College Football Fans Will Now Have a Say in Heisman Trophy Voting

A new season-long platform will bring fans deeper into the Heisman race while preserving the award's traditional voting structure

The Heisman Trophy is changing its process to give college football fans voting access in 2026. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

The Heisman Trophy is giving college football fans a larger place in the conversation with a new season-long voting platform.

Heisman Hopefuls will let fans follow more than 11,000 players, study official statistics and cast a ranked ballot every day beginning Sept. 9.

The final fan results will be revealed before the traditional electorate begins voting in December, a first for the award. The change does not give the public control of the outcome, but it turns one official ballot into a season-long referendum guided by the fans.

How the new Heisman fan vote will work

Fans who register on the Heisman Hopefuls website can submit one ballot per day, ranking three players in the same format used by official voters. A first-place selection receives three points, second place gets two and third place gets one. Voting will take place only on the website.

Carnegie Mellon University's Sports Analytics Center developed a time-weighted model. Votes later in the season will carry greater value as players build fuller resumes and conference races take shape. The exact formula will remain confidential.

Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) holds the Heisman Trophy with Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The three leaders will form the public's single official ballot. ESPN will announce it live during conference championship weekend, before the rest of the Heisman electorate votes.

Fan participation is not entirely new. The Heisman has included one collective public ballot since 1999. What changes in 2026 is the experience and its place in the calendar.

The platform will feature official NCAA data supplied by Genius Sports, updated EA Sports College Football ratings and players from every position. That wider field could help linemen, defenders and other overlooked standouts enter a race long dominated by quarterbacks and running backs.

The fan ballot remains only one of 931 votes. The other 930 votes come from 870 media members and 60 living Heisman winners.

Heisman Trophy's history still shapes the award

The award began in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club Trophy. Chicago running back Jay Berwanger became its first winner.

It was renamed the Heisman Memorial Trophy in 1936 following the death of John W. Heisman, the club's athletic director and an influential early coach. Sculptor Frank Eliscu designed the bronze trophy using former New York University player Ed Smith as the model for its famous stiff-arm pose.

A statue of former Ohio State Buckeyes running back Archie Griffin is unveiled outside Ohio Stadium. The statue commemorates the 50th anniversary of Griffin winning back-to-back Heisman Trophies. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The award became college football's most recognized individual honor. Ohio State running back Archie Griffin remains the only player to win it twice, doing so in 1974 and 1975. Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza became his school's first winner in 2025.

Each elector still chooses three players on a 3-2-1 scale, a format created to limit regional favoritism. Media voters are divided evenly among six geographic regions, with living winners forming the other major voting group.

Heisman Hopefuls will not overturn that structure. It will give fans better tools to follow the race and put their collective decision before official voters cast the final ballots.