The Dickinson System was a mathematical point formula that awarded national championships in college football

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 Frank G. Dickinson, the system crowned national champions from 1926 to 1940, and included predated rankings for 1924 and 1925.

The Dickinson System was the first to gain widespread national public and media acceptance as a "major selector", according to the NCAA Football Records Book prior to the establishment of the Associated Press poll in 1936.

Dickinson System champions were awarded the Rissman National Trophy, named after Chicago clothing manufacturer Jack Rissman. The trophy was retired in 1930 by Notre Dame, and later the Knute Rockne Intercollegiate Memorial Trophy.

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 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." Illinois, which played 8 games, had 172 points overall and a 21.50 rating. Professor Dickinson later added another variable, a "sectional rating" which provided for different points in a games where the teams were from different sections of the country.

National champions

Season	Champion
1924 1924 college football season The 1924 college football season was the year of the Four Horsemen as the Notre Dame team, coached by Knute Rockne, won all of its games, including the Rose Bowl, to be acclaimed as the best team in the nation. Notre Dame and Stanford were both unbeaten at season's end, and the Fighting Irish won...	Notre Dame Notre Dame Fighting Irish football Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...
1925 1925 college football season The 1925 college football season ended with the University of Alabama's recognition as a football powerhouse. The Rose Bowl was closer to a national championship than had been seen previously, providing an intersectional matchup between two unbeaten teams, the Washington Huskies and the Alabama...	Dartmouth Dartmouth Big Green football The Dartmouth Big Green football team represents Dartmouth College in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Championship Subdivision college football competition as a member of the Ivy League...
1926 1926 college football season The 1926 college football season was the first to attempt recognition of a national champion. Stanford University, coached by Glenn "Pop" Warner, was the #1 team in the nation under the Dickinson System, and awarded the Rissman Trophy. Unbeaten Stanford faced unbeaten Alabama in the Rose Bowl...	Stanford Stanford Cardinal football The Stanford Cardinal football program represents Stanford University in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level and is a member of the Pac-12 Conference's North Division. Stanford, the top-ranked academic institution with an FBS program, has a highly successful football tradition. The...
1927 1927 college football season The 1927 college football season ended with the Illini of the University of Illinois being recognized as champion under the Dickinson system. In the Rose Bowl, the Pittsburgh Panthers were invited to play against the Pacific Coast Conference champion...	Illinois Illinois Fighting Illini football The Illinois Fighting Illini are a major college football program, representing the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. They compete in NCAA Division I-A and the Big Ten Conference.-Current staff:-All-time win/loss/tie record:*563-513-51...
1928 1928 college football season The 1928 college football season had the USC Trojans recognized as champions under the Dickinson System, but the Rose Bowl was contested between the #2 and #3 teams, California and Georgia Tech...	USC
1929 1929 college football season The 1929 college football season saw a number of unbeaten and untied teams. Purdue, Tulane, Notre Dame and Pittsburgh all finished the regular season with wins over all their opponents; Notre Dame was recognized as national champion under the Dickinson system...	Notre Dame
1930 1930 college football season The 1930 college football season saw Notre Dame repeat as national champion under the Dickinson system, and a post-season Rose Bowl matchup between two unbeaten teams, Washington State and Alabama, ranked #2 and #3, respectively...	Notre Dame
1931 1931 college football season The 1931 college football season saw the USC Trojans win the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy as national champion under the Dickinson system. Rockne, who had coached Notre Dame to a championship in 1930, had been killed in a plane crash on March 31, 1931. For the first time, the champion under the...	USC
1932 1932 college football season The 1932 college football season saw the Michigan Wolverines win the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy as national champion under the Dickinson system. Because the "Big Nine" conference didn't permit its teams to play in the postseason, however, the Wolverines were not able to accept a bid to the Rose...	Michigan 1932 Michigan Wolverines football team The 1932 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1932 college football season. The team's head football coach was Harry Kipke...
1933 1933 college football season The 1933 college football season saw the Michigan Wolverines repeat as winners of the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy as national champion under the Dickinson system. Thirteen members of the old Southern Conference split off in 1933 to form the Southeastern Conference . The ten Southern teams that...	Michigan 1933 Michigan Wolverines football team The 1933 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1933 college football season. The team's head football coach was Harry Kipke...
1934 1934 college football season The 1934 college football season saw the addition of not one, but two New Year's Day football games to rival the venerable Rose Bowl. On February 15, Warren V. Miller and Joseph M. Cousins had organized the New Orleans Mid-Winter Sports Association and by October, the group had enough funds to...	Minnesota Minnesota Golden Gophers football The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers are one of the oldest programs in college football history. They compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and the Big Ten Conference. The Golden Gophers have claimed six national championships and have an all time record of 646–481–44 as...
1935 1935 college football season The 1935 college football season was the last one before the Associated Press writers' poll was used in selecting the national champion. The Dickinson System, consisting of the calculations of University of Illinois Professor Frank Dickinson, crowned Southern Methodist University as the best in...	SMU SMU Mustangs football The SMU Mustangs football program is a college football team that represents Southern Methodist University . The team competes in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision as a member Conference USA...
1936 1936 college football season The 1936 college football season was the first in which the Associated Press writers' poll selected a national champion. The first AP poll, taken of 35 writers, was released on October 20, 1936...	Minnesota
1937 1937 college football season The 1937 college football season ended with the Panthers of the University of Pittsburgh being named the nation’s #1 team by 30 of the 33 electors in the Associated Press writers' poll...	Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Panthers football Pittsburgh Panthers football is the intercollegiate football team of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Traditionally the most popular sport at the university, Pitt football has played at the highest level of American college football...
1938 1938 college football season The 1938 college football season ended with the Horned Frogs of Texas Christian University being named the nation’s #1 team by 55 of the 77 electors in the Associated Press writers' poll. The AP poll was in its second year, and seven votes were taken during the final weeks of the 1937 season,...	Notre Dame
1939 1939 college football season The 1939 college football season concluded with the Aggies of The Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas being named as the national champions by the voters in the Associated Press writers' poll....	USC
1940 1940 college football season The 1940 college football season ended with the Gophers of the University of Minnesota being named the nation’s #1 team and national champion, and the Stanford University Indians in second, with the two teams receiving 65 and 44 first place votes respectively...	Minnesota