1940 Rose Bowl - Aftermath

Aftermath

USC coach Howard Jones died in the summer of 1941. He had a 5-0 record in the Rose Bowl. Joe Schell, the captain of the USC Trojans who became an oil company owner and a California State Assemblyman, died on April 8, 2008.

USC bases its 1939 National Championship claim on winning the Dickinson System, a formula devised by a University of Illinois professor which awarded the only championship trophy between 1926 and 1940. In 1939, Dickinson was the only poll or system to rank the Trojans number one. USC's stance, however, is in keeping with that of most other schools which won the Dickinson title; only Notre Dame, which won the Dickinson crown in 1938, does not claim a major national title for that year. Since at least 1969, USC had not listed 1939 as a national championship year; but in 2004, USC once again began recognizing the 1939 team as national champions after it determined that it qualified.

Ambrose "Amblin' Amby" Schindler went on to be the MVP in the 1940 College All-Star Game. He was inducted into the San Diego Hall of Champions Breitbard Hall of Fame in 1973. He was inducted into the USC Athletic Hall of Fame in 1997. He was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 2002.

Tennessee player William "Bill" Barnes would eventually coach the UCLA Bruins football team to the 1962 Rose Bowl.