The Associated Press published it’s first college football Top 25 poll in 1936. Now the AP has released its accumulative all-time poll, which has the Arkansas Razorbacks ranked No. 21.
In the 84 seasons the list has been published, Arkansas has been ranked at some point, during 51 of those years. The Razorbacks have spent a total of 432 weeks in the poll, making the preseason poll 27 times and the final poll 29 times. They have been ranked in the Top 10 during 35 of those seasons and a Top 5 team in 12 seasons. They have also spent one week as the No. 1 team in the nation — Week 6 of the 1965 season.
The prior season, 1964, Arkansas was the only team in the country to remain unbeaten, which included a 10-7 victory over Nebraska in the Cotton Bowl. But they finished No. 2, because the AP had already awarded its national championship to Alabama before the bowl games were played — and prior to the Crimson Tide’s 21-17 loss in the Orange Bowl. They were beaten by Texas, who Arkansas had already defeated during the regular season.
The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) conducted its final poll after the bowl games and selected Arkansas as the national champion. The Razorbacks were also selected as national champs by six other selectors, including the Billingsley Report and the Helms Athletic Foundation. They are commonly recognized as the 1964 National Champions.
The AP changed its method the following season.
Beginning in 1959, Head Coach Frank Broyles second season, Arkansas was ranked for eight straight years. Their longest stretch of consecutive seasons was nine, between 1974 and 1982.
There have currently been 1,103 polls taken, with 164 different schools being ranked at some point. Minnesota was the first No. 1 in 1936. Western Kentucky was the last team to make its poll debut in 2015. Through the years, now-defunct programs like Muhlenburg, NYU and Colorado College have made appearances.
The Razorbacks first appeared in 1936 and have appeared in 410 of the weekly polls, which is 37.17 percent of all the polls since released.
To determine an all-time Top 100 for the first time, the AP counted poll appearances (one point) to mark consistency, No. 1 rankings (one bonus point) to acknowledge elite programs and gave a big bonus for AP championships won (10 points). The results are below:
No. 1 Ohio State (1,112 points)
Total appearances: 852, 77.24 percent of all polls.
First appearance: 1936.
No. 1 rankings: 105.
Championships: Five (last 2014).
No. 2 Oklahoma (1,055 points)
Total appearances: 784, 71.08 percent of all polls.
First appearance: 1938.
No. 1 rankings: 100½.
Championships: Seven (last 2000).
No. 3 Notre Dame (1,042 points)
Total appearances: 766, 69.45 percent of all polls.
First appearance: 1936.
No. 1 rankings: 98.
Championships: Eight (last 1988).
No. 4 Alabama (993 points)
Total appearances: 745, 67.54 percent of all polls.
First appearance: 1936.
No. 1 rankings: 74.
Championships: 10 (last 2015).
No. 5 Southern California (974 points)
Total appearances: 743, 67.36 percent of all polls.
First appearance: 1936.
No. 1 rankings: 90½.
Championships: Five (last 2004).
No. 6 Nebraska (901 points)
Total appearances: 717, 65 percent of all polls.
First appearance: 1936.
No. 1 rankings: 72.
Championships: Four (last 1995).
No. 7 Michigan (894 points)
Total appearances: 806, 73.07 percent of all polls.
First appearance: 1938.
No. 1 rankings: 34.
Championships: Two (last 1997).
No. 8 Texas (822 points)
Total appearances: 703, 63.74 percent of all polls.
First appearance: 1940.
No. 1 rankings: 44 ½.
Championships: Three (last 2005).
No. 9 Florida State (714 points)
Total appearances: 540, 48.96 percent of all polls.
First appearance: 1964.
No. 1 rankings: 72.
Championships: Three (last 2013).
No. 10 Florida (674 points)
Total appearances: 562, 50.95 percent of all polls.
First appearance: 1950.
No. 1 rankings: 41.
Championships: Three (last 2008).
No. 11 LSU (655 points).
Total appearances: 575, 52.13 percent of all polls.
First appearance: 1936.
No. 1 rankings: 30.
Championships: Two (last 2007).
No. 12 Penn State (647 points).
Total appearances: 589, 53.40 percent of all polls.
First appearance: 1940.
No. 1 rankings: 19.
Championships: Two (last 1986).
No. 13 Miami (642 points).
Total appearances: 458, 41.52 percent of all polls.
First appearance: 1950.
No. 1 rankings: 67.
Championships: Five (last 2001).
No. 14 Tennessee (624 points)
Total appearances: 568, 51.50 percent of all polls.
First appearance: 1936.
No. 1 rankings: 18.
Championships: Two (last 1998).
No 15 Georgia (572 points)
Total appearances: 532, 48.23 percent of all polls.
First appearance: 1941.
No. 1 rankings: 15.
Championships: One (1980).
No. 16 Auburn (570 points)
Total appearances: 532, 48.23 percent of all polls.
First appearance: 1936.
No. 1 rankings: Nine.
Championships: Two (last 2010).
No. 17 UCLA (535 points)
Total appearances: 521, 47.23 percent of all polls.
First appearance: 1939.
No. 1 rankings: Seven.
Championships: None.
No. 18 Texas A&M (447 points)
Total appearances: 424, 38.44 percent of all polls.
First appearance: 1936.
No. 1 rankings: 6½.
Championships: One (1939).
No. 19 Michigan State (443 points)
Total appearances: 375, 34 percent of all polls.
First appearance: 1948.
No. 1 rankings: 29.
Championships: One (1952).
No. 20 Washington (430 points)
Total appearances: 401, 36.36 percent of all polls.
First appearance: 1936.
No. 1 rankings: 14½.
Championships: None.
No. 21 Arkansas (412 points)
Total appearances: 410, 37.17 percent of all polls.
First appearance: 1936.
No. 1 rankings: One.
Championships: None.
No. 22 Clemson (411 points)
Total appearances: 387, 35.09 percent of all polls.
First appearance: 1939.
No. 1 rankings: Seven.
Championships: One (1981).
No. 23 Pittsburgh (356 points)
Total appearances: 294, 26.65 percent of all polls.
First appearance: 1936.
No. 1 rankings: 21.
Championships: Two (last 1976)
No. 24 Wisconsin (336 points)
Total appearances: 334, 30.28 percent of all polls.
First appearance: 1937.
No. 1 rankings: One.
Championships: None.
No. 25 Iowa (329 points)
Total appearances: 307, 27.83 percent of all polls.
First appearance: 1939.
No. 1 rankings: 7.
Championships: None.
Also receiving points (26-100):
No. 26 Georgia Tech, 320 points.
No. 27 Colorado, 316.
No. 28 Oregon, 293.
No. 29 Mississippi, 290
No. 30 Arizona State, 284.
No. 31 Virginia Tech, 276.
No. 32 Stanford, 272.
No. 33 West Virginia, 271.
No. 34 BYU, 258.
No. 35 Missouri, 256.
No. 36 Purdue, 246.
No. 37 Minnesota, 241.
No. 38 North Carolina, 240.
No. 39 TCU, 234.
No. 40 Maryland, 230.
No. 41 Syracuse, 221.
No. 42 Army, 214.
No. 43 Oklahoma State, 208.
No. 44 Kansas State, 207.
No. 45 California, 199.
No. 46 Mississippi State, 195.
No. 47, Baylor, 187.
No. 48 South Carolina, 185.
No. 49 Houston, 184.
No. 50 Northwestern, 183.
No. 51 Illinois, 181.
No. 52 Virginia, 174.
No. 53 Duke, 172.
No. 54 Arizona, 168.
No. 55 SMU, 165.
No. 56 N.C. State, 149.
No. 57 Boston College, 141.
No. 58 Texas Tech, 137.
No. 59 Washington State, 129.
No. 60 Navy, 128.
No. 61 Boise State, 127.
No. 62 Louisville, 119.
No. 63 Kansas, 108.
No. 64 Utah, 100.
No. 65 Oregon State, 95.
No. 66 Penn, 89.
No. 67 Air Force, 78.
No. 68 Kentucky, 75.
No. 69 Rice, 70.
No. 70 Tulane, 62.
No. 71 Wyoming, 56.
No. 72 Indiana, 55.
(tie) Fresno State, 55.
(tie) Southern Mississippi, 55.
(tie) Cornell, 55.
No. 76 Toledo, 45.
No. 77 Santa Clara, 43.
(tie) Tulsa, 43.
(tie) Colorado State, 43.
No. 80 Wake Forest, 42.
No. 81 Cincinnati, 41.
(tie) Miami (Ohio), 41.
No. 83 Fordham, 40.
(tie) Iowa State, 40.
No. 85 Holy Cross, 39.
No. 86 Rutgers, 38.
No. 87 Dartmouth, 37.
No. 88 East Carolina, 37.
No. 89 Vanderbilt, 31.
No. 90 Yale, 30.
No. 91 Princeton, 29.
(tie) Marshall, 29.
No. 93 Hawaii, 28.
No. 94 USF, 26.
No. 95 Villanova, 25.
No. 96 Northern Illinois, 23.
No. 97 Duquesne, 20.
No. 98 Iowa Pre-Flight, 18.
No. 99 Columbia, 16.
(tie) William & Mary, 16.
(tie) Nevada, 16.
(tie) Bowling Green, 16.