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Wait ’til next year? Again? The last time these Power 5 national champs won a conference championship
By Chris Wright
Published:
Tennessee just celebrated the 20th anniversary of its 1998 national championship.
When will the Vols get to celebrate another? That’s a question fans, coaches and players have been asking ever since. But the Vols are hardly alone.
In the past 50 years, 21 programs have won or shared at least one national championship. Some, like Tennessee, are still waiting for another. Some of these national champs haven’t even won a conference title in a decade or more. Others, like Florida, haven’t won another conference title since winning it all.
These title droughts have impacted some of the sport’s magic names, too: Michigan, Texas, Notre Dame, Nebraska, etc.
In this era of 7-figure annual contracts and 8-figure buyouts, patience is a quaint notion, and about as useful as a VCR.
But as quickly as ADs are discarding coaches, it’s important to remember: Not everybody can be Alabama or Clemson, where postseason parades seemingly are part of the calendar.
Rational observers understand that, certainly, but it’s fair to wonder when or whether some of these programs will ever throw another championship party.
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Managing Editor
A 30-time APSE award-winning editor with previous stints at the Miami Herald, The Indianapolis Star and News & Observer, Executive Editor Chris Wright oversees editorial operations for Saturday Down South.
