Hope College football teams have won the championship of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) a total of 20 times since joining America's oldest collegiate conference in 1934. Thirteen of the championships have been outright while seven have been co-championships, including a pair of tri-championships. Here is a short synopsis of each championship year.

1934
The first MIAA championship, shared with Kalamazoo, came eight years after Hope became a conference member. The league schedule consisted of just four games. Hope was 2-1-1. Defense was Hope's forte as league opponents scored just three touchdowns in those four games. Hope coach Bud Hinga was a graduate of league co-champion Kalamazoo. A 6-6 tie with Alma was controversial. An Alma fumble in the end zone was ruled a touchback; Alma thought it should have been a TD. The league disallowed an Alma protest.

1951
An MIAA co-championship, one shared with Alma, was accomplished by a Flying Dutchmen team consisting of just 34 players. In the matchup of co-champions, Hope prevailed over Alma 21-13. The decisive touchdown was accomplished on a Statue of Liberty play that saw Jim Williard race 75 yards for a score before a stunned Alma homecoming crowd. A "Glory Day" was declared by the college with classes cancelled the following Monday, after chapel that is.

1953
Hope's first outright MIAA championship came in the college's 24th year of league play. The Flying Dutchmen of coach Al Vanderbush started the season with 28 players on the roster, including a freshman quarterback. The championship was clinched at home in a 12-7 "Wooden Shoes" victory over Kalamazoo. The game-winner came on a fourth quarter halfback-option pass of 20 yards from John Adams to John Brannock.

1958
The march to an MIAA championship began and ended with an exciting play. Speedster Jim Mohr recovered the league-opening kickoff in the end zone as the Dutchmen went on to rout Alma 32-12 and Bill Huibregtse's 39-yard field goal with no time left on the clock gave Hope a 16-13 victory over Hillsdale. The win snapped Hillsdale's 28-game MIAA winning streak. The league title, albeit a tri-championship shared with Hillsdale and Albion, was the first under coach Russ DeVette.

1963
Hope's march to an MIAA championship had a literal bump in the road. En route to rival Albion, the team bus blew a tire. Fortunately, a school bus from Paw Paw high school happened along the way and its driver agreed to take the team to Albion. Hope would go on to spoil the Brits' homecoming 21-6. After an 0-4 start, Hope would go 5-0 to gain the co-championship with Kalamazoo.

1973
It would be a decade and under a new coach before the Flying Dutchmen would win another MIAA championship. The title would be the first of a league-record nine over the next quarter-of-a-century with Ray Smith at the helm. This year's champion would outscore it league opponents 133-31.

1975
The nationally ranked Flying Dutchmen averaged a school-record 30 points a game. The only blemish in an 8-0-1 season was a 21-21 tie with rival Albion.

1978
The last season at venerable Riverview Park was especially memorable as the Flying Dutchmen won the MIAA championship with a perfect 5-0 record. An individual highlight was the prowess of kicker Greg Bekius who booted 53 consecutive PATs.

1979
The Flying Dutchmen celebrated their first season at Holland Municipal Stadium by repeating as MIAA champions. Hope during the decade of the 70s would have the best record of any Michigan college or university football team (65-22-3).

1981
This championship season would mark the beginning of Hope's most successful decade of MIAA football.

1982
The Flying Dutchmen outscored their five league opponents by 149 points. The pre-game and halftime talks from the coaching staff were impacting as Hope outscored opponents 88-9 in the first quarter and 62-0 in the third.

1984
Hope's one and only perfect season over 99 years of play actually ended in disappointment as the Flying Dutchmen were not invited to the NCAA Division III championships. That has since changed with the league champion receiving an automatic berth in the post-season tournament. Quarterback Greg Heeres set national passing records, including the best percentage of passes that resulted in touchdowns. The entire offensive backfield was voted All-MIAA!

1986
A dramatic league-season ending tie with rival Albion didn't spoil Hope's opportunity to play in the NCAA championships for the first time. Trailing 29-23 with less than two minutes to play, the Flying Dutchmen marched 80 yards for a touchdown with :04 to play. An opportunity to win the game escaped the Dutchmen when the PAT snap from center-to-kicker failed to get to the holder. More than 4,000 fans watch in silent disbelief as the teams battled to a tie for the second consecutive year. Tie games in college football ended in 1996.

1987
This MIAA championship season ended with mixed emotions. While the Flying Dutchmen were claiming their fifth league crown of the decade they were also playing with defensive coordinator Russ DeVette on the sidelines for the final time. Coach DeVette's contribution to Hope football covered four decades and 323 games.

1997
The Flying Dutchmen won their first MIAA championship under coach Dean Kreps, albeit a shared title with Adrian. A dramatic 28-25 victory over rival Albion in the season's final game clinched the title. Tailback Brandon Graham rewrote Hope and MIAA rushing and scoring records and was named Michigan's Division III player of the year.

1999
The season came down to a "must win" game against rival Kalamazoo in the traditional Wooden Shoes rivalry contest. Albion and Alma had already clinched a share of the championship and Hope needed the victory to make it a three-way tie. It was supposed to be a showdown of the league's best defensive teams, but the offenses prevailed. The Hornets scored a touchdown on their first possession, but the Flying Dutch responded with 30 unanswered points to gain a 44-28 victory and the MIAA championship.

2000
It was a championship year that started with the team's first-ever international trip, an exhibition game in Queretaro, Mexico in the sweltering heat of a summer afternoon. It ended five months later on a snow-covered field in the NCAA Division III playoffs. In between the Flying Dutchmen were undefeated in MIAA play. Trailing 9-0 to rival Albion at halftime, the Flying Dutchmen scored a pair of touchdowns on passes from J.D. Graves to Mike Gle, the game-winner coming on a 45-yard toss in the fourth quarter.

2003
The Flying Dutchmen captured their fourth MIAA championship in nine seasons under coach Dean Kreps. The team rode the arm of senior quarterback Phil Butler who finished with career numbers of 86 touchdown passes and completions covering 8,510 yards.

2006
The Flying Dutchmen became the first MIAA team to win seven conference games. Dean Kreps became just the sixth coach in the 109-year history of the MIAA to win five or more championships. The title run was highlighted by a 49-43 overtime win at Alma. The Flying Dutchmen rallied from a 20-point halftime deficit.

2007
Hope's 20th MIAA championship season had many highlights including the 400th alltime football victory and the team's first win in a quarter-of-a-century at Albion. The Flying Dutchmen tied a school record for consecutive MIAA victories (14).