MNC Wednesday is not stopping now with the Power 5 football conferences (see the index of links here). There are plenty of other leagues to explore, active and defunct. And we have some time this season to do so. Thus, we are off to the races today with a look at the history of independent schools and the best collective years throughout college football history dating back to 1936, our demarcation line for this “modern” sport.

One thing to remember is that a lot of schools dipped in and out of “independent” status through the past 87 seasons, so not all years were created equal. While some schools like Notre Dame have remained independent for decades, other schools—like BYU and Michigan State, for example—have been included in conferences for a good number of seasons in history. Therefore, this is a crazy, irregular examination. FYI!

10. 1944

A lot of teams were independent during the second World War years, and collectively, this group put together a 197-129-20 record (.598), which was third among “conferences” during this season. A whopping 10 teams were ranked at the end of the year, although this includes a lot of flight-school teams. This is one reason why we didn’t award Army (9-0) our MNC for the year. But these games were played, so there you go.

9. 1988

Collectively, independents posted the second-best winning percentage this season: a 162-121-0 record (.572). Notre Dame won the MNC, which we confirmed, leading the way. Six teams won at least 10 games, but here’s the kicker—four independent teams finished in the Associated Press Top 5 … led by the Fighting Irish and followed Miami (FL) at No. 2, Florida State at No. 3, and West Virginia at No. 5. Seems hard to top, right?

8. 1983

An independent won the MNC, even though we disagreed: Miami (FL). The overall record of indie schools wasn’t super impressive—136-120-4 for a .531 winning percentager—but five schools finished in the AP Top 20, including the Hurricanes, the Mountaineers, Pittsburgh, Boston College, and East Carolina (!). Five teams won bowl games, as the Panthers lost one while Penn State was victorious as the defending champs.

7. 2015

This is the most recent year on our list, as teams have scrambled to make it into secured conference slots for corrupt College Football Playoff payouts. But here’s the funny part: there was just three teams playing as independents this year (Notre Dame, BYU, and Army). The Irish (Fiesta) and the Cougars (Las Vegas) both lost bowl games, while the Black Knights went just 2-10. Sabermetrics are funny, sometimes, aren’t they?

6. 1936

The first year of the AP poll rang in the modern era of the sport, and it was also a very good year for independent schools. In fact, a large number of teams combined for the top record in the sport: 225-142-28 (.605). That’s impressive, as is the 10 real schools ranked at the end of the season—Pittsburgh (3), Santa Clara (6), Notre Dame (8), Pennsylvania (10), Yale (12), Dartmouth (13), and Navy (18) were the “regulars.”

5. 2010

All three independents finished with winning records this season: Navy (9-4), Notre Dame (8-5), and Army (7-6). The Midshipmen lost the Poinsettia Bowl, but the Irish won the Sun Bowl, and the Black Knights won the Armed Forces Bowl. Interesting that the two service academies did not play each other, although they did during the regular season—with Army coming out on top by 14 points. Little piece of trivia there.

4. 1942

As the U.S. war machine ramped up, this was a crazy season for independent teams—but clearly a very good one (205-136-24, .595, second overall). Five schools finished in the AP Top 20, but they were all real colleges. Notre Dame (6), Boston College (8), Santa Clara (15), Holy Cross (19-tie), and Penn State (19-tie) represented well. The Eagles were the top-ranked team before losing the Orange Bowl to No. 7 Alabama. Bummer, right?

3. 1938

The math goes against the maxim here, of quantity doesn’t mandate quality. But indies way back then were some of the top programs in the country, combining for a 199-133-17 record and a .595 winning percentage (second). Eight team finished in the AP Top 20, led by Notre Dame (5), Carnegie Mellon (6), Pitt (8), and Holy Cross (9) all reaching the Top 10. St. Mary’s also won the Cotton, while the Tartans (!) lost the Orange.

2. 1943

Eleven team ended up in the AP’s final poll, including 4 flight-school teams. Overall, the independent teams posted a 166-110-12 record for a .597 winning percentage (third). The Fighting Irish won the AP MNC, but we disagreed, actually. Six teams finished in the Top 10, but that included all the military teams—and Navy, as well. This really was the first season of those teams starting to dominate with the collection of top players.

1. 1937

Independent peaked early in the modern era, clearly, with a 193-121-38 record and a .602 winning percentage (first). The Panthers finished first in the AP poll, although we didn’t agree with their MNC. Eight teams finished in the Top 15—including Fordham (3), Villanova (6), Dartmouth (7), Notre Dame (9-tie), Santa Clara (9-tie), Yale (12), and Holy Cross (14). The Gaels won the Sugar, as it was a different time, alright.