List of college football player of the year awards

This article lists college football player of the year awards, which are presented annually by different publications and organizations to honor the top college football player of that year's NCAA season.

List of awards and trophies

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Active
Award	Organization	Since	Most recent winner
Heisman Trophy	Heisman Trophy Trust^[a]	1936	Travis Hunter^[1]
Maxwell Award	Maxwell Football Club	1937	Ashton Jeanty^[2]
The Sporting News College Football Player of the Year	The Sporting News	1942	Travis Hunter^[3]
Walter Camp Award	Walter Camp Football Foundation	1967	Travis Hunter^[4]
AP College Football Player of the Year	Associated Press	1998	Travis Hunter^[5]
Polynesian College Football Player of the Year	Polynesian Football Hall of Fame	2014	Tetairoa McMillan^[6]

Defunct
Award	Organization	Awarded
UPI College Football Player of the Year	United Press International	1950–1991
Chic Harley Award	Touchdown Club of Columbus	1955–2018
Best College Football Player ESPY Award	ESPY Awards	1993–2001
Archie Griffin Award	Touchdown Club of Columbus	1999–2018

References

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^ Presented by the Downtown Athletic Club from 1935 to 2002

^ "Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter wins Heisman Trophy". ESPN. December 14, 2024. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
^ Lundeberg, Bob (December 12, 2024). "Ashton Jeanty wins two national awards". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
^ "Colorado's Travis Hunter is The Sporting News 2024 Player of the Year". December 19, 2024. Retrieved April 9, 2025.
^ Madera, Mike (December 12, 2024). "Colorado junior WR/DB Travis Hunter is the 2024 Walter Camp Player of the Year". WalterCamp.org. Walter Camp Football Foundation. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
^ Graham, Pat (December 13, 2024). "Travis Hunter, the 2-way standout for Colorado, is the AP college football player of the year". Retrieved April 14, 2025.
^ "Tetairoa McMillan Earns Polynesian College Football Player of the Year". University of Arizona Athletics. December 19, 2024. Retrieved December 19, 2024.

v t e College football awards
College Football Hall of Fame
Player of the year	Heisman Trophy (winners) (1936) Maxwell Award (1937) The Sporting News Player of the Year (1942) Walter Camp Award (1967) AP Player of the Year (1998)
Positional awards	Bronko Nagurski Trophy (Defensive player) Chuck Bednarik Award (Defensive player) Lott Trophy (Defensive player) Outland Trophy (Interior lineman) Manning Award (Quarterback) Davey O'Brien Award (Quarterback) Doak Walker Award (Running back) Fred Biletnikoff Award (Receiver) John Mackey Award (Tight end) Joe Moore Award (Offensive line) Rimington Trophy (Center) Ted Hendricks Award (Defensive end) Butkus Award (Linebacker) Jim Thorpe Award (Defensive back) Lou Groza Award (Placekicker) Ray Guy Award (Punter) Patrick Mannelly Award (Long snapper) Jet Award (Return specialist) Peter Mortell (Holder)
Other national awards	Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award (Senior quarterback) Paul Hornung Award (Most versatile) Lombardi Award (Best performance) Jacobs Blocking Trophy (Best blocker) Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Award (Best of Polynesian descent) Deacon Jones Trophy (HBCU's most outstanding player)
All-Americans	College Football All-America Team (unanimous selections) Little All-America team
Head coaching awards	AFCA Coach of the Year Award (1935) Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award (1957) Sporting News Coach of the Year (1963) Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award (1967) Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year (1976) Paul "Bear" Bryant Award (1986) George Munger Award (1989) Home Depot Coach of the Year (1994) AP Coach of the Year (1998) Bobby Bowden Coach of the Year Award (2009) Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award (2006) Woody Hayes Trophy (1977)
Assistant coaching awards	Broyles Award (Assistant Coach of the Year) AFCA Assistant Coach of the Year
Conference awards	ACC awards American awards Big 12 awards Big East awards Big Ten awards (MVP) CUSA awards MAC awards MW awards Pac-12 awards SEC awards Sun Belt awards SWC awards
FCS awards	Walter Payton Award (offensive player) Buck Buchanan Award (defensive player) Jerry Rice Award (freshman) Eddie Robinson Award (coach) STATS FCS Offensive Player of the Year STATS FCS Defensive Player of the Year STATS FCS Freshman Player of the Year STATS FCS Coach of the Year
Other divisions / associations	Harlon Hill Trophy (Div. II) Gagliardi Trophy (Div. III) Rawlings Award (NAIA) Hec Crighton Trophy (U Sports)
Academic, inspirational, and versatility awards	Academic All-America of the Year (Student-athlete) Disney's Wide World of Sports Spirit Award William V. Campbell Trophy (Student-athlete) Wuerffel Trophy (Humanitarian-athlete) Senior CLASS Award (Div. I FBS student-athlete) Burlsworth Trophy (Walk-on) Rudy Award (inspirational/motivational)
Service awards	Amos Alonzo Stagg Award Walter Camp Alumni of the Year Walter Camp Man of the Year National Football Foundation Distinguished American Award National Football Foundation Gold Medal Winners Theodore Roosevelt Award
Regional awards	Conerly Trophy (Mississippi) Jon Cornish Trophy (Canada) Dudley Award (Virginia) Porter Cup (U.S. South) Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award (Texas;) Kent Hull Trophy (Mississippi) Nils V. "Swede" Nelson Award (New England)
Awards organizations	Maxwell Football Club National Football Foundation Touchdown Club of Columbus Walter Camp Football Foundation DC Touchdown Club
Defunct awards	Champ Pickens Cup (Southern Conference champion; 1923–1926) Norris Cup (Best player in North Carolina; 1924–1930) UPI Player of the Year (Best player; 1950–1991) Joseph V. Paterno Award (Best coach; 2010) Melberger Award (Div. III MVP; 1993–2011) Chic Harley Award (Best player; 1955–2018)) Archie Griffin Award (Most valuable; 1999–2018)