as one of the more competitive programs in the West, achieving a berth in the CFP after 2016. On the down side, they're also the most recent of the [[MedalOfDishonor seven ranked FBS teams to have lost to FCS teams]], falling to Montana in the opener to a 2021 season that ended over a decade of winning records (though they bounced back to their winning ways the following year). The departure of UCLA and USC for the Big Ten, followed by later realignment moves, led U-Dub to move to the Big Ten alongside its historic rival Oregon; it finished its last year in the Pac with an undefeated run to compete in its first national championship game in over three decades, coming up short to Michigan.\\\

'''Conference Affiliations:''' Ind. (1899-1930), Border (1931-61), WAC (1962-77), Pac-12 (1978-)\\

'''Conference Affiliations:''' Ind. (1897-1930), Border (1931-61), WAC (1962-77), Pac-12 (1978-)\\

'''Conference Affiliations:''' RMAC (1922-37),[[note]]The school's first football season was in 1896, but as noted above it was still more of a high school than a college. After an accidental football-related death in Utah in 1900, the LDS Church banned football at all of its schools until 1919. 1922 was the first year in which BYU played solely against colleges.[[/note]] Skyline (1938-61), WAC (1962-98), MW (1999-2010), Ind. (2011-22), Big 12 (2023-)\\
'''Overall Win Record:''' 617-444-27 (.580)\\

'''Conference Championships:''' 23 (19 WAC – 1965, 1974, 1976–85, 1989–93, 1995-96; 4 MW – 1999, 2001, 2006-07)

'''Conference Affiliations:''' Ind. (1885-1909, 1937-46, 1953-56, 1970-95)[[note]]Did not play in 1907 or 1943-44.[[/note]], OAC (1910-25), Buckeye (1926-36), MAC (1947-52), MVC (1957-69), C-USA (1996-2004), Big East (2005-12), American (2013-22), Big 12 (2023-)\\

The '''University of Cincinnati''' is primarily known as a basketball school (with two back-to-back national titles in the early '60s) and has had an up-and-down history in football. Its historic high peak was serving as Sid Gillman's final college coaching stop before the launch of his pro career. After many years of under achieving and bouncing around second-tier conferences (including being a founding member of C-USA), UC joined the Big East in 2005 and soon after surged to national prominence under Brian Kelly in the late 2000s, coming a second away from qualifying for the National Championship game in 2009 [[note]]In the Big 12 championship game between Texas and Nebraska, the officials rewound the game clock in the fourth quarter to 1 second after Texas QB Colt [=McCoy=] threw the ball away on 3rd down and it seemed as though time had run out. This gave the ‘Horns enough time to kick the game winning field goal and qualify for the championship game. Had they lost, unbeaten Cincinnati would have leapfrogged them into the title game instead.[[/note]](helping him land his position at Notre Dame). Under coach Luke Fickell, the school became one of the most esteemed non-Power Five programs, seen as fielding a team that could be playoff-worthy if they only played in a more competitive conference... until they actually ''made'' the playoffs in 2021, making them the only Group of Five program to reach those heights in the CFP era (even if they were quickly bested by Alabama). They wouldn't be Group of Five for long, though: earlier that same season, they accepted a spot in the Big 12, joining in 2023.\\\

'''Conference Affiliations:''' Ind. (1890-92, 1905), CFA[[labelnote:*]]Colorado Football Association, which existed from 1890–1908[[/labelnote]] (1893-1904, 1906-08), RMAC[[labelnote:*]]Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, now D-II[[/labelnote]] (1909-1937), Skyline[[labelnote:*]]formally the Mountain States Athletic Conference but informally known as the Big Seven, Skyline Six, and Skyline Eight during its existence from 1938–62[[/labelnote]] (1938-47), Big 8 (1948-95), Big 12 (1996-2010), Pac-12 (2011-)\\

'''Conference Affiliations:''' Lone Star (1946-48), Gulf Coast (1949-50), MVC (1951-59), Ind. (1960-75), SWC (1976-95), C-USA (1996-2012), American (2013-22), Big 12 (2023-)\\

'''Conference Affiliations:''' Ind. (D-III 1979–81, D-II 1982–89, I-AA 1990–95, I-A 1996–2001), MAC (2002-04), C-USA (2005-12), American (2013-22), Big 12 (2023-)\\

While the '''University of Central Florida''' is one of the newer D-I schools by founding date and start of football, and currently the youngest school in the Power 5, it has grown at a tremendous pace and now has the largest undergraduate enrollment of any single university campus in the country (close to 60,000), with only Texas A&M having a larger total enrollment.[[note]]While Pac-12 member Arizona State and new Conference USA member Liberty have considerably larger total enrollments than either UCF or A&M, it's only because of both schools' online operations (ASU's being large, and LU's being absolutely ''massive''). The distinction of most on-campus students belongs to ASU, but its enrollment is split between ''four'' Phoenix-area campuses; the main campus in Tempe has fewer total students than UCF has undergrads.[[/note]] The Knights football program has likewise had a momentous ascent from their first season in D-III in 1979, becoming the first football program to play at all four current levels of NCAA competition (James Madison became the second in 2022). Three years later, UCF moved to D-II, and later managed to lure former NFL coach Lou Saban, though he enjoyed far less success than in the pros, stepping down in the middle of his second season. The university nearly dropped football, but it became successful in D-II in the last half of the '80s, and took the jump to Division I-AA (now FCS) in 1990. In the then-Golden Knights' first I-AA season, they became the first team ever to qualify for the I-AA/FCS playoffs in their first season of eligibility and enjoyed reasonable success until making the jump to I-A/FBS in 1996. After modest success as an independent and a decline in the early 2000s as a football-only member of the MAC, the program was reinvigorated by the arrival of HC George O'Leary in 2004, who had been forced to leave Notre Dame in disgrace before coaching a game thanks to lying on his resume. While the Knights went winless in their last MAC season, they turned things around upon joining C-USA in 2005, winning two conference titles and playing for two others while making their first bowl appearances (though a win wouldn't come until their fourth try in 2010). O'Leary also oversaw UCF's move to The American in 2013, where it won conference titles in its first two seasons. However, his tenure [[BookEnds ended in 2015 as it began]]—with a winless season.\\\

'''Conference Affiliations:''' Ind. (1892-1909),[[note]]Did not play in 1893...[[/note]] RMAC (1910-37),[[note]]...or 1918.[[/note]] Skyline (1938-61), WAC (1962-98), MW (1999-2010), Pac-12 (2011-)\\
'''Overall Win Record:''' 719-482-31 (.596)\\
'''Bowl Record:''' 17-10 (.630)\\

'''Conference Championships:''' 26 (8 RMAC – 1922, 1926, 1928-33; 10 Skyline – 1938, 1940-42, 1947, 1948, 1951-53, 1957; 2 WAC – 1964, 1995; 4 MW – 1999, 2003-04, 2008; 2 Pac-12 – 2021-22)

The Utes are also known for their spicy rivalry with LDS Church-owned BYU (nicknamed "the Holy War"); they have similar but less extreme rivalries with Utah State and Colorado. After playing most of their history in Ute Stadium (renamed Robert L. Rice Stadium in the '70s after the main benefactor of a facility renovation), their home venue was almost completely demolished and rebuilt in 1998 so it could be used as the main stadium of the 2002 Winter Olympics (with the Eccles family, major benefactors for the university as a whole, getting their name added to the pre-existing "Rice" name). Like Florida State, Utah has explicit permission from a Native American tribe to use a tribal nickname, in its case the various Ute tribes, one of which (the Northern Ute, consisting of three bands) has its reservation in the state. The U (presumably) gained considerable goodwill from the Ute nation when it scrapped its "Redskins" nickname in 1972, well before most other schools with similar nicknames did so, and gained more when it dropped Native mascots. The Ute nation also signed off on the use of two feathers in the school's athletic logo and the school's current mascot, an anthropomorphic red-tailed hawk. Outside of football, the school is known for its strong programs in men's basketball, women's gymnastics (nine national championships in the '80s and '90s) and co-ed skiing (13 national titles). The university is symbolized by a large concrete block "U" on a nearby hillside (built in 1907, inspired by similar hillside letters at UC Berkeley and BYU), which is visible throughout the Salt Lake Valley and is lit up whenever a Ute team wins a contest.

'''Notable Historic Players:''' Jim Lee Howell, Jim Benton, Clyde Scott, Pat Summerall, Barry Switzer, Lance Alworth, Jimmy Johnson, Jerry Jones, Joe Ferguson, Steve Little, Dan Hampton, Steve Atwater, Barry Foster, Brandon Burlsworth, Jason Peters, Ahmad Carroll, Matt Jones, Darren [=McFadden=], Felix Jones, Peyton Hillis\\

'''Current schools:''' Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, Wisconsin\\
'''Arriving schools:''' Oregon, UCLA, USC, Washington (2024)\\

'''Current schools:''' Oregon, Oregon State, USC, UCLA, Washington, Washington State\\
'''Departing schools:''' Oregon, UCLA, USC, Washington (2024)\\

!!!Oregon Ducks
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/oregon_2.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:Win the Day!]]
->'''Location:''' Eugene, OR\\
'''School Established:''' 1876[[note]]Though chartered as "Oregon State University" (not to be confused with the ''current'' school of that name) in 1872, it officially dates its founding to when it opened under its current name.[[/note]]\\
'''Conference Affiliations:''' Ind. (1894-1915, 1959-63), Pac-12 (1916-58, 1964-)[[note]]Did not play in the war years of 1943-44.[[/note]]\\
'''Overall Win Record:''' 704-511-46 (.577)\\
'''Bowl Record:''' 17-20 (.459)\\
'''Colors:''' Green and yellow\\
'''Stadium:''' Autzen Stadium (capacity 54,000)\\
'''Current Head Coach:''' Dan Lanning\\
'''Notable Historic Coaches:''' Hugo Bezdek, Len Casanova, Rich Brooks, Mike Bellotti, Chip Kelly\\
'''Notable Historic Players:''' John [=McKay=], Norm Van Brocklin, George Shaw, Jack Patera, John Robinson, Mel Renfro, Dave Wilcox, Ahmad Rashād,[[labelnote:*]]known in college as Bobby Moore; changed his name shortly after converting to Islam[[/labelnote]] Dan Fouts, June Jones, Gary Zimmerman, Akili Smith, Joey Harrington, Onterrio Smith, Jonathan Stewart, [=LeGarrette=] Blount, [=LaMichael=] James, Dion Jordan, Kyle Long, Marcus Mariota, Royce Freeman, Justin Herbert, Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel\\
'''National Championships:''' 0\\
'''Conference Championships:''' 13 (1919, 1933, 1948, 1957, 1994, 2000-01, 2009-11, 2014, 2019-20)

Located in the city of Eugene at the southern tip of the Willamette Valley, the '''University of Oregon''''s athletic program is best known historically for its success in track (more on that later). Its football team was fairly successful in the early 20th century but descended into mediocrity for decades in the late '30s, save for a brief period of success under Len Casanova in the '50s and early '60s. However, after a ''long'' rebuild process led by Rich Brooks (1977-94), Oregon began playing the best football in school history in the 21st century under Mike Bellotti (1995-2008), staying a Pac-12 power and competing a few times for a national title (though it has [[EveryYearTheyFizzleOut yet to seal the deal]]). HC Chip Kelly (2009-12) made the team famous for its ridiculously [[LightningBruiser fast-paced offense]] under where they spent the whole game as if they're in a 2-minute drill; this offense earned them a berth in the BCS National Championship Game after an otherwise-undefeated 2010. In 2014, the school's first Heisman winner, QB Marcus Mariota, led the Ducks to an appearance in the first CFP National Championship game, making Oregon the only Pac-12 school to progress that far in the CFP postseason. After the Pac-12 lost its two biggest brands in UCLA and USC, and was apparently unable to reach a media deal that offered anything in the same ballpark as the Big Ten and SEC, Oregon followed the Los Angeles schools to the Big Ten effective in 2024.\\\

The Ducks are perhaps even more famous for their flashy uniforms that ''[[UnlimitedWardrobe are different for each game]].'' Like Big 12 member Oklahoma State, Oregon and its athletic program are pet projects of a billionaire alum, in this case Phil Knight, co-founder of famed shoe company & sports outfitter Nike (and also a former member of the Ducks track team). While the university has an apparel contract with Nike, it's dwarfed by Knight's personal financial contributions to the Ducks' athletic facilities, having pumped ''over one billion'' of his own money into sports facilities and even more into academic programs and buildings. His investments into Autzen Stadium, whose field is built sunken into an artificial landfill, contributed to making the Ducks' house one of the loudest stadiums on Earth, punching well above its capacity weight class. The Ducks are also known for their affiliation with ''another'' MegaCorp: Creator/{{Disney}}. Ol' Creator/{{Walt|Disney}} himself permitted Oregon (whose teams originally held the much more original name of "Webfoots") to use WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck as the inspiration for their mascot all the way back in the '40s, and the school and company have stuck to that agreement ever since.

!!!UCLA Bruins
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ucla.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:4's Up!]]
->'''Location:''' UsefulNotes/LosAngeles, CA (campus); Pasadena, CA (stadium)\\
'''School Established:''' 1919[[note]]as the "Southern Branch of the University of California"; became the University of California ''at'' Los Angeles in 1927. The "at" was replaced by a comma in 1958. However, the university can trace its roots to a teachers college founded in 1881.[[/note]]\\
'''Conference Affiliations:''' Ind. (1919), SCIAC[[labelnote:*]]Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, now D-III[[/labelnote]] (1920-27), Pac-12 (1928-)\\
'''Overall Win Record:''' 630-453-37 (.579)\\
'''Bowl Record:''' 17-20-1 (.461)\\
'''Colors:''' Blue and gold\\
'''Stadium:''' Rose Bowl (capacity 92,542)\\
'''Current Head Coach:''' Chip Kelly\\
'''Notable Historic Coaches:''' Red Sanders, Tommy Prothro, Dick Vermeil, Terry Donahue\\
'''Notable Historic Players:''' Creator/WoodyStrode, UsefulNotes/JackieRobinson, Bob Waterfield, Tom Fears, Cal Rossi, Donn Moomaw, Billy Kilmer, Jimmy Johnson, Gary Beban, Terry Donahue, Creator/MarkHarmon, Kenny Easley, Freeman [=McNeil=], Don Rogers, John Lee, Troy Aikman, Ken Norton Jr., Flipper Anderson, Eric Turner, Tommy Maddox, Karim Abdul-Jabbar[[note]]Not [[Creator/KareemAbdulJabbar that one]], though he of course played basketball at UCLA[[/note]], Jonathan Ogden, Cade [=McNown=], Freddie Mitchell, Chris Kluwe, Marcedes Lewis, Matthew Slater, Maurice Jones-Drew, Josh Rosen, Dorian Thompson-Robinson\\
'''National Championships:''' 1 (1954)\\
'''Conference Championships:''' 17, all Pac-12 (1935, 1942, 1946, 1953-55, 1959, 1961, 1965, 1975, 1982-83, 1985, 1987, 1993, 1997-98)

The '''University of California, Los Angeles''' is one of the [[BadassBookworm most esteemed public schools in the nation]] and is an overall athletic powerhouse, sitting only behind Stanford in terms of total NCAA championships (120), most famously thanks to John Wooden's dominant basketball program of the '60s and '70s that won 10 national titles (plus another in the '90s).[[note]]The Other Wiki's there for the full LongList, but other historic power programs are men's tennis (16), men's volleyball (19), men's water polo (12), and women's softball (12).[[/note]] The Bruins' sole football national championship, earned after an undefeated 1954 season under coach Red Sanders, does not count among that number due to the NCAA's definitions, but the team is regardless very storied, in part due to playing in perhaps ''the'' most famous stadium in college football, the Rose Bowl (though [[NewerThanTheyThink it only became their home stadium when they moved from the LA Memorial Coliseum in 1982]]). The Bruins' long tenure at the Coliseum gave them and crosstown rival USC the second-longest continuous co-tenancy of college and pro teams, lasting from the Rams' first arrival in LA in 1946 and ending with the Rams' move to Anaheim for the 1980 season.[[note]]The Rams and Trojans shared the Coliseum for four more seasons, starting with the Rams' return to LA in 2016 and ending with the opening of their new Inglewood stadium in 2020. The longest overall co-tenancy is the 50 seasons of the San Diego Chargers and San Diego State Aztecs, starting with the opening of San Diego Stadium in 1967 and ending with the Chargers' move to LA after the 2016 season. If not for Hurricane Katrina, which forced both the New Orleans Saints and Tulane Green Wave to play elsewhere in 2005, those two teams would have the second-longest such co-tenancy, starting with the opening of the Superdome in 1975 and ending with Tulane moving into its own on-campus stadium in 2014.[[/note]] The stadium is located a bit over 25 miles from campus in the neighboring city of Pasadena, an hour's drive in LA traffic from the school's quiet Westwood neighborhood (which has stood in for so many fictional universities that it [[TropeNamer inspired]] the CaliforniaUniversity trope).\\\

UCLA's first great football player was arguably UsefulNotes/JackieRobinson, who played baseball, football, and basketball ''and'' ran track for the Bruins; he was part of UCLA's 6-0-4 1939 team before WWII started, which eventually led him to baseball and the [[UsefulNotes/MajorLeagueBaseball Brooklyn Dodgers]]. In that same 1939 season, he set the still-standing FBS single-season record for yards per carry. Following the Hall of Fame tenures of Sanders and Tommy Prothro (the latter of which saw the school's sole Heisman winner in QB Gary Beban), former player Terry Donahue coached the team for two decades (1976-95), leading the team to eight straight bowl wins in the '80s. The program became much less consistent soon after his departure, sometimes producing competitive seasons but largely posting middling records. In large part because of its connection to the Rose Bowl (and, perhaps just as importantly, their strong rivalry with USC), the Bruins announced a move to the more prestigious and profitable Big Ten in 2024 along with the Trojans. The Big Ten invite came at the perfect time for UCLA, providing a lifeline to an athletic department staring into a financial abyss, although though the move comes with conditions that UCLA has to pay for for academic and nutritional support as well as mental health services as well as a subsidy to Cal-Berkeley to enhance the student-athlete support on that campus.

!!!USC Trojans
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/usc.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:Fight On!]]
->'''Location:''' UsefulNotes/LosAngeles, CA\\
'''School Established:''' 1880\\
'''Conference Affiliations:''' Ind. (1888-1921),[[note]]Did not play in 1890, 1892, or 1911–13.[[/note]] Pac-12 (1922-)\\
'''Overall Win Record:''' 875-368-54 (.695)\\
'''Bowl Record:''' 35-20 (.636)\\
'''Colors:''' Cardinal and gold\\
'''Stadium:''' Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (capacity 77,500)\\
'''Current Head Coach:''' Lincoln Riley\\
'''Notable Historic Coaches:''' Howard Jones, John [=McKay=], John Robinson, Pete Carroll, Ed Orgeron, Steve Sarkisian\\
'''Notable Historic Players:''' Creator/JohnWayne[[labelnote:*]]back when he was still Marion "Duke" Morrison[[/labelnote]], Red Badgro, Jim Hardy, Frank Gifford, Mike Henry, Willie Wood, Ron Mix, Pete Beathard, Ron Yary, Creator/OJSimpson, Al Cowlings, Mike Holmgren, Tody Smith, Sam Cunningham, Anthony Davis, Lynn Swann, J.K. [=McKay=], Ricky Bell, Marvin Powell, Clay Matthews Jr., Jeff Fisher, Anthony Muñoz, Charles White, Ronnie Lott, Marcus Allen, Bruce Matthews, Junior Seau, Todd Marinovich, Willie [=McGinest=], Tony Boselli, Petros Papadakis, Keyshawn Johnson, Darrell Russell, R. Jay Soward, Carson Palmer, Troy Polamalu, Mike Williams[[labelnote:*]]draft bust WR[[/labelnote]], Reggie Bush, [=LenDale=] White, Matt Leinart, Dwayne Jarrett, Mario Danelo, Mark Sanchez, Clay Matthews III, Tyron Smith, Matt Barkley, Jake Olson, Sam Darnold, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Caleb Williams\\
'''National Championships:''' 11 (1928, 1931-32, 1939, 1962, 1967, 1972, 1974, 1978, 2003-04[[note]]The latter was officially stripped by the NCAA but not by AP, and USC still claims it[[/note]])[[note]]6 unclaimed (1929, 1933, 1976, 1979, 2002, 2007)[[/note]]\\
'''Conference Championships:''' 39 (1927-29, 1931-32, 1938-39, 1943-45, 1947, 1952, 1959, 1962, 1964, 1966-69, 1972-74, 1976, 1978-79, 1984, 1987-89, 1993, 1995, 2002-08[[note]]2004-05 vacated by the NCAA[[/note]], 2017)

The '''University of Southern California''' is a private school known as an athletic powerhouse; while it ranks behind Stanford and UCLA in terms of official national titles for team sports (111 as of 2022), it has more official ''men's'' titles than any other school, with 85, not counting its numerous football championships.[[note]]Dominant programs with double-digit titles include the men's programs for outdoor track and field (26, the most of any school), tennis (21, also most), baseball (12, more than twice the number of any other school), and water polo (10).[[/note]] The Trojans have long been ''the'' college football program of the Western United States, with more Heisman winners (8) and Pro Hall of Famers (14) than any other school (and trails only Notre Dame in total NFL draft picks and Ohio State in first rounders). It thus hold many rivalries with the other titans in the east that they have to overcome in order to win national respect; the "Trojan" nickname was selected to emphasize their status as constant underdogs compared to eastern elites. For decades, the school has been known as "Tailback U", producing ''five'' Heisman-winning tailbacks--Mike Garrett (1965), OJ Simpson (1968), Charles White (1979), Marcus Allen (1981), and Reggie Bush (2005)--and numerous others that were arguably as worthy of the award. Despite the star power of its players, it is ironically the only college program that has never permitted them to wear their names on their jerseys.[[note]]Notre Dame also uses this practice, but it has made occasional exceptions. Penn State has historically done this, but during Bill O'Brien's tenure following the Jerry Sandusky scandal, he had the players' names on the jerseys as a deliberate break from the Joe Paterno era.[[/note]]\\\

The program first rose to national prominence under coach Howard Jones, who led them to four national title claims during his tenure (1925-40). Said tenure fell in the middle of a streak of nine straight bowl wins over the span of two decades back when the only such "bowl" was the Rose Bowl (and a one-off "Christmas Festival" in '24); this stood as the longest bowl win streak for decades and is still tied for the second longest. The school became more of a regional power after Jones' tenure was cut short by his sudden death from a heart attack, but they entered a golden age in the '60s and '70s under coaches John [=McKay=] and John Robinson. USC claimed five national titles in this era, with their success being partially attributed to their embrace of African-American talent that helped them to steamroll segregated teams in the South. They regressed to regional status the '80s and '90s only to go on ''another'' run of national title wins in the 2000s under Pete Carroll, helping to fill the football void formed in Los Angeles after the departure of both of its NFL teams. In addition to the aforementioned Reggie Bush, the program also saw two of its [=QBs=], Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart, claim the Heisman. However, the school landed in hot water for allegedly paying players like Bush and faced numerous sanctions, including forcing Bush to return his Heisman and dissociate completely from his school.[[note]]Without this disqualification, USC would be tied with Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Oklahoma for most Heisman winners.[[/note]] The program has regressed back to being more of a local power since then, though their name still holds a great deal of clout, enough to poach HC Lincoln Riley and the school's future eighth Heisman winner, QB Caleb Williams, from Oklahoma in 2022. Their history and name recognition led the program to also announce that it and crosstown rival UCLA will be leaving the Pac-12 in 2024 to join the more prestigious (and profitable) Big Ten.\\\

USC is an urban campus located close to Los Angeles' downtown (also a frequent filming location for CaliforniaUniversity, helped by the presence of one of the world's most esteemed and prolific film schools). The Trojans play in the L.A. Memorial Coliseum in neighboring Exposition Park, a National Historic Landmark run by the state, county, and local government since its opening in 1923. The neoclassical structure is one of most storied stadiums in the U.S., having hosted two (and soon to be three) UsefulNotes/OlympicGames and multiple professional teams from various sports. Due to sharing the same metro area with UCLA (and, for many decades, the same stadium) plus having [[RedIndexBlueIndex perfectly contrasting uniform colors]]), USC's rivalry with its public school neighbor has a uniquely intense legacy, with a history of pranks between the schools that verges on criminal. While many of said pranks have targeted the USC's statue of "Tommy Trojan", and the drum major of the marching band wears an elaborate Trojan costume, their actual mascot is a white horse named Traveler (though a contingent of fans still prefer the early 20th century mascot, a lovable mutt named George Tirebiter).

!!!Washington Huskies
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/washington_8.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:Bow Down!]]
->'''Location:''' UsefulNotes/{{Seattle}}, WA\\
'''School Established:''' 1861[[note]]Founded as the "Territorial University of Washington", it closed three times in its first 15 years. After reopening, the "Territorial" part was dropped when Washington became a state in 1889.[[/note]]\\
'''Conference Affiliations:''' Ind. (1889-1915),[[note]]Did not play in 1891.[[/note]] Pac-12 (1916-)\\
'''Overall Win Record:''' 774-465-50 (.620)\\
'''Bowl Record:''' 19-21-1 (.476)\\
'''Colors:''' Purple and gold\\
'''Stadium:''' Husky Stadium (capacity 70,083)\\
'''Current Head Coach:''' Jedd Fisch\\
'''Notable Historic Coaches:''' Gil Dobie, Darrell Royal, Jim Owens, Don James, Steve Sarkisian, Chris Petersen, Kalen [=DeBoer=]\\
'''Notable Historic Players:''' Don Coryell, Hugh [=McElhenny=], Al Whorley, Warren Moon, Michael Jackson, Jim L. Mora, Jeff Jaeger, Reggie Rogers, Chris Chandler, Mario Bailey, Steve Emtman, Mark Brunell, Billy Joe Hobert, Wrestling/BobSapp, Corey Dillon, Olin Kreutz, Jerramy Stevens, Reggie Williams, Jake Locker, Danny Shelton, Hau'oli Kikaha, John Ross, Dante Pettis, Jake Browning, Myles Gaskin, Michael Penix, Rome Odunze\\
'''National Championships:''' 2 (1960, 1991)[[note]]3 unclaimed (1910, 1984, 1990)[[/note]]\\
'''Conference Championships:''' 18 (1916, 1919, 1925, 1936, 1959-60, 1963, 1977, 1980-81, 1990-92, 1995, 2000, 2016, 2018, 2023)

The '''University of Washington''' (or, more affectionately, U-Dub) is another academically prestigious public university that has had uninterrupted membership in the Pac-12 and its predecessors. It's enjoyed regional and occasional national success in a wide range of sports, but football is the flagship program. In addition to their two claimed and three unclaimed national championships, the Huskies hold the FBS record for the longest unbeaten streak (64 games from 1908-16 under coach Gil Dobie), are second to Oklahoma for the longest winning streak (40 games from 1908-14), and ended Miami's FBS-record home winning streak at 58 games in 1994 (a particularly notable victory, as the two schools split the '91 national title after both went undefeated). After a steep decline in the 2000s, including a winless 2008, the team bounced back as one of the more competitive programs in the West, achieving a berth in the CFP after 2016. On the down side, they're also the most recent of the [[MedalOfDishonor seven ranked FBS teams to have lost to FCS teams]], falling to Montana in the opener to a 2021 season that ended over a decade of winning records (though they bounced back to their winning ways the following year). The departure of UCLA and USC for the Big Ten, followed by later realignment moves, led U-Dub to move to the Big Ten alongside its historic rival Oregon; it finished its last year in the Pac with an undefeated run to compete in its first national championship game in over three decades, coming up short to Michigan.\\\

U-Dub occupies a scenic campus in northern Seattle, sitting on the shore on the area's two largest lakes, Union and Washington, and featuring views of the Cascade Range and Olympic Mountains. Their home stadium sits on Lake Washington and is the second of the three FBS venues directly accessible by boat, making "sailgating" a popular tradition. On two separate periods, the stadium has hosted the Seahawks of the NFL while their normal home stadiums have been unavailable; in return, Seahawks owner Paul Allen helped fund a renovation to the stadium that greatly amplifies crowd noise. Husky fans also have a credible (though disputed) claim to having originated "The Wave" now currently practiced in most large gatherings back in the '80s. The Huskies' most historic rivalry is their intrastate "Apple Cup" competition with Washington State, though their matchups with Oregon are typically more high-profile and competitive. U-Dub is sometimes referred to as "Quarterback U"; going back to Warren Moon in 1976, the majority of the school's starters have seen playing time in the NFL, though none have matched his Pro Hall of Fame career.

'''Notable Historic Players:''' Don Coryell, Hugh [=McElhenny=], Al Whorley, Warren Moon, Michael Jackson, Jim L. Mora, Jeff Jaeger, Reggie Rogers, Mario Bailey, Steve Emtman, Mark Brunell, Billy Joe Hobert, Wrestling/BobSapp, Corey Dillon, Olin Kreutz, Jerramy Stevens, Reggie Williams, Jake Locker, Danny Shelton, Hau'oli Kikaha, John Ross, Dante Pettis, Jake Browning, Myles Gaskin, Michael Penix, Rome Odunze\\

'''Notable Historic Players:''' Bill Austin, Paul Lowe, Terry Baker, Rich Brooks, Jonathan Smith, Steven Jackson, Chad (Ochocinco) Johnson, Johnny Hekker, Brandin Cooks\\

'''Notable Historic Players:''' Creator/JohnWayne[[labelnote:*]]back when he was still Marion "Duke" Morrison[[/labelnote]], Red Badgro, Jim Hardy, Frank Gifford, Mike Henry, Willie Wood, Ron Mix, Pete Beathard, Ron Yary, Creator/OJSimpson, Al Cowlings, Mike Holmgren, Tody Smith, Sam Cunningham, Anthony Davis, Lynn Swann, J.K. [=McKay=], Ricky Bell, Marvin Powell, Clay Matthews Jr., Jeff Fisher, Anthony Muñoz, Charles White, Ronnie Lott, Marcus Allen, Bruce Matthews, Junior Seau, Todd Marinovich, Willie [=McGinest=], Tony Boselli, Petros Papadakis, Keyshawn Johnson, R. Jay Soward, Carson Palmer, Troy Polamalu, Mike Williams[[labelnote:*]]draft bust WR[[/labelnote]], Reggie Bush, [=LenDale=] White, Matt Leinart, Dwayne Jarrett, Mario Danelo, Mark Sanchez, Clay Matthews III, Tyron Smith, Matt Barkley, Jake Olson, Sam Darnold, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Caleb Williams\\

'''Notable Historic Players:''' John Henry Johnson, Charley Taylor, Curley Culp, Danny White, Mike Haynes, John Jefferson, Luis Zendejas, Randall [=McDaniel=], Eric Allen, Darren Woodson, Creator/IsaiahMustafa, Jake Plummer, Pat Tillman, Todd Heap, Terrell Suggs, Vontaze Burfict, Brock Osweiler, Zane Gonzalez, N'Keal Harry, Jayden Daniels\\

'''Notable Historic Players:''' Hayden Fry, Del Shofner, Jerry Moore, Goose Gonsoulin, Larry Elkins, Mike Singletary, Daniel Sepulveda, Jason Smith, Jon Weeks, Phil Taylor, Danny Watkins, Josh Gordon, Robert Griffin III, Shawn Oakman, Corey Coleman\\

'''Notable Historic Players:''' Paul Duhart, Rick Casares, Doug Dickey, Steve Spurrier, Carlos Alvarez, Jack Youngblood, John Reaves, Wes Chandler, Cris Collinsworth, Lomas Brown, Emmitt Smith, Errict Rhett, Huey Richardson, Danny Wuerffel, Javon Kearse, [[Wrestling/TitusONeil Thaddeus Bullard]], Jesse Palmer, Gerard Warren, Fred Taylor, Rex Grossman, Chris Leak, Tim Tebow, Percy Harvin, Aaron Hernandez, Carlos Dunlap, Vernon Hargreaves\\