Alabama head coach Nick Saban made headlines Wendesday with comments on UCF's claim that they are the 2017 National Championship, stating that "self-proclaimed is not the same as actually earning it". Saban obviously doesn't feel that UCF is worthy of a title that Alabama won by beating Georgia.
Nebraska head coach Scott Frost, who coached UCF during their miraculous run in the 2017 season, took issue with those comments it seems.
Frost is referring to titles Alabama claimed during an era before modern college football when programs could claim themselves as national champions on a whim and count them as legitimate titles. Alabama has claimed national titles in 1925, 1926, 1930, 1934, and 1941. Of those five claims, the last three are not recognized by the NCAA.
There's no doubt though that the titles Saban has won at Alabama were earned, not claimed.