The NCAA held its first men's National Collegiate Soccer Championship in 1959, with eight teams selected for the tournament. Before 1959, unofficial champions were declared by the Intercollegiate Soccer Football Association (ISFA). These were the result of polls and the subjective opinion of the ISFA administrators. In addition, the College Soccer Bowl was held from 1950-1952 in an attempt to decide a national champion on the field. However, the field for the Soccer Bowl was a mere four teams, and they also were selected subjectively.

College soccer

College soccer

College soccer is a term used to describe association football played by teams who are operated by colleges and universities as opposed to a professional league operated for exclusively financial purposes...

 started in Northeast colleges and at private schools in the late 19th century, while club soccer was mostly played in the Midwest and the South. In the West, Stanford started up a soccer program in 1911, University of San Francisco in 1932, and UCLA in 1937, playing largely amateur

Amateur sports

Amateur sports are sports in which participants engage largely or entirely without remuneration. Sporting amateurism was a zealously guarded ideal in the 19th century, especially among the upper classes, but faced steady erosion throughout the 20th century with the continuing growth of pro sports...

 teams. In 1945, at the end of the world war, the ISFA had only 22 member college teams. This grew to over 50 by 1947.

The ISFA was founded in 1926 and offered an annual Outstanding Soccer Team award, the mythical national soccer championship, through 1935 and from 1946 through 1958. From 1905 through 1925, the Intercollegiate Soccer Football League (an Ivy League forerunner) determined an annual champion.

College champions were determined by various methods over the years as listed below. They are all considered unofficial.

1905-1925: Champion of the Intercollegiate Soccer Football League

1926-1935: Determined by the Intercollegiate Soccer Football Association

1936-1940: No selection by ISFA. Listed are outstanding teams that claim a share of the championship.

1941-1945: No selection by ISFA. Intercollegiate soccer was severely curtailed by world war.

1946-1958: Determined by the Intercollegiate Soccer Football Association

1949-1951: Seasons for which Soccer Bowl was played (games played in the following January)

ISFL / ISFA College Soccer National Champions

Year	Champion	Year	Champion	Year	Champion
1911	Haverford (spring)	1927	Princeton	1943	no selection
1912	Yale (spring)	1928	Yale	1944	no selection
1913	Harvard (spring)	1929	Penn State	1945	no selection
1914	Harvard (spring), Penn (1st fall-only schedule)	1930	Harvard, Pennsylvania, Yale	1946	Springfield
1915	Haverford	1931	Penn	1947	Springfield
1916	Penn	1932	Penn, Navy	1948	Connecticut
1917	Haverford	1933	Penn, Penn State	1949	San Francisco, Penn State (a)
1918	no competition	1934	Cornell	1950	West Chester (b)
1919	Penn	1935	Yale	1951	Temple (c)
1920	Penn	1936	Penn State, Princeton, Syracuse, West Chester	1952	Franklin & Marshall
1921	Princeton	1937	Penn State, Princeton, Springfield	1953	Temple
1922	Princeton	1938	Penn State	1954	Penn State
1923	Penn	1939	Penn State, Princeton	1955	Brockport, Penn State
1924	Penn	1940	Penn State, Princeton	1956	Trinity
1925	Princeton	1941	no selection	1957	City College of New York, Springfield
1926	Harvard, Princeton, Penn State	1942	no selection	1958	Drexel

^(a) Soccer Bowl: Penn State tied San Francisco 2-2.

^(b) Soccer Bowl: Penn State defeated Purdue 3-1.

^(c) Soccer Bowl: Temple defeated San Francisco 2-0

ISFL / ISFA Team Championship Records

Team	Championships	Winning Years
Penn State	11	1926, 1929, 1933, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1949, 1954, 1955
Penn Penn Quakers The Penn Quakers are the athletic teams of the University of Pennsylvania. The school sponsors 27 varsity sports. The school has won three NCAA national championships in men's fencing and one in women's fencing.-Men's crew:-Football:...	10	1914, 1916, 1919, 1920, 1923, 1924, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933
Princeton Princeton Tigers The Princeton Tigers are the athletic teams of Princeton University. The school sponsors 31 varsity sports. The school has won several NCAA national championships, including one in men's fencing, six in men's lacrosse, three in women's lacrosse, and eight in men's golf...	9	1921, 1922, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1936, 1937, 1939, 1940
Haverford	7	1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1911, 1915, 1917
Yale	5	1908, 1912, 1928, 1930, 1935
Harvard Harvard Crimson The Harvard Crimson are the athletic teams of Harvard University. The school's teams compete in NCAA Division I. As of 2006, there were 41 Division I intercollegiate varsity sports teams for women and men at Harvard, more than at any other NCAA Division I college in the country...	4	1913, 1914, 1926, 1930
Springfield	4	1937, 1946, 1947, 1957
Columbia	2	1909, 1910
Temple	2	1951, 1953
West Chester	2	1936, 1950
Navy	1	1932
Cornell	1	1934
Syracuse	1	1936
Connecticut	1	1948
San Francisco	1	1949
Franklin & Marshall	1	1952
Brockport	1	1955
Trinity	1	1956
City College of New York	1	1957
Drexel	1	1958

External links

• NCAA Men's Soccer Hickoksports
• College Champions, 1904-1958
• The Year in American Soccer
• American College Soccer, 1946-1959: The Postwar era