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Athletics

Pitt Football: Nine National Titles

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Pitt has won nine national football championships—the most of any major college program in the East and the sixth-highest total ever.

Under Coach Johnny Majors in 1976, Pitt completed a miraculous turnaround by rolling to a 12–0 record and claiming the school’s ninth national title. Just five seasons earlier, the Panthers had gone 1–10.

The legendary John Bain "Jock" Sutherland coached Pitt to five national titles. His 1937 team ranked as the best in the land, with a 9–0–1 record. Among the Panthers’ vanquished opponents that year were Penn State (28–7), Notre Dame (21–6), Nebraska (13–7), Wisconsin (21–0), and West Virginia (20–0). The tie was a 0–0 deadlock with Fordham.  

Under Glenn “Pop” Warner, Pitt won three national titles in four years. Considered one of the greatest coaches in football history, Warner directed the Panthers to unanimous titles in 1915, 1916, and 1918. During that period, Pitt won 30 straight games.

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