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
1934Minnesota8–0103.0
1935Minnesota8–0100.0
1936Minnesota7–196.4
1937Pittsburgh9–0–1100.0
1938Tennessee11–0100.0
1939Cornell8–096.2
1940Minnesota8–0100.1
1941Minnesota8–0101.1
1942Georgia11–1112.2
1943Notre Dame9–1131.9
1944Army9–0141.8
1945Army9–0133.0
1946Notre Dame8–0–1114.7
1947Michigan10–0114.0
1948Michigan9–0114.1
1949Notre Dame10–0117.7
1950Oklahoma10–1105.6
1951Tennessee10–1114.0
1952Michigan State9–0115.1
1953Notre Dame9–0–1110.4
1954UCLA9–0115.3
1955Oklahoma11–0109.2
1956Oklahoma10–0116.3
1957Ohio State9–1106.7
1958LSU11–0109.9
1959Syracuse11–0111.0
1960Iowa8–1112.8
1961Alabama11–0113.5
1962Ole Miss10–0107.3
1963Texas11–0104.7
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
1971Nebraska13–0120.6
1972USC12–0119.2
1973 †Alabama11–1123.0
1974Oklahoma11–0
1975 †Ohio State11–1114.3
1976 †Michigan10–2115.2
1977 †Texas11–1
1978Alabama11-1
1979 †
1980 †
1981Clemson12-0
1982Nebraska †
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.