Litkenhous Ratings


The Litkenhous Difference by Score Ratings system was a mathematical system used to rank football and basketball teams. The Litrating system was developed by Vanderbilt University professor Edward Earl Litkenhous Jr. and his brother, Francis H. Litkenhous.
Edward Litkenhous received an undergraduate degree from the University of Louisville and a doctorate from the University of Minnesota. He began his career as a professor of chemical engineering at the Speed Scientific School of the University of Louisville. He later became a professor at Vanderbilt University and served as head of that school's engineering department. He died in 1984.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association football records book includes the Litkenhous Ratings as a "major selector" of college football national championships for the seasons 1934 through 1984.

College football national champions

Teams in the following table were ranked No. 1 by the Litkenhous Difference by Score Ratings system.
The NCAA records book credits Litkenhous as a "major selector" for the seasons 1934 through 1984, and credits the system with 51 total rankings. However no selections are listed in the NCAA records book for six seasons: 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, and 1980.
SeasonChampionRecordLitratingNotes
1934Minnesota Golden Gophers football team|Minnesota]8–0103.0
1935Minnesota8–0100.0
1936Minnesota7–196.4
1937Pittsburgh Panthers football team|Pittsburgh]9–0–1100.0
1938Tennessee Volunteers football team|Tennessee]11–0100.0
1939Cornell Big Red football team|Cornell]8–096.2
1940Minnesota8–0100.1
1941Minnesota8–0101.1
1942Georgia Bulldogs football team|Georgia]11–1112.2
19431943 [Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team|Notre Dame]9–1131.9
1944Army Cadets football team|Army]9–0141.8
1945Army9–0133.0
1946Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team|Notre Dame]8–0–1114.7
1947Michigan Wolverines football team|Michigan]10–0114.0
1948Michigan9–0114.1
1949Notre Dame10–0117.7
1950Oklahoma Sooners football team|Oklahoma]10–1105.6
1951Tennessee10–1114.0
1952Michigan State Spartans football team|Michigan State]9–0115.1
1953Notre Dame9–0–1110.4
1954UCLA Bruins football team|UCLA]9–0115.3
1955Oklahoma11–0109.2
1956Oklahoma10–0116.3
19571957 [Ohio State Buckeyes football team|Ohio State]9–1106.7
1958LSU Tigers football team|LSU]11–0109.9
1959Syracuse Orangemen football team|Syracuse]11–0111.0
1960Iowa Hawkeyes football team|Iowa]8–1112.8
1961Alabama Crimson Tide football team|Alabama]11–0113.5
1962Ole Miss Rebels football team|Ole Miss]10–0107.3
1963Texas Longhorns football team|Texas]11–0104.7
1964Alabama10–1104.9
1965Michigan State10–1114.0
1966Notre Dame9–0–1113.8
1967Tennessee9–2103.0
1968Georgia8–1–2111.4
1969Texas10–0117.3
1970Texas10–1124.0
1971Nebraska Cornhuskers football team|Nebraska]13–0120.6
1972USC Trojans football team|USC]12–0119.2
1973 †Alabama11–1123.0
1974Oklahoma11–0
1975 †Ohio State Buckeyes football team|Ohio State]11–1114.3
1976 †Michigan10–2115.2
1977 †Texas11–1
1978Alabama11-1
1979 †
1980 †
1981Clemson Tigers football team|Clemson]12-0
1982Nebraska †
1982 [Penn State Nittany Lions football team|Penn St]		12–1
11-1
1983Nebraska12–1145.8
1984Nebraska10-2

† Years where Litkenhous selection is omitted from the NCAA records book.

Litkenhous trophy

The No. 1 team in the year's final ranking was awarded the Litkenhous Ratings Championship trophy. The traveling trophy took the form of a huge wooden plaque and bronze mural by artist Marion Junkin.
The trophy plaque is engraved with the winners for 1934–1962. Ole Miss was evidently the last Litkenhous champion to receive the trophy; the trophy is still held today at the University of Mississippi.