The 9 Longest Conference Championship Droughts In College Football

A conference championship may not be college football’s ultimate prize, but it’s still a pretty impressive achievement. However, there are some teams that have gone a very, very long time since their last one.

Here’s a look at the college football teams with the longest championship drought in each conference

Conference championship games have managed to become a somewhat controversial topic in the College Football Playoff Era. Some teams on the bubble would prefer to avoid them entirely, but they still offer schools the opportunity to get some bragging rights.

Unfortunately, there are some programs that haven’t been able to claim a title in quite a while (as well as some that are still in search of their first), and I decided to take a look at every FBS conference to see which schools are currently experiencing the longest drought.

Realignment has made this endeavor a bit complicated, but for the purpose of this list, I’m only going to consider droughts stemming back from the date a P4 school joined the conference it currently belongs to.

I’m also going to switch things up when we get to G5 schools by simply looking at the teams with the longest overall drought, as the amount of reshuffling and restructuring makes those programs a bit of a nightmare to deal with.

ACC: NC State—46 Years

NC State was one of the six founding members of the ACC when it formed in 1953. The Wolfpack got their first conference championship, and they racked up four more under Earle Edwards in the 1960s (including three straight starting in 1963) before adding a couple more in 1970.

However, they’ve been in search of their eighth since 1979, and they have not even earned the right to appear in the ACC Championship Game since it was played for the first time in 2005.

Big Ten: Indiana and Minnesota—58 Years

Minnesota has been a member of the Big Ten since it was founded in 1896, and the Golden Gophers were once a college football powerhouse that won five national titles between 1934 and 1941 during the Bernie Bierman Era. He also led them to eight of their 18 conference championships, but they haven’t gotten one since splitting the crown with Indiana in 1967.

That was also the last year the Hoosiers won what was just their second Big Ten title, although they will have the chance to bring the drought to an end after close to six decades against Ohio State in their first-ever championship game appearance.

Big 12: Iowa State—113 Years

If we’re being technical, Iowa State has never won a Big 12 title. They had two back-to-back conference championships as a member of the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association starting in 1911, but for all intents and purposes, the Big 12 can trace its origins to the collective that was originally known as the “Big Six” (which was created in 1928).

The Cyclones were a member of that core group, and unlike Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma, they’ve been unable to get a single conference championship since the Big Six Era began.

SEC: Vanderbilt—98 Years

Vanderbilt has historically been a bit of an afterthought in the SEC since joining as a founding member in 1932, and as was the case with Iowa State, the Commodores have never actually won a single title since its formation.

You have to go all the way back to 1923 for Vandy’s last title, as the team was a member of the Southern Conference when Dan McGugin won his 11th and final conference championship as their head coach.

American: USF—24 Years

USF made the leap to Division I in 2001, and the Bulls (who spent a couple of years in the next conference on this list before linking up with the Big East, which was the spiritual predecessor of the AAC) have not won a conference title since deciding to join the big boys.

If we’re being technical, Navy has the longest drought of any team in the conference, but the Midshipmen have only had the chance to compete for a championship for a decade since abandoning their status as an independent in 2015.

Conference USA:  New Mexico State—47 Years

New Mexico State joined CUSA in 2023 following stints with the Sun Belt, WAC, Big West, and Missouri Valley. The Aggies were still a member of the last conference on that list the last time they won a title in 1978, which was their second in three years.

MAC: Kent State—53 Years

In 2024, Ohio snapped a conference championship drought that stretched back close to 60 years with a win over Miami (Ohio) that got the Bobcats their first MAC title since 1968.

The victory meant Kent State now has the dubious honor of being the MAC member that’s gone the longest without a title, as the Golden Flashes haven’t checked that box since 1972.

Mountain West: New Mexico—61 Years

21 FBS schools have never been ranked in the Top 25, and none of them have had an active program longer than New Mexico.

It’s subsequently not a huge surprise to discover they also have the longest conference championship drought of any current Mountain West team, as the Lobos haven’t gotten a single title since capping off the WAC threepeat in 1964.

Sun Belt: Louisiana-Monroe—20 Years

We’re closing things out with Louisiana-Monroe, which currently boasts the longest active drought among the 14 teams that comprise the Sun Belt as the Warhawks continue to hunt for their first conference championship since 2005.