National championship

A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, individual (or other entity) in a particular nation and in a particular field. Often, the use of the term cup or championship is just a choice of words.

Bandy

List of Finnish bandy champions

List of Norwegian bandy champions

List of Russian bandy champions

List of Swedish bandy champions

List of United States bandy champions

Basketball

Bridge

Cross country running

USA Cross Country Championships

Foot Locker Cross Country Championships (high school level)

Curling

Men's

Tim Hortons Brier

United States Curling Men's Championships

Bruadar Scottish Men's Championship

French national men's curling championship

1964 college football season

During the 20th Century, the NCAA had no playoff for the college football teams that would later be described as "Division I-A". The NCAA cites national champions based on the final results of '"wire service'" (AP and UPI) polls. The AP poll in 1964 consisted of the votes of 55 sportswriters, each of whom would give their opinion of the ten best teams. Under a point system of 10 points for first place, 9 for second, etc., the "overall" ranking was determined. In the preseason poll for 1964, Ole Miss (University of Mississippi) was #1 with 425 points and the Oklahoma Sooners second with 400 points. As the regular season progressed, a new poll would be issued on the Monday following the weekend's games. The "writers' poll" by Associated Press (AP) was the most popular.

The Associated Press presented the AP Trophy to the Alabama Crimson Tide due to their 10-0-0 regular season record and their #1 finish in the AP poll. The University of Arkansas also had a 10-0-0 regular season in 1964, but finished #2 in the final AP poll. On New Year's Day, the Crimson Tide lost to the #5 ranked Texas Longhorns 17-21 in the Orange Bowl to finish the season with a 10-1 record. Arkansas, which had beaten Texas in October, finished its season undefeated, 11-0-0, with a win over the 7th ranked University of Nebraska 10-7 in the Cotton Bowl Classic. Since there were no further polls, Alabama's national championship was unaffected, despite Arkansas' undefeated, untied season. The Arkansas Razorbacks also did not win the UPI Poll in 1964 because it too named its national champion before the bowl games were played. However the Arkansas Razorbacks were named national champion by the Football Writers Association of America. After a one-year trial run in 1965, the AP Poll in 1968 began the still on-going practice of naming their national champion at the conclusion of the bowl games. The UPI Poll followed suit in 1974.

National Championship of Excellence

The National Championship of Excellence is the highest tier of the national rugby union competition in Italy The first Italian championship took place in 1929, contested by six of the sixteen teams that existed in Italy at that time.

The competition runs from September to May. After a home-and-away season, the top four teams play a knock-out competition to decide the championship and the bottom team is relegated. The season-ending play-offs have one feature which distinguish them from rugby play-offs in most other countries; the semi-finals are two-legged, with the winner determined by aggregate score.

Until season 2008–09 the Super 10 was operated by the L.I.R.E. (Lega Italiana Rugby d'Eccellenza, Italian Elite Rugby (Union) League), but since its folding (in 2009), the Italian Rugby Federation (FIR) has taken over its organisation.

The leading Super 10 teams qualify to play against teams from the other leading rugby union nations in Europe in the European Challenge Cup. Aironi and Benetton Treviso began competing in the league now known as Pro12 in the 2010–11 season, and took both Italian places in the Heineken Cup. Due to financial problems, the FIR revoked Aironi's professional licence after the 2011–12 season; that team was replaced in Pro12 by the FIR-operated Zebre. From 2014–15, one of the two Italian Pro12 sides will compete in the Heineken Cup's replacement, the European Rugby Champions Cup; the other will play in the newly launched European Rugby Challenge Cup. Both Pro12 teams are intended to concentrate the best domestic talent and help develop the quality of Italian players and therefore improve the talent pool for the national team.