Has a team ever won a national championship at home? Miami to play CFP title game in own stadium

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Has a team ever won a national championship at home? Miami to play CFP title game in own stadium originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Miami Hurricanes are one game away from winning their first national championship since the 2001 season. After a heroic performance from Canes quarterback Carson Beck, Miami beat Ole Miss 31-27 to advance to the national championship game.

The Canes will also have the luxury of playing in its home stadium for this one, as next Monday's game will be at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. Miami will face the winner of Friday night's Oregon-Indiana Peach Bowl semifinal.

It marks the first time in either the BCS or CFP era that a team can win a national title in its home stadium. Let's take a look at the unique home field advantage Miami will have for the national title game.

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Has a team ever won the national title in its home stadium?

No. Miami could be the first. In national championship games starting from the BCS era in 1998-the first two iterations of the modern College Football Playoff from 2014-2026, a team has never played in its home stadium in the title game.

Teams that have won national titles in home state

Believe it or not, there have been several teams that have won national titles in their home states. Most national title games have rotated between sites like the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, and State Farm Stadium in Glendale, among others. LSU has had the luxury of playing in its home state four times in the national title game, winning three times.

Here’s a look at college football teams that have played national title games in their home states:

Season	Result	Venue	Host City
2003-04	LSU 21, Oklahoma 14	Louisiana Superdome	New Orleans, La.
2005-06	Texas 41, USC 38	Rose Bowl	Pasadena. Calif.
2007-08	LSU 38, Ohio State 24	Louisiana Superdome	New Orleans, La.
2008-09	Florida 24, Oklahoma 14	Dolphin Stadium	Miami, Fla.
2011-12	Alabama 21, LSU 0	Louisiana Superdome	New Orleans, La.
2017-18	Alabama 26, Georgia 23 (OT)	Mercedes-Benz Stadium	Atlanta, Ga.
2019-2020	LSU 42, Clemson 25	Louisiana Superdome	New Orleans, La.

MORE: Why did Carson Beck leave Georgia for Miami?

Why does Miami share a stadium with the Dolphins?

Miami shares a stadium with the Miami Dolphins because the Canes do not have a home football stadium. Although both teams are technically located in Miami proper, the school and the stadium sit roughly 25 miles apart. UM is located in Coral Gables, whereas Hard Rock is in Miami Gardens.

Here's a look at the distance between the two:

Photo via Google Maps

Prior to playing their home games at Hard Rock, Miami played at the historic Orange Bowl, which was located eight miles southwest of UM's campus. The Orange Bowl was demolished in 2008 and is now home to the Miami Marlin's home stadium.

Miami does not have an on-campus stadium for a few reasons. One of the biggest is that UM's campus sits in a largely residential area, and there isn't a ton of land available to build a stadium on.

There have been some attempts to build a stadium near Miami's campus in recent years. In 2022 a prominent Miami booster and local attorney proposed a new 60,000 stadium in nearby Tropical Park:

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The stadium would have needed local approval from the county to proceed, but residents pushed back heavily against the initiative.

Miami returning home with a chance to win it all is a full-circle moment for the Canes. The season began with Miami playing its first five games without leaving the state of Florida. The Canes beat Notre Dame at home on Aug. 31 in Week 1, followed by three home games against Bethune-Cookman, South Florida, and Florida. On Oct. 8, Miami went on the road to face Florida State, but still did not leave its home state.

Since its Nov. 15 home win over NC State, however, Miami has been away from home. The Canes closed out the regular season with two straight road wins over Virginia Tech and Pitt, then defeated Texas A&M 10–3 in College Station. Miami followed that with a Cotton Bowl win over Ohio State in Arlington, Texas, before its most recent victory over Ole Miss in the Fiesta Bowl in Arizona.

Miami now returns home after spending 65 days away.

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