With Arkansas' win over TCU last night, the Belt has moved out of the Big 12 for the first time since West Virginia became a member. The Big 12 had the belt for longer than in any conference had kept it before.

What is the belt? It's an honorary title that can only be lost on the field of play. Once a team wins the belt, they keep it until they lose. Whoever they lose to then has the belt. The belt can be won/lost in consecutive weeks, and has done so many times.

Should Texas State somehow upset Arkansas this week, the Sun Belt Conference would have the belt for the first time ever.

http://collegefootballbelt.com/index.htm

The Belt was originally retroactively awarded to Nebraska in 1971, however was further researched and determined if starting with the first ever college football game between Princeton/Rutgers the belt would have still been awarded to Nebraska that year. Likewise starting with the first AP National Champion 1936 Minnesota team, also winds up going to Nebraska in 1971.

I know its silly, but I figured a few of you would get a kick out of it. I just discovered the Belt a couple days ago from a post on Reddit.

(09-11-2016 12:00 PM)Phlipper33 Wrote:  With Arkansas' win over TCU last night, the Belt has moved out of the Big 12 for the first time since West Virginia became a member. The Big 12 had the belt for longer than in any conference had kept it before.

What is the belt? It's an honorary title that can only be lost on the field of play. Once a team wins the belt, they keep it until they lose. Whoever they lose to then has the belt. The belt can be won/lost in consecutive weeks, and has done so many times.

Should Texas State somehow upset Arkansas this week, the Sun Belt Conference would have the belt for the first time ever.

http://collegefootballbelt.com/index.htm

The Belt was originally retroactively awarded to Nebraska in 1971, however was further researched and determined if starting with the first ever college football game between Princeton/Rutgers the belt would have still been awarded to Nebraska that year. Likewise starting with the first AP National Champion 1936 Minnesota team, also winds up going to Nebraska in 1971.

I know its silly, but I figured a few of you would get a kick out of it. I just discovered the Belt a couple days ago from a post on Reddit.

Amusing. Never thought of college football like the WBA/WBC/IBF.

I saw an Arkansas player carrying a belt over his shoulder in the moments right after the game. Wondered what it was. Thanks for the note

Huh, I've never heard of this. I guess you really can learn something new every day

That is kinda cool - especially how all reasonable starting points seem to converge on that 1971 Nebraska team.

Interesting concept...is there a picture of the belt?

Now that it's in the SEC, I feel like it's making it's way to Bama lol

(09-12-2016 08:31 AM)EvilVodka Wrote:  Interesting concept...is there a picture of the belt?

Now that it's in the SEC, I feel like it's making it's way to Bama lol

Which means it's coming back to FSU next year.

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(09-12-2016 06:46 AM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  That is kinda cool - especially how all reasonable starting points seem to converge on that 1971 Nebraska team.

I tried starting from the first bowl game ever played - Cincinnati vs New Orleans Southern Athletic Club on January 1st, 1898 (after the 1897 season). It converged with the Rutgers-Princeton belt winner on October 28th, 1899 when Harvard beat the famous Carlisle Indians.

Less than 2 full seasons before those belts converged. Fascinating.

Team - Date it took the belt
Cincinnati 1/1/1898
Oberlin 10/22/1898
Cornell 10/29/1898
Penn 11/25/1898
Carlisle 10/14/1899
Harvard 10/29/1899

I just researched it from the first Rose Bowl:

Team - Date it took the belt
Michigan 1/1/1902
Chicago 11/20/1905
Minnesota 11/10/1906
Calisle 11/17/1906
Vanderbilt 11/22/1906
Michigan 11/2/1907
Penn 11/16/1907
Michigan 11/13/1909
Cornell 11/11/1911
Chicago 11/18/1911
Wisconsin 11/2/1912
Michigan State 10/25/1913
Michigan 10/17/1914
Syracuse 10/24/1914
Dartmouth 11/21/1914
Princeton 10/23/1915
Harvard 11/6/1915
Tufts 10/7/1916
Princeton 10/14/1916
Harvard 11/11/1916 - converges with Princeton/Rutgers winner

Michigan held it for most of the time before it converged - nearly 6 years.

By the way, the winner of the Rutgers/Princeton belt can be traced here:
http://www.footballgeography.com/college...mpionship/

What in the world ? I have never heard of the belt, why now ?
I need to learn more, like if its true or not

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The belt is an interesting concept. It's trivial, because college football competition isn't structured like boxing, but it's fun to look at just the same.

It's a really interesting statistical phenomenon that tracking game winners tends to consolidate into a single line of teams that have beaten other teams that have won games.

I'm actually convinced that this is a reasonable approximation of a rolling national championship. This is a little fantastical, but imagine if bowl games were actually lined up in order to unify competing championship claims.

I decided to track a new line based on the first Bowl Coalition champion in 1992-93. The preceding several national championship polls were split among co-champs, so when Alabama beat Miami, it was the first consensus champ in a while.

Alabama 1/1/1993
LSU 11/6/1993
Arkansas 11/27/1993
South Carolina 9/10/1994
East Carolina 10/8/1994
Virginia Tech 10/15/1994
Miami 10/29/1994
Nebraska 1/1/1995
Arizona State 9/21/1996
Ohio State 1/1/1997
Penn State 10/11/1997
Michigan 11/7/1997
Notre Dame 9/5/1998
Michigan State 9/12/1998
Michigan 9/26/1998
Ohio State 11/21/1998
Miami 8/29/1999
Penn State 9/18/1999
Minnesota 11/6/1999
Oregon 12/31/1999
Wisconsin 9/9/2000
Northwestern 9/23/2000
Purdue 10/14/2000
Michigan State 11/11/2000
Penn State 11/18/2000
Miami 9/1/2001

When Nebraska won this alternate belt in '95, that was also the final National Championship Game of the Bowl Coalition era. They went undefeated the next season and defended this belt in the first National Championship Game of the Bowl Alliance era.

This belt merged into the main line at the beginning of the 2001 season, which Miami took into and defended in that season's BCS-era National Championship Game too.

(09-13-2016 08:48 AM)CenterSquarEd Wrote:  It's a really interesting statistical phenomenon that tracking game winners tends to consolidate into a single line of teams that have beaten other teams that have won games.

I'm actually convinced that this is a reasonable approximation of a rolling national championship. This is a little fantastical, but imagine if bowl games were actually lined up in order to unify competing championship claims.

I decided to track a new line based on the first Bowl Coalition champion in 1992-93. The preceding several national championship polls were split among co-champs, so when Alabama beat Miami, it was the first consensus champ in a while.

Alabama 1/1/1993
LSU 11/6/1993
Arkansas 11/27/1993
South Carolina 9/10/1994
East Carolina 10/8/1994
Virginia Tech 10/15/1994
Miami 10/29/1994
Nebraska 1/1/1995
Arizona State 9/21/1996
Ohio State 1/1/1997
Penn State 10/11/1997
Michigan 11/7/1997
Notre Dame 9/5/1998
Michigan State 9/12/1998
Michigan 9/26/1998
Ohio State 11/21/1998
Miami 8/29/1999
Penn State 9/18/1999
Minnesota 11/6/1999
Oregon 12/31/1999
Wisconsin 9/9/2000
Northwestern 9/23/2000
Purdue 10/14/2000
Michigan State 11/11/2000
Penn State 11/18/2000
Miami 9/1/2001

When Nebraska won this alternate belt in '95, that was also the final National Championship Game of the Bowl Coalition era. They went undefeated the next season and defended this belt in the first National Championship Game of the Bowl Alliance era.

This belt merged into the main line at the beginning of the 2001 season, which Miami took into and defended in that season's BCS-era National Championship Game too.

Woohoo! National Champs!!!

(09-13-2016 08:48 AM)CenterSquarEd Wrote:  I'm actually convinced that this is a reasonable approximation of a rolling national championship. This is a little fantastical, but imagine if bowl games were actually lined up in order to unify competing championship claims.

I think the original goal of the bowl coalition was to do exactly that - unify competing championship claims.

Of course once you have a national title game, you get mission creep. That's why you've got these ridiculous calls for an 8 team playoff.

(09-13-2016 10:28 AM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  

(09-13-2016 08:48 AM)CenterSquarEd Wrote:  I'm actually convinced that this is a reasonable approximation of a rolling national championship. This is a little fantastical, but imagine if bowl games were actually lined up in order to unify competing championship claims.

I think the original goal of the bowl coalition was to do exactly that - unify competing championship claims.

Of course once you have a national title game, you get mission creep. That's why you've got these ridiculous calls for an 8 team playoff.

And if one of the stated goals of the anti-playoff camp is to make the regular season meaningful in a way that it isn't in other sports, then what better than the Belt?!

We should add some belated congratulations to Texas A&M for having taken the Belt last Saturday with their one-point win over Arkansas. The Aggies are also ranked #9 in the AP Poll. If they can defend the Belt against South Carolina and Tennessee, then Alabama (AP #1) will have a chance to fight for it on Oct. 22nd.

With A&M holding it, odds are pretty decent that the winner of the CFP will also hold the belt since TAMU is probably in the playoff with a win over Bama and taking the SEC title or Bama will take it from TAMU, be SEC west champs and in the playoff with a win in the title game.