Litkenhous Ratings

The Litkenhous Difference by Score Ratings system was a mathematical system used to rank football and basketball teams.^[1][2][3] The Litrating system was developed by Vanderbilt University professor Edward E. Litkenhous (1907 – December 22, 1984)^[2] and his brother, Francis H. Litkenhous (December 9, 1912 – June 22, 1996).^[1][4]

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football records book includes the Litkenhous Ratings as a "major selector" of college football national championships for the seasons 1934 through 1984.^[4]

College football national champions

Litkenhous Ratings Championship trophy, 1934–1962^[5]

Teams in the following table were ranked No. 1 by the Litkenhous Difference by Score Ratings system.^[6][7]

The NCAA records book credits Litkenhous as a "major selector" for the seasons 1934 through 1984, and credits the system with 51 total rankings.^[4] However no selections are listed in the NCAA records book for six seasons: 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, and 1980.^[4]

Season	Champion[6][7]	Record	Litrating	Notes
1934	Minnesota	8–0	103.0
1935	Minnesota	8–0	100.0
1936	Minnesota	7–1	96.4
1937	Pittsburgh	9–0–1	100.0
1938	Tennessee	11–0	100.0
1939	Cornell	8–0	96.2
1940	Minnesota	8–0	100.1
1941	Minnesota	8–0	101.1
1942	Georgia	11–1	112.2
1943	Notre Dame	9–1	131.9
1944	Army	9–0	141.8
1945[8]	Army	9–0	133.0
1946	Notre Dame	8–0–1	114.7
1947[9]	Michigan	10–0	114.0
1948	Michigan	9–0	114.1
1949	Notre Dame	10–0	117.7
1950	Oklahoma	10–1	105.6
1951	Tennessee	10–1	114.0
1952	Michigan State	9–0	115.1
1953	Notre Dame	9–0–1	110.4
1954	UCLA	9–0	115.3
1955	Oklahoma	11–0	109.2
1956	Oklahoma	10–0	116.3
1957[6]	Ohio State	9–1	106.7
1958	LSU	11–0	109.9
1959	Syracuse	11–0	111.0
1960	Iowa	8–1	112.8
1961[10]	Alabama	11–0	113.5
1962[5]	Ole Miss	10–0	107.3
1963[11]	Texas	11–0	104.7
1964	Alabama	10–1	104.9
1965	Michigan State	10–1	114.0
1966[7]	Notre Dame	9–0–1	113.8
1967[12]	Tennessee	9–2
1968[13]	Georgia	8–1–2
1969[14]	Texas	10–0
1970[15]	Texas	10–1
1971[16]	Nebraska	13–0
1972[17]	USC	12–0
1973[18] †	Alabama	11–1
1974[19]	Oklahoma	11–0
1975[20] †	Ohio State	11–1
1976[21] †	Michigan	10–2
1977[22] †	Texas	11–1
1978	Alabama	11-1
1979 †
1980 †
1981	Clemson	12-0
1982[23]	Nebraska † Penn St	12–1 11-1		[24]
1983[25]	Nebraska	12–1
1984	Nebraska	10-2

† Years where Litkenhous selection is omitted from the NCAA records book.^[4]

Litkenhous trophy

The No. 1 team in the year's final ranking was awarded the Litkenhous Ratings Championship trophy.^[5][10] The traveling trophy took the form of a huge wooden plaque and bronze mural by artist Marion Junkin.^[26][5]

The trophy plaque is engraved with the winners for 1934–1962. Ole Miss was evidently the last Litkenhous champion to receive the trophy; the trophy is still held today at the University of Mississippi.^[5]

Further reading

• The Mysterious Dr. Litkenhous

References

1. Elkins, Roy (February 8, 1948). "Dr. Lit Is Noted Sports Expert". Kingsport Times–News. Kingsport, Tennessee. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
2. "Dr. Litkenhous Funeral Service At Woodlawn". The Tennessean. Nashville, Tennessee. December 24, 1984. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
3. Frakes, Jason (December 26, 2021). "Remember those Litkenhous Ratings? Here's what happened". Courier Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. pp. 1B, 4B. the original computer code for the Litratings was written in COBOL. The code was rewritten in 2004 and by 2016 had become outdated as technology progressed.
4. "National Champion Major Selections (1896 to Present)". 2022 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). Indianapolis: The National Collegiate Athletic Association. July 2022. pp. 112–114. Retrieved January 4, 2023. The criteria for being included in this historical list of poll selectors is that the poll be national in scope, either through distribution in newspaper, television, radio and/or computer online. The list includes both former selectors, who were instrumental in the sport of college football, and selectors who were among the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) selectors.
5. Litkenhous Ratings Championship trophy (Trophy plaque). Hollingsworth/Manning Hall, University of Mississippi: Litkenhous Ratings. July 18, 2013. Retrieved April 5, 2023. The Difference By Score System
6. Litkenhous, Dr. E. E. (December 22, 1957). "O-State Ends Sooners' Reign — Buckeyes Tops In Litkenhous". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved January 12, 2023. The top ratings by years: 1934–1957
7. "Notre Dame Football Team Regains High Ranking After Long Hiatus". Hartford Courant. December 20, 1966. Retrieved January 22, 2023. Litkenhous Ratings 1966–1934
8. Litkenhous, E. E. (December 19, 1945). "Litkenhouse Rates College, Service Teams of Nation". Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. p. 20. Retrieved March 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
9. "Fritz Gets Trophy". Star Tribune. Minneapolis, Minnesota. October 23, 1948. Retrieved January 12, 2023. ...presents the national championship Litkenhous trophy to Fritz Crisler, coach of Michigan's 1947 team.
10. Litkenhous Ratings Championship — 1961 Alabama (Trophy). University of Alabama. 1961. Archived from the original on March 28, 2023. Retrieved March 28, 2023. 1961 National Champions — Trophies — Lithenhous[sic] — National Champions (shown in back)
11. "Texas Wins Lit Title (1063)". The Courier-Journal. December 5, 1963. p. II-22.
12. Litkenhous, F. H. (December 21, 1967). "Tennessee Finishes No. 1 in Final Litkenhous College Grid Rankings (1967)". The Wichita Eagle. Wichita, Kansas. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
13. Litkenhous, E. E. (December 12, 1968). "Litkenhous Rates Georgia Best Team (1968)". The Capital Times. Madison, Wisconsin. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
14. "Litkenhous College Football Selections (1969)". The Miami News. Miami, Florida. December 26, 1969. Retrieved January 23, 2023. Texas (1) 117.3
15. Litkenhous, E. E. (December 16, 1970). "Litkenhous (1970)". The Capital Times. Madison, Wisconsin. Retrieved January 23, 2023. Texas is the Litkenhous national champion as the Longhorns wound up at 124.0.
16. "'Huskers capture final". Johnson City Press. Johnson City, Tennessee. December 8, 1971. Retrieved January 23, 2023. With the regular season completed, it's Nebraska as expected in the No. 1 slot in the Litkenhous Ratings. — Nebraska 120.6
17. Litkenhous, E. E. (December 28, 1972). "Lit Bowls 'Em Over". Journal and Courier. Lafayette, Indiana. Retrieved January 23, 2023. South'n Cal 119.2
18. "Bowl Litratings (1973)". The Tampa Times. Tampa, Florida. December 20, 1973. Retrieved January 22, 2023. Alabama 123.0, Ohio State 122.8, Notre Dame 116.5
19. "Dr. Lit favors Penn State today". Johnson City Press. Johnson City, Tennessee. November 28, 1972. Retrieved January 23, 2023. Top-ranked Oklahoma
20. "Final college football Litratings (1975)". The Courier–Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. December 17, 1975. Retrieved January 22, 2023. 1. Ohio State 114.3
21. "Final college football Litratings (1976)". The Courier–Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. December 16, 1976. Retrieved January 22, 2023. 1. Michigan 115.2
22. Leonard, George (January 5, 1978). "Sidelines". Nashville Banner. Archived from the original on October 24, 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2023. Dr. Litkenhous traditionally determines his system's national champion after the regular season ends. Texas won in 1977.
23. "Final Litratings (1982)". The Tennessean. Nashville, Tennessee. December 14, 1982. Retrieved January 23, 2023. 1. Nebraska 145.8, 2. Penn State 144.0
24. The NCAA records book lists a selection of Penn State.^[4]
25. "College Football Final Litratings (1983)". The Tennessean. Nashville, Tennessee. January 4, 1984. Retrieved January 23, 2023. 1. Nebraska 145.8,
26. "Litkenhous State Trophy". Nashville Banner. November 20, 1952. Retrieved January 12, 2023. This huge plaque, with a bronze mural by Marion Junkin,