When did the NCAA start awarding the crystal football?

Answer 1

The NCAA does not, nor has it ever awarded a crystal football.

The trophy is question which is topped with a Waterford Crystal football is the "American Football Coaches Association National Championship Trophy," as it awarded by the American Football Coaches Association to the team that finished No. 1 in the final Coaches' Poll each football season. Since the introduction of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS), the winner of the BCS National Championship Game automatically receives the trophy, as the Coaches' Poll was contractually obligated to vote the winning team No. 1.

The trophy was first presented in 1986, however the AFCA allows programs to purchase replicas of the trophy for any year prior to 1986 in which the program finished No. 1 in the final AFCA-sponsored Coaches' Poll.

The 2014 trophy, won by Florida State Unviersity, will be the last "Coaches' Trophy" awarded. A new trophy as part of the upcoming "College Football Playoff" will take its place at the end of the 2014 season.