Who holds the College Football Belt?

Notre Dame holds the College Football Belt. Notre Dame took it from Stanford, 49–20, on November 29, 2025 and has defended it twice since (291 days and counting). It is Notre Dame’s 9th reign.

When is the next belt game?

The next belt game is Notre Dame hosts Michigan State on Saturday, September 19, 2026 at Notre Dame Stadium. If Michigan State wins, the belt changes hands; a tie or a Notre Dame win keeps it where it is. The model gives Notre Dame a 97% chance to defend (full preview).

What is the College Football Belt?

The College Football Belt is college football’s lineal championship: one title, held by one program, that can only be taken by beating the holder on the field — the same idea as boxing’s lineal champion. It started with the first college football game ever played, Princeton at Rutgers on November 6, 1869, and it has passed through 328 reigns and 101 programs across 1,634 belt games since. Nothing is voted on. More about the belt.

How does the belt change hands?

Beat the holder and the belt is yours; every other result leaves it where it is. Ties stay with the holder, bowl and playoff games count like any other, and if the holder is idle (a bye, a canceled season) the belt waits for its next game. Every reign is computed mechanically from the full game record, with no editorial calls. The full ruleset.

Who has held the belt the longest?

The longest single reign is Princeton’s, November 13, 1869 to November 30, 1876 (2,574 days, 10 defenses). USC has had the most reigns (13), and Princeton has held it for the most days in total (6,883). All the records.

Is the College Football Belt official?

No. It is an independent fan project — no school, conference or the NCAA has anything to do with it, and it awards nothing but bragging rights. The lineage is rebuilt automatically from the College Football Data API every few hours during the season, and the whole thing is free to download.

Current holder · 9th reign

Notre Dame

Took the belt from Stanford, 49–20, on November 29, 2025. Two defenses since.

291Days held

2Defenses

9Career reigns

A lineal title passed hand to hand, on the field, since Rutgers beat Princeton 6–4 on November 6, 1869. No committee, no poll — you have to take it from whoever’s holding it.

How the belt works →

Chain of custody

How the belt got here

All 328 reigns →

↑ 321 earlier reigns since 1869

Floridadef. Ole Miss 24–17November 23, 2024 · 3 def.

South Floridadef. Florida 18–16September 6, 2025 · 0 def.

Miamidef. South Florida 49–12September 13, 2025 · 2 def.

Louisvilledef. Miami 24–21October 17, 2025 · 2 def.

Californiadef. Louisville 29–26November 8, 2025 · 0 def.

Stanforddef. California 31–10November 22, 2025 · 0 def.

Notre Damedef. Stanford 49–20Holding · 291 days

September 16

On this day

7 belt games since 1869

2023 Washington at Michigan State 41–7 Defended 2017 Clemson at Louisville 47–21 Defended 2006 Cincinnati at Ohio State 7–37 Defended 2000 North Carolina at Florida State 14–63 Defended

Browse another date →

The ruleset

Four rules. No asterisks.

Won on the field
Beat the holder, take the belt. Every other result leaves it exactly where it was.
Ties: holder retains
Standard lineal convention. A tie isn’t a loss, so it isn’t treated like one.
Idle holder, belt carries
A bye, a canceled season, a bowl opt-out — the belt just waits for the next game.
Computed, not researched
Every reign is derived mechanically from the full game record — no editorial judgment per game.

Full ruleset, with sourcing notes →

1,634

Belt games

328

Reigns

101

Programs

158

Years, 1869–present

Go deeper

Explore the belt

Animated map

Scrub through 158 years of the belt’s journey, state by state.

Records

Longest reigns, most defenses, total days held, longest droughts.

Season outlook

Every program’s odds of holding the belt when the season ends, from the remaining schedule.

My Team

Pick your program and see when you could get a shot at the belt.

Stories

21 long-form pieces computed live from the lineage — they can’t go stale.

The Daily Belt

One former holder, six guesses, a new clue after every miss. Same puzzle for everyone each day.

Timeline

All 328 reigns as one strip of colored bars, a row per decade.

Rivalries

The pairs that keep meeting with the belt on the line, and who leads.

All 1,634 games Season by season The current reign Belt-game leaders Heartbreak list States Decades Conference belts The lean’s ledger Compare teams Trivia Defend or Dethrone The Losers Belt About API

Straight answers

Belt FAQ

Who holds the College Football Belt?
Notre Dame holds the College Football Belt. Notre Dame took it from Stanford, 49–20, on November 29, 2025 and has defended it twice since (291 days and counting). It is Notre Dame’s 9th reign.
When is the next belt game?
The next belt game is Notre Dame hosts Michigan State on Saturday, September 19, 2026 at Notre Dame Stadium. If Michigan State wins, the belt changes hands; a tie or a Notre Dame win keeps it where it is. The model gives Notre Dame a 97% chance to defend (full preview).
What is the College Football Belt?
The College Football Belt is college football’s lineal championship: one title, held by one program, that can only be taken by beating the holder on the field — the same idea as boxing’s lineal champion. It started with the first college football game ever played, Princeton at Rutgers on November 6, 1869, and it has passed through 328 reigns and 101 programs across 1,634 belt games since. Nothing is voted on. More about the belt.
How does the belt change hands?
Beat the holder and the belt is yours; every other result leaves it where it is. Ties stay with the holder, bowl and playoff games count like any other, and if the holder is idle (a bye, a canceled season) the belt waits for its next game. Every reign is computed mechanically from the full game record, with no editorial calls. The full ruleset.
Who has held the belt the longest?
The longest single reign is Princeton’s, November 13, 1869 to November 30, 1876 (2,574 days, 10 defenses). USC has had the most reigns (13), and Princeton has held it for the most days in total (6,883). All the records.
Is the College Football Belt official?
No. It is an independent fan project — no school, conference or the NCAA has anything to do with it, and it awards nothing but bragging rights. The lineage is rebuilt automatically from the College Football Data API every few hours during the season, and the whole thing is free to download.

Know the moment it changes hands

Title changes only — no weekly noise.

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How email alerts work

Every time the belt changes hands it hits the feed below the moment the site rebuilds. Blogtrottr (or any RSS-to-email service) emails you when it happens — nothing to sign up for here, no account needed on this end.

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