And then this …
Good question. Short answer: Texas could stretch beyond 9 claimed titles, but only if they follow the same aggressive logic Auburn used—counting every NCAA-listed selector, even the very obscure or inconsistent ones.
Baseline: 9 Titles
Texas currently claims 4 (1963, 1969, 1970, 2005).
The NCAA record book credits Texas with 5 additional national championships (1914, 1941, 1968, 1977, 1981).
That’s the 9 “legitimate” max if Texas just aligns with all NCAA-recognized major selectors (the same standard A&M used).
Could They Go Beyond 9?
Yes, if they:
Adopt all “minor selectors” that named Texas champion (the NCAA records section lists many fringe systems: Houlgate, Dunkel, Poling, Boand, Litkenhous, etc.).
Retro-claim shared titles in seasons where Texas finished #2 or was a top-three team and at least one obscure selector gave them the nod.
For example:
1930s & 1950s: Some systems threw out odd picks that weren’t AP/UPI leaders.
Late 1970s–1980s: Texas sometimes finished near the top; a fringe rating system occasionally crowned them.
By doing this, Texas could probably push their “total claimed” number into the low double digits (11–13 range)—but those would be much weaker claims than the 9 that are already documented by major NCAA selectors.
Why They Haven’t
Texas has historically taken a conservative stance—only claiming consensus or near-consensus titles.
Schools like Auburn and UCF have been more aggressive, “claiming everything the NCAA book lists,” even when selectors are obscure.
Texas has the luxury of history: 4 consensus titles plus the 5 major-selector ones already make them a blue-blood without needing to stretch.
… without needing to stretch lol.