WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Four teams had claims to the 1960 national championship in college football. The U.S. Senate is adding Missouri to that list.
Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., introduced a resolution during a meeting Thursday recognizing the Tigers for a claim to the national title. The measure was passed with no objections; resolutions don鈥檛 have the force of law and by the chamber鈥檚 definition reflect the Senate鈥檚 鈥渟entiments,鈥� according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Still, it adds another odd wrinkle to college football history for a sport decided by polls and rankings decades ago before the arrival of the Bowl Championship Series or today鈥檚 College Football Playoff. Missouri hadn鈥檛 previously claimed the 1960 team as a national champion.
Team spokesman Dave Matter didn’t immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press for comment Friday afternoon.
Missouri went 10-1 on the field after beating Navy and Heisman Trophy winner Joe Bellino in the Orange Bowl. The lone loss had come to 鈥淏order War鈥� rival Kansas in a game to decide the then-Big Eight Conference title, though the league ordered the Jayhawks to forfeit for using an ineligible player because of recruiting violations.
In a past interview with the The Post-Dispatch, author Brendon Steenbergen 鈥� who wrote a book detailing that season 鈥� said: 鈥淚鈥檝e been beating the drum to try to get the university to recognize it because I think they have as much a right as anyone in the country to be national champions in 1960.鈥�
Minnesota was crowed champion by the AP and United Press International polls, though that took place before the Gophers lost to Washington in the Rose Bowl. The Football Writers Association of America voted Mississippi its post-bowl champion.
The Helms Athletic Foundation, created in 1936 to promote amateur athletics until dissolving in 1983, recognized Washington as its champion. Meanwhile, the Litkenhous Rating system chose Iowa with its mathematical formula utilizing scoring margins and opponent strength, according to The Athletic.
___
AP college football: and
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
