by Travis Normand

Originally published on December 23, 2020 (updated June 13, 2024)

There might be a better name for this, and if I think of one, I will update this post. On the other hand, if you think of one you would like to share, please let me know by posting in the comments below.

Of all the bowl games, there are four that have always been considered as the biggest and best. Those four bowls are the: (1) Rose Bowl; (2) Cotton Bowl; (3) Sugar bowl; and (4) Orange Bowl. Which got me wondering, how many college football programs have won all four of these bowl games?

I did the research and found the answer; and the following is a break-down of those programs that have pulled off what I am calling the “College Football Grand Slam!”

There are nine (9) programs that have won all four of the major bowl games, and have thus won a “College Football Grand Slam.” Those nine programs are: Alabama, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Miami, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn State, and Texas.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL’S GRAND SLAM WINNERS

School	Number of Grand Slams Won
Alabama	5
Georgia	2
Georgia Tech	1
Miami	1
Notre Dame	1
Ohio State	1
Oklahoma	1
Penn State	1
Texas U.	2

The following is a break down of each school’s grand slam win. The year in BOLD is the year in which a particular grand slam was won.

ALABAMA

Gand Slam	Rose Bowl	Cotton Bowl	Orange Bowl	Sugar Bowl
1	1/1/1926	1/1/1942	1/1/1943	1/1/1962
2	1/1/1931	1/1/1981	1/1/1953	1/1/1964
3	1/1/1935	1/2/2006	1/1/1963	1/2/1967
4	1/1/1946	12/31/2015	1/1/1966	12/31/1975
5	1/1/2021	12/31/2021	12/29/2018	1/2/1978

GEORGIA

Gand Slam	Rose Bowl	Cotton Bowl	Orange Bowl	Sugar Bowl
1	1/1/1943	12/31/1966	1/1/1942	1/1/1947
2	1/1/2018	1/2/1984	1/1/1960	1/1/1981

GEORGIA TECH

Gand Slam	Rose Bowl	Cotton Bowl	Orange Bowl	Sugar Bowl
1	1/1/1929	1/1/1955	1/1/1940	1/1/1944

MIAMI

Gand Slam	Rose Bowl	Cotton Bowl	Orange Bowl	Sugar Bowl
1	1/3/2002	1/1/1991	1/1/1946	1/1/1990

NOTRE DAME

Gand Slam	Rose Bowl	Cotton Bowl	Orange Bowl	Sugar Bowl
1	1/1/1925	1/1/1971	1/1/1975	12/31/1973

OHIO STATE

Gand Slam	Rose Bowl	Cotton Bowl	Orange Bowl	Sugar Bowl
1	1/2/1950	1/1/1987	1/1/1977	1/1/1999

OKLAHOMA

Gand Slam	Rose Bowl	Cotton Bowl	Orange Bowl	Sugar Bowl
1	1/1/2003	1/1/2002	1/1/1954	1/1/1949

PENN STATE

Gand Slam	Rose Bowl	Cotton Bowl	Orange Bowl	Sugar Bowl
1	1/2/1995	1/1/1972	1/1/1969	1/1/1983

TEXAS

Gand Slam	Rose Bowl	Cotton Bowl	Orange Bowl	Sugar Bowl
1	1/1/2005	1/1/1943	1/1/1949	1/1/1948
2	1/4/2006	1/1/1946	1/1/1965	1/1/2019

Notes regarding the grand slams represented above:

Note 1: The Rose Bowl is the most elusive bowl for any team not in the Big 10 or Pac-12. However, only two Big 10 schools (Ohio State and Penn State) have won a grand slam, while no Pac-12 schools have been able to do it. (Of course, with the 12-team playoff set to start this coming Fall 2024, there is no telling how that will affect the ability to earn a Grand Slam.)

Note 2: Georgia Tech was the first team to win a grand slam, having won their fourth of all four bowl games on January 1, 1955.

Note 3: Georgia first grand slam was the fastest grand slam won in that Georgia has the shortest amount of time from their first bowl game win (Orange 1/1/1942) to their fourth (Cotton 12/31/1966) (Total time: 24 years and 11 months).

Note 4: Texas‘ second grand slam was the longest grand slam won in that Texas had to wait the longest amount of time from their bowl game win (Cotton 1/1/1946) to their fourth (Sugar 1/1/2019) (Total time: 73 years).

Note 5: Alabama’s second grand slam would have come earlier if not for Alabama having lost the Cotton Bowl on 1/1/ 1968 to Texas A&M.

TEAMS THAT “ALMOST” HAVE A GRAND SLAM

There are several schools that are very close to winning a grand slam. They are close in that they have won three of the four bowl games, and are now just trying to win the fourth and final of the set. Some of these programs have played in that fourth bowl game (and simply failed to win it), while others have never even made it to the fourth bowl game. They are as follows:

School	Rose Bowl	Cotton Bowl	Orange Bowl	Sugar Bowl
Arkansas	Never Played	1/1/1965	1/2/1978	1/1/1969
Auburn	Never Played	1/1/2007	1/1/1938	1/2/1984
Duke	Lost Twice	1/2/1961	1/1/1955	1/1/1945
Florida State	Lost Once	1/1/1992	1/1/1993	1/2/1989
LSU	Never Played	1/1/1963	1/1/1944	1/1/1959
Michigan	1/1/1902	Never Played	1/1/2000	1/3/2012
Missouri	Never Played	1/1/2008	1/2/1961	1/1/1966
Nebraska	Lost Twice	1/1/1974	1/1/1964	12/31/1974
TCU	1/1/2011	1/1/1937	Lost Once	1/1/1936
Tennessee	Lost Twice	1/1/1951	1/2/1939	1/1/1943
Texas A&M	Never Played	1/1/1941	1/2/2020	1/1/1940
USC	1/1/1923	1/2/1995	1/2/2003	Never Played
Washington	1/1/1960	Never Played	1/1/1985	1/1/2024
Wisconsin	1/1/1994	1/2/2017	12/30/2017	Never Played

Notes on those programs that are one bowl game win away from completing a grand slam:

Note 1: Duke has played in the Rose Bowl twice and lost both times. The first loss was on January 2, 1939 to USC. However, more significantly, Duke played in (and lost) the only Rose Bowl game that was NOT played in Pasadena. The 1942 Rose Bowl was played at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, North Carolina (Duke’s home field) where Duke lost to Oregon State!

Note 2: Florida State lost their only Rose Bowl appearance to Oregon on January 1, 2015. However, Florida State played in the final BCS National Championship game on January 6, 2014 where FSU beat Auburn University. However, while that game was played at the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena, California; it was not the Rose Bowl game (as that was played on January 1, 2014 between Stanford and Michigan State.

Note 3: Ohio State’s first grand slam came in 1999 when they beat Texas A&M in the Sugar Bowl. Further, while they don’t have a grand slam yet, LSU’s 1944 Orange Bowl win also came over Texas A&M.

Note 4: Michigan won the 1902 “Rose Bowl,” but at that time it was actually played under the name of “the Tournament East–West football game.” However, it is counted as the first Rose Bowl, and is therefore being used for grand slam purposes.

Note 5: Nebraska has lost two Rose Bowls; one on January 1, 1941 (to Stanford) and again on January 3, 2002 (to Miami). The loss to Miami on January 3, 2002 was when Miami won their first and only grand slam.

Note 6: TCU won the first Cotton Bowl on January 1, 1937 and the second Sugar Bowl on January 1, 1936. However, they lost their one and only Orange Bowl appearance to Georgia on January 1, 1942.

Note 7: Tennessee has lost two Rose Bowls (both to USC). The first was on January 1, 1940 and the second was on January 1, 1945.

The following notes were added on June 13, 2024

Note 8: Washington: I originally made this post back in 2020, and while I tried to keep it updated (along with making additional follow-up posts), I had forgotten to go back and update this chart of teams that have “almost” won a Grand Slam (i.e., teams that have 3 of the 4 bowl games). So, I am making this update on June 13, 2024; as I was alerted by one reader that Washington needed to be added to the list. After defeating the Longhorns in the Sugar Bowl on 1/1/2024, Washington has now won 3 of 4, and only needs a win in the Cotton Bowl to complete their grand slam. (Remember, I use the first “win” in any of the 4 bowl games to count towards their Grand Slam. Washington has only won one Sugar and one Orange Bowl, but they have won seven (7) Rose Bowls. I used the 1/1/1960 date as that was their first Rose Bowl win).

Note 9: Texas A&M: This is also a June 13, 2024 update as I had apparently forgot to add Texas A&M to the list after they won the Orange Bowl in 2021. I originally posted this in December 2020; and at that time, Texas A&M had only 2 of the 4 bowl wins. However, on January 2, 2021 (only a few weeks after I made this post), Texas A&M defeated UNC in the Orange Bowl and captured their third of the four required games. I simply didn’t update the list at that time, and so I am taking the opportunity to do so now.

Note 10: General Note about teams that have “almost” won a Grand Slam. There are teams like Ohio State, Notre Dame, and Oklahoma that have won a grand slam and are now only one game away from winning another. I have not included them on this list as this is a list of teams that are one game away and do not already have a grand slam. Also, teams like Navy are not listed here as they have played in the Rose, Cotton, and Sugar; however, Navy’s 1924 Rose Bowl game was a tie (and not a “win”) and thus they only have two of the four required victories.

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POTENTIAL GRAND SLAM WINNERS IN 2020-2021

Clemson, Ohio State, Alabama, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, and Florida all have a chance to pick-up a grand slam win this season as these are the teams playing in the Sugar, Rose, Orange, and Cotton.

However, only one of them would complete a grand slam with a bowl victory; and that one is Notre Dame. As you will see below, Notre Dame is only missing a Rose Bowl in order to complete its second grand slam, and is also playing in the Rose Bowl against Alabama (note: the second-ever Rose Bowl to be played away from Pasadena, California).

On the other hand, while it won’t complete a grand slam for them, six of the other teams are playing in the bowl game that they are missing and thus a win will count towards eventually winning their first grand slam. On the other hand, while Ohio State could win another Sugar Bowl, they are missing an Orange Bowl victory in terms of winning their second grand slam.

School	Rose Bowl	Cotton Bowl	Orange Bowl	Sugar Bowl
Clemson		1/1/1940	1/1/1951	(Possible)
Ohio State	1/1/1955	12/29/2017		1/4/2011
Alabama	(Possible)		12/29/2018	1/2/1978
Notre Dame	(Possible)	1/2/1978	1/1/1990	1/1/1992
Texas A&M		1/1/1941	(Possible)	1/1/1940
North Carolina			(Possible)
Oklahoma		(Possible)	1/2/1956	1/2/1950
Florida		(Possible)	1/2/1967	1/1/1994

Anyway, just a little something extra to watch for while watching the bowl games this season.