The Colorado Buffaloes Football team has always been a fan favorite. The Buffaloes, which played their first football game in 1890, have appeared in 29 bowl games. The University of Colorado first joined the NCAA as a charter member in 1948 and became one of college football’s most successful programs in a short span of time. Since its entry into the Big 12 Conference in 2011, the Buffs have competed with some of the biggest names in college football and played some incredible games throughout the years.

Under the current head coach Deion Sanders, who has had a legendary football (and baseball) career, the team has been among every college football fan’s top list. The Colorado football program currently ranks at 27th position on the all-time win list and 40th in all-time winning percentage.

National Championships won by the Colorado Buffaloes

The Colorado Buffaloes football team has won one AP National Championship trophy in 1990 under head coach Bill McCartney. The 1990 NCAA Division I-A football season was an eventful and controversial one. The season ended with a split national championship. Moreover, the season also stirred up quite a controversy, which eventually led to the creation of the Bowl Coalition. Later, the Bowl Coalition would go on to become the Bowl Championship Series. The national title was split between the Colorado Buffaloes and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

The Colorado Buffaloes team ended up winning the Associated Press while Georgia Tech won the United Press International Coaches Poll by one vote over Colorado. Back then, only two polls mattered: the AP’s, which comprised sportswriters and sports broadcasters, and the United Press International, which consisted of coaches. The Buffs finished the season with 11-1-1 while playing the nation’s toughest schedule. They took on against the biggies like Illinois, Tennessee, Stanford, Texas and Washington. It was that tough non-conference schedule that really won the writers over, pushing the Buffs to the top of the eyes of the writers as well as the fans alike.

The Buffs met Notre Dame in a dramatic Orange Bowl match on the Early New Year’s Day for a rematch of the previous season (1989). Colorado ended up winning against Notre Dame with a 10-9. The next morning, when the AP released its final rankings, Colorado emerged as the clear-cut winner, sitting on top of the list.

Conference and Division Championships

The Buffs have won 26 conference championships throughout a century of college football. The record includes five separate conferences—Colorado Football Association, Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, Mountain States Conference, Big Eight Conference, and Big 12 Conference.

The Colorado Buffaloes football team also bagged a total of five division championships across two divisions —Big 12 North, and Pac-12 South.