Poling System

The Poling System was a mathematical rating system used to select college football national championship teams on a current basis from 1935 to 1984 and on a retroactive basis from 1924 to 1934. While there was no official method for naming a national championship in the sport during the system's existence, it is considered to have been a "National Champion Major Selector" by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The system was developed by Richard Poling, a native of Mansfield, Ohio who had played college football at Ohio Wesleyan University. The Poling System named contemporary champions from 1935 to 1984 and retroactively named champions from 1924 to 1934. Its selections were published in the Football Review Supplement and several newspapers.