The Dickinson System was a mathematical point formula that awarded national championships in college football. Devised by University of Illinois economics professor Frank G. Dickinson, the system ranked national teams from 1924 to 1940. The 1924 ratings were made retroactively by Dickinson during the 1925 college football season, the first in which a number 1 team was designated at the end of the season. The retroactive choice on October 16, 1925, for the 1924 season was Notre Dame.[1]
The system was originally designed to rank teams in the Big Nine (later the Big Ten) conference. Chicago clothing manufacturer Jack Rissman then persuaded Dickinson to rank the nation's teams under the system, and awarded the Rissman Trophy to the winning university.[2]
The Dickinson System was the first to gain widespread national public and media acceptance as a "major selector" according to the NCAA[3] prior to the establishment of the Associated Press poll in 1936.
- ^ "Illini Fourth in Dickinson's National Rank", The Urbana (IL) Daily Courier, October 17, 1925, p.6 ("Prof. Frank G. Dickinson broadcast his 1924 national championship football ratings out of Chicago last night. He was invited to talk at the "WHT" radio station... Notre Dame, generally accepted as the national champion following its all-conquering season, proved to be the leading eleven in Dickinson's method.")
- ^ Herschel Nissenson Tales From College Football's Sidelines (Sports Publishing LLC, 2001), p93.
- ^ https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2020-11-05/ap-poll-dickinson-system-ruled-college-football-rankings [bare URL]