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The U.S. Senate has formally recognized Missouri’s bid for the 1960 college football national championship, joining four other teams with historical claims to the title. Republican Senator Eric Schmitt of Missouri introduced and secured passage of the resolution Thursday without opposition, though such measures carry symbolic rather than binding authority.
Missouri finished the regular season with a 10-1 record, defeating Navy and Heisman Trophy winner Joe Bellino in the Orange Bowl. The Tigers’ sole loss came against Kansas in a Border War rivalry game that decided the then-Big Eight Conference championship, though the league later forced Kansas to forfeit the contest due to recruiting violations involving an ineligible player.
Multiple polling organizations and selection systems crowned different champions that year. Minnesota earned the AP and United Press International polls’ recognition before falling to Washington in the Rose Bowl, while the Football Writers Association of America selected Mississippi as its post-bowl champion and the Helms Athletic Foundation voted for Washington.
Author Brendon Steenbergen, who chronicled that season in a book, has previously argued Missouri possesses legitimate grounds for the championship claim. Missouri had not previously claimed national champion status for the 1960 team before Thursday’s Senate action.
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