For 50 years, they have come from nearly 400 colleges (393 to be exact) to play in the Super Bowl. They have come from big colleges and small colleges, rising programs and declining programs, brand names and others that no longer exist. Collectively, they make up the results of college football’s feeder system to the NFL.
During the first 10 years of the Super Bowl, Michigan State and Minnesota produced the most player appearances in the NFL’s championship game. Schools such as Grambling State, Florida A&M and West Texas A&M also had a large number of Super Bowl players in that period, from 1967-76.
Today, those schools -- including Michigan State and Minnesota -- are afterthoughts in producing Super Bowl players. Sure, small-school players still find their way into the Super Bowl. After all, 20 percent of all-time Super Bowl roster appearances have come from non-FBS schools.
But brand-name colleges have watched their players produce the most Super Bowl trips. Miami, Michigan, LSU, Tennessee, Florida, and so on, have dominated Super Bowl rosters as of late.
How much has college football evolved during the Super Bowl’s 50 years? Miami, which was nowhere to be found among player appearance leaders during early Super Bowls, now leads all colleges with 117 Super Bowl roster appearances -- one more than USC.
Indeed, it's all about "The U."
Who knows what college football will look like in 50 years?
Top 20 colleges with the most player appearances in the Super Bowl
Miami 117
USC 116
UCLA 108
Penn State 104
Michigan 104
Notre Dame 101
Tennessee 96
Nebraska 91
Colorado 90
Georgia 87
Ohio State 87
LSU 81
Florida State 80
Alabama 79
California 77
Florida 75
Oklahoma 75
Stanford 73
Arizona State 72
Michigan State 72
Remaining 373 colleges with player appearances in the Super Bowl
Texas A&M 71
North Carolina 68
Texas 67
Clemson 65
BYU 62
Oregon 61
Illinois 60
Pittsburgh 60
Boston College 59
Purdue 59
Washington 57
Minnesota 54
Auburn 52
San Diego State 52
Iowa 50
Arizona 49
Louisville 49
Wisconsin 48
Georgia Tech 46
Oklahoma State 45
Syracuse 44
Virginia 44
Kansas 43
Maryland 43
Kentucky 40
Mississippi State 40
TCU 40
Baylor 38
Arkansas 37
NC State 37
Ole Miss 36
Utah 36
South Carolina 34
Houston 32
Missouri 32
Tennessee State 32
Washington State 32
West Virginia 32
Texas Tech 31
Virginia Tech 31
Hawaii 29
Colorado State 28
Grambling State 28
Rutgers 28
Florida A&M 27
Fresno State 27
SMU 27
Temple 27
Utah State 27
Northwestern 26
Southern 26
Tulane 26
Duke 25
East Carolina 25
Wake Forest 25
Marshall 24
Oregon State 24
San Jose State 24
Cincinnati 23
Indiana 23
Jackson State 23
Tulsa 23
Wyoming 23
Memphis 22
Southern Miss 22
Louisiana Tech 21
Idaho 20
Iowa State 20
Kansas State 20
Western Illinois 20
Nevada 19
Kent State 18
Rice 18
South Carolina State 18
Texas Southern 18
Northwestern State 16
South Dakota State 16
Louisiana-Lafayette 15
Vanderbilt 15
West Texas A&M 15
Alabama A&M 14
Morgan State 14
New Mexico 14
Texas-El Paso 14
UCF 14
Arkansas-Pine Bluff 13
Boise State 13
Eastern Michigan 13
Louisiana-Monroe 13
Toledo 13
Alcorn State 12
Howard 12
Long Beach State 12
Navy 12
North Dakota State 12
North Texas 12
Texas A&M-Commerce 12
Texas A&M-Kingsville 12
William & Mary 12
Air Force 11
Fort Valley State 11
Mid-Eastern Shore 11
Pacific 11
Portland State 11
Troy 11
UNLV 11
Carson-Newman 10
James Madison 10
Texas-Arlington 10
Colleges with 9 each: Central Michigan, Kutztown, Northern Arizona, Northern Colorado, Prairie View
Colleges with 8 each: Alabama State, Arkansas State, Colgate, Montana State, New Mexico State, South Florida, Stephen F. Austin, Weber State, Western Carolina, Wichita State, Yale, Youngstown State
Colleges with 7 each: Bethune-Cookman, Bishop, Boston University, Bowling Green, Brown, Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, Chadron State, Cornell, Eastern Kentucky, Miami (Ohio), New Hampshire, North Dakota, Sacramento State, UMass, Villanova
Colleges with 6 each: Abilene Christian, Angelo State, Aurora, Ball State, Cal State-Fullerton, Central State, Delaware, Hofstra, McNeese State, Montana, North Alabama, North Carolina A&T, Northern Illinois, Northern Iowa, Rhode Island, Tampa, Uconn, Virginia Union, Western Michigan
College with 5 each: Akron, Central Missouri State, Columbia, Concordia-Moorhead, Delaware State, Eastern Washington, Elizabeth City State, Hampton, Idaho State, Jacksonville State, Middle Tennessee, New Mexico Military Institute, Northwest Missouri State, Ohio, Ouachita Baptist, Richmond, Salem, Sam Houston State, Southern Illinois, Texas State, Townson
Colleges with 4 each: Allen, Amherst, Appalachian State, Augustana, Buffalo, California-Riverside, Central Arkansas, Central College, Emporia State, Harvard, Henderson State, Illinois State, Lamar, Langston, Mesa, Mississippi Valley State, Northern Michigan, Princeton, Santa Clara, Savannah State, South Dakota, Tennessee-Chattanooga, Wabash, West Chester
Colleges with 3 each: Albany State, Bucknell, Central Oklahoma, Chowan, Coastal Carolina, Detroit Mercy, Eastern Illinois, Ferris State, Florida Atlantic, Furman, Georgia Southern, Liberty, Los Angeles State, Maine, Marquette, Michigan Tech, Morehead State, Morris Brown, Nebraska-Omaha, New Mexico Highlands, Northeastern, Pittsburg State, Southern Connecticut State, Tennessee Tech, The Citadel, U.S. International, UAB, Upper Iowa, Valdosta State, Valparaiso, Wayne State, Western Kentucky, Winston-Salem State, Wisconsin Superior
Colleges with 2 each: Anderson (Indiana), Ashland, Bloomsburg, Bridgeport, Cal State-Bakersfield, Calgary, Cameron, Carthage, Dartmouth, Elon, Florida International, Gardner-Webb, Henderson JC, Holy Cross, Howard Payne, John Carroll, Kentucky State, Lehigh, Livingstone, Midwestern State, Mississippi College, Missouri Southern, Morningside, Murray State, Nicholls State, North Carolina Central, Philander Smith, Pierce, Regina, Shippensburg Southern Arkansas, Tennessee-Martin, Tiffin, Trinity (Texas), Trinity Valley CC, Tuskegee, Washburn, Wisconsin-LaCrosse, Yankton
Colleges with 1 each: Arkansas Tech, Assumption, Aubsburg, Austin Peay State, Benedictine, Butte JC, Cal Lutheran, Cal State-Chico, Cal State-Hayward, Cal State-Northridge, California-Davis, Catawba, Clarion, Clark, Coast Guard, College of the Sequoias, Concordia-St. Paul, Connecticut State, Davidson, Dayton, Deakin, Drake, Duquesne, East Central, East Tennessee State, Ferrum, Fort Hays State, Gettysburg, Grand Valley State, Hamline, Harding, Hardin-Simmons, Humboldt State, Indiana (Pennsylvania), Iowa Central, Johnson C. Smith, Kings Point, Lakeland, Lambuth, Lane, Lewis & Clark, Lindenwood, Loyola (Louisiana), Macalester, Manitoba, McGill, Mississippi Delta CC, Mississippi Gulf Coast, Missouri Western State, Morehouse, Mount San Antonio JC, Mount Union, Nebraska-Kearney, New Haven, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, Northern State, Northwestern Oklahoma State, Oregon Tech, Ottawa (Kansas), Plymouth State, Robert Morris, Samford, San Diego, San Francisco State, SE Missouri State, Seattle, Shepherd, Sherbrooke, Sonoma State, Southeast Missouri State, Southwest Missouri State, Springfield, St. Augustine's, St. Joseph's (Indiana), St. Mary's (Canada), Tarkio, Texas-San Antonio, Trinity (Illinois), Truman State, Tusculum, Union, Virginia Military Institute, Virginia State, Washington (Missouri), West Alabama, West Georgia, West Virginia State, Western Ontario, Western Oregon, Williams, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Wisconsin-Whitewater, Wofford, Wooster
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