National Football Foundation

The NFF recognized Ohio State (14-2) as the recipient of the 2024 NFF MacArthur Bowl National Championship Trophy following the team's 34-23 victory over Notre Dame (14-2) in the College Football Playoff (CFP) National Championship Presented by AT&T before a sellout crowd of 77,660 fans on Jan. 20, 2025, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
 
The name of the 2024 Buckeyes will now be etched alongside the greatest teams in college football history on the MacArthur Bowl Championship Trophy, marking the fifth time Ohio State has hit the milestone (1968, 1970, 2002, 2014 and now 2024). The trophy is housed at the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta and has been presented since 1959.

The 2024 crown marks Ohio State's first MacArthur Bowl since 2014, having captured the trophy that year under head coach Urban Meyer (whom the NFF announced on Jan. 15 as a member of the 2025 College Football Hall of Fame Class.) College Football Hall of Fame coaches Jim Tressel (2002) and Woody Hayes (1968 and 1970 as co-honoree) also had the names of their teams etched on the trophy's fabled archways.
 
Presented to every national champion since 1959, the MacArthur Bowl represents the pinnacle of team achievement in college sports, and each year during its 66-year history a new name has been etched alongside the greatest teams of all time. The trophy, a replica of a football stadium, features archways with space to engrave the names of 100 teams and miniature goal posts. The trophy was the gift of an anonymous donor, who commissioned Tiffany & Co. to craft it from 400 ounces of silver, in honor of early NFF leader General Douglas MacArthur. It took eight months to make, and the trophy features MacArthur's famous quote: "There is no substitute for victory."
 
During college football's poll era, the NFF MacArthur Bowl Committee selected the recipient of the trophy. With the advent of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) in 1998, the national championship game has determined which team claimed the MacArthur Bowl, a tradition that continues under the College Football Playoff.
 
Ohio State, with two CFP national titles, now joins Alabama (3), Clemson (2) and Georgia (2) as the only schools to have multiple titles during the CFP era. Including the national titles presented before the creation of the MacArthur Bowl in 1959, Ohio State now claims a total of nine national titles in school history, adding titles in 1942, 1954, and 1957. (The Buckeyes count an FWAA title in 1961 during the poll era when the NFF recognized Alabama as the MacArthur Bowl recipient.)
 
Twenty-four different schools have claimed the MacArthur Bowl at least once during its 66-year history. Alabama has hoisted it the most, claiming it 10 times. Ohio State now ties Notre Dame for the second most wins with five each while Miami (FL), Southern California and Texas have each etched their names four times on the trophy. Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Nebraska and Oklahoma each boast three trophies. Michigan, Michigan State and Penn State have each won the trophy twice.