Dickinson System

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.

Trophies

Rissman Trophy

The original Dickinson System prize was the Rissman Trophy, named after Chicago clothing manufacturer Jack F. Rissman.^[4]

The Rissman Trophy was permanently awarded to Notre Dame following their third Dickinson title in 1930.^[5]

Rockne Trophy

Following the retirement of the Rissman Trophy and the death of Knute Rockne in early 1931, the second Dickinson trophy was named the Knute Rockne Intercollegiate Memorial Trophy.

Minnesota retired the Rockne Trophy after winning their third Dickinson title in 1940.^[6]

Methodology

An explanation for the mathematical calculations was usually given as part of the story of the season ending rankings. In 1927, the AP story^{[citation needed]} about the "national football championship" for that year noted that "Scores of 96 football teams were compiled by Dr. Dickinson in seven football conferences, including an Eastern group of 25 leading teams regarded for convenience as a conference...

"The Dickinson system awards 30 points for a victory over a strong team, and 20 for victory over a weak team. Defeats count half as much as victories [15 pts vs. strong team, 10 pts vs. weak team], and ties are considered as games half won and half lost [22.5 points vs. strong, 15 vs. weak]. Dividing this total by the number of games played gives the final rating."^[7] Professor Dickinson later added another variable, a "sectional rating" which provided for different points in games where the teams were from different sections of the country.^[8]

Annual rankings

Season	No. 1	No. 2	No. 3	No. 4	No. 5	No. 6	No. 7	No. 8	No. 9	No. 10	No. 11	Source
1924	Notre Dame (27.50)	California (25.63)	Yale (21.25)	Illinois (20.88)	Stanford (18.75)	Iowa (17.50)	USC (15.66)	Penn (15.00)	Dartmouth (14.60)	Missouri (14.07)	Chicago (13.13)	[9][10]
1925	Dartmouth (20.00)	Tie: Michigan (19.38) Alabama (19.38)	--	Colgate (18.75)	Missouri (16.25)	Tulane (15.00)	Washington (14.75)	Tie: Wisconsin (13.75) Stanford (13.75)	--	Pittsburgh (12.50)	Lafayette (11.88)	[9][11]
1926	Stanford (22.50)	Navy (21.88)	Tie: Michigan (21.25) Notre Dame (21.25)	--	Lafayette (20.00)	USC (17.50)	Alabama (16.67)	Ohio State (16.25)	Army (14.38)	4-Way Tie: Brown (13.75) Illinois (13.75) Northwestern (13.75) Penn (13.75)	--	[12][10]
1927	Illinois (21.50)	Pittsburgh (21.42)	Minnesota (20.88)	Notre Dame (20.83)	Yale (20.00)	Army (18.75)	Michigan (18.33)	Georgia (17.50)	Nebraska (17.42)	USC (16.35)	Texas A&M (15.00)	[13]
1928	USC (24.13)	California (22.50)	Georgia Tech (20.00)	Tie: Stanford 19.17 Wisconsin (19.17)	--	3-way tie: Carnegie Tech (18.33) Illinois (18.33) Iowa (18.33)	--	--	Army (17.50)	NYU (16.25)	Penn (15.00)	[14]
1929	Notre Dame (25.00)	Purdue (23.60)	Pittsburgh (22.00)	California (20.00)	Illinois (18.70)	USC (17.75)	Nebraska (16.80)	TCU (16.51)	SMU (16.31)	Tulane (16.27)	Penn (15.00)	[15]
1930	Notre Dame (25.13)	Washington State (20.44)	Alabama (20.18)	Northwestern (18.63)	Michigan (18.34)	USC (17.98)	Stanford (17.92)	Dartmouth (17.11)	Army (16.66)	Tennessee (16.15)	Tulane (16.05)	[16]
1931	USC (26.25)	Tulane (24.85)	Tennessee (23.10)	Northwestern (22.45)	Saint Mary's (22.23)	Georgia (21.25)	Harvard (19.50)	Yale (18.79)	Pittsburgh (17.50)	Purdue (16.58)	Notre Dame (16.17)	[17]
1932	Michigan (28.47)	USC (26.81)	Pittsburgh (26.49)	Purdue (26.33)	Colgate (25.00)	Ohio State (23.60)	Notre Dame (20.44)	Army (20.00)	Tennessee (19.16)	TCU (19.12)	Wisconsin (18.80)	[18]
1933	Michigan (28.53)	Nebraska (24.61)	Minnesota (23.87)	Pittsburgh (23.01)	Ohio State (22.79)	USC (22.61)	Princeton (22.50)	Oregon (22.36)	Army (22.16)	Purdue (21.88)	Stanford (20.34)	[19]
1934	Minnesota (23.51)	Pittsburgh (24.19)	Navy (23.00)	Illinois (22.01)	Rice (21.97)	Alabama (21.70)	Columbia (21.67)	Ohio State (21.51)	Colgate (21.06)	Stanford (20.34)	Tulane (21.03)	[20]
1935	SMU (28.01)	Minnesota (27.35)	Princeton (26.00)	LSU (24.03)	Tie: Stanford (23.11) California (23.11)	--	Ohio State (22.21)	TCU (22.01)	Notre Dame (21.66)	UCLA (21.25)	Fordham (20.89)	[21]
1936	Minnesota (23.77)	LSU (22.59)	Pittsburgh (22.28)	Washington (21.34)	Alabama (20.01)	Northwestern (20.87)	Notre Dame (20.18)	Duke (20.04)	Penn (20.00)	Nebraska (19.82)	Duquesne	[22]
1937	Pittsburgh (22.84)	Fordham (22.54)	Dartmouth (22.50)	Alabama (21.97)	Nebraska (21.12)	Yale (21.07)	California (20.82)	LSU (20.75)	Santa Clara (20.36)	Notre Dame (19.85)	Minnesota (19.58)	[23][10]
1938	Notre Dame (27.72)	Duke (27.10)	Tennessee (26.68)	USC (23.71)	Oklahoma (23.69)	Michigan (23.02)	Minnesota (22.71)	TCU (22.67)	Alabama (22.63)	Carnegie Tech (22.62)	Pittsburgh (22.54)	[24]
1939	USC (25.73)	Texas A&M (25.43)	Cornell (25.26)	Tulane (23.61)	Tennessee (22.97)	Notre Dame (22.59)	Michigan (22.50)	Duke (22.34)	Missouri (22.29)	UCLA (21.91)	Iowa (21.02)	[25]
1940	Minnesota (29.55)	Michigan (26.16)	Stanford (25.84)	Tennessee (25.76)	Texas A&M (25.74)	Penn (24.78)	Mississippi State (24.28)	SMU (23.82)	Texas (23.33)	Nebraska (23.12)	Northwestern (22.51)	[26]

References

1. "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.")
2. Herschel Nissenson Tales From College Football's Sidelines (Sports Publishing LLC, 2001), p93.
3. https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2020-11-05/ap-poll-dickinson-system-ruled-college-football-rankings ^{[bare URL]}
4. Wallace, Francis (1960). Knute Rockne. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc. pp. 171–173.
5. Kiener, John A. (February 7, 1930). "Highlights of Football Season" (PDF). The Notre Dame Scholastic. Vol. LXIV, no. 11. South Bend, Indiana: University of Notre Dame. Retrieved May 19, 2022. the Fighting Irish received the Jack F. Rissman national Intercollegiate football trophy for the year 1930. Not only did they receive it for the present season but for all time; three times a winner within the same decade means permanent possession of the trophy.
6. "Irish National Championships". University of Notre Dame Athletics. Archived from the original on January 17, 2018. Retrieved May 19, 2022. The annual Dickinson ratings were emblematic of the national championship and the basis for awarding the Rissman Trophy and the Knute K. Rockne Intercollegiate Memorial Trophy. Notre Dame gained permanent possession of the Rissman Trophy after its third victory in 1930. Minnesota retired the Rockne Trophy after winning it for a third time in 1940.
7. "ILLINOIS BEST FOOTBALL TEAM OF YEAR," The Syracuse Herald, Dec. 4, 1927, p23
8. "Dickinson Discovers Gophers Are Nation's Best Football Eleven," The Vidette-Messenger (Valparaiso,IN), Dec. 3, 1940, p6
9. Dickinson, Frank G. (January 8, 1926). "Dickinson Football Rating System: Dartmouth Declared National Champion". The Pantagraph. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
10. Dickinson, Frank G. (February 1941). "Minnesota is the Top Team in Recent Ten Year Rankings". Dickinson's Football Ratings — from Grange to Harmon. Omaha, Nebraska: What's What Publishing Company. p. 4–5.
11. "National Dickinson Football Ratings". The Honolulu Advertiser. January 24, 1926. Retrieved January 19, 2023. Places Dartmouth at the top of the column
12. "Stanford Eleven Adjudged Best: Navy Ranks Second Under Dickinson System of Rating Teams". The Morning Post. Camden, N.J. December 17, 1926. p. 23 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Illinois Rated As America's Champs: Dr. Dickinson of Illinois Devises Rating System for Grid Teams". The Morning Call. December 4, 1927. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Trojans Rated as Leading College Team in Country". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. December 9, 1928. p. 42 – via Newspapers.com.
15. "National Trophy to Notre Dame". The Miami Herald. December 2, 1929. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
16. "Notre Dame Wins National Title by Dickinson System". Messenger-Inquirer. December 7, 1930. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
17. "Dickinson Gives Title to Trojans". Monroe Morning World. December 13, 1931. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
18. Written at Champaign, Illinois. "Michigan Gets Rockne Trophy as U.S. Champ". The Daily Argus-Leader. Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Associated Press. December 11, 1932. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
19. "Dickinson Picks Michigan: Trojans Rated Sixth In Grid Title Listings". The Pasadena Post. December 10, 1933. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
20. "Dickinson Rates Minnesota Team As Best in U.S." The Salt Lake Tribune. December 9, 1934. p. 24 – via Newspapers.com.
21. "So. Methodist Rated No. 1 by Dickinson". Chicago Tribune. December 10, 1935. p. 21 – via Newspapers.com.
22. "Gophers Get No. 1 Rating". The Wilkes-Barre Record. December 9, 1936. p. 19 – via Newspapers.com.(Dickinson made his ratings before Santa Clara played TCU, noting that Santa Clara would drop out of the top 11 if it lost to TCU, with Duquesne climbing into the No. 11 spot.)
23. "Dickinson Rates Pitt Greatest". The Pittsburgh Press. December 12, 1937. p. 41 – via Newspapers.com.
24. "Notre Dame Rated First". The Baltimore Sun. December 6, 1938. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.
25. "Southern Cal Is Rated First". The Billings Gazette. December 12, 1939. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
26. "Dickinson Likes Minnesota, Too". The Hastings Daily Tribune. December 3, 1940. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.