List of NCAA major college football yearly receiving leaders

The list of college football yearly receiving leaders identifies the major college receiving leaders for each season from 1937 to the present. It includes yearly leaders in three statistical categories: (1) receptions, (2) receiving yardage; (3) yards per reception; and (4) receiving touchdowns.

Eleven players have led the NCAA in one or more of these categories in multiple seasons. They are: Reid Moseley of Georgia (1944–1945); Hugh Campbell of Washington State (1960–1961); Vern Burke of Oregon State (1962–1963); Howard Twilley of Tulsa (1964–1965); Ron Sellers of Florida State (1967–1968); Jerry Hendren of Idaho (1968–1969); Mike Siani of Villanova (1970–1971); Steve Largent of Tulsa (1974–1975); Jason Phillips of Houston (1987–1988); Alex Van Dyke of Nevada (1994–1995); and Brennan Marion of Tulsa (2007–2008).

Since 1937, the NCAA record for receiving yards in a single season has been set or broken nine times as follows: Jim Benton of Arkansas in 1937 (814 yards); Hank Stanton of Arizona in 1941 (820 yards); Ed Barker of Washington State 1951 (864 yards); Hugh Campbell of Washington State in 1960 (881 yards); Vern Burke of Oregon State in 1962 (1,007 yards); Fred Biletnikoff of Florida State in 1964 (1,179 yards); Howard Twilley of Tulsa in 1965 (1,779 yards); Alex Van Dyke of Nevada in 1995 (1,854 yards); and Trevor Insley of Nevada in 1999 (2,060 yards).

During that same time, the record for receptions in a single season has been set or broken 13 times as follows: Jim Benton of Arkansas in 1937 (48); Hank Stanton of Arizona in 1941 (50); Barney Poole of Ole Miss in 1947 (52); Ed Brown of Fordham in 1952 (57); Dave Hibbert of Arizona in 1958 (61); Hugh Campbell of Washington State in 1962 (69); Larry Elkins of Baylor in 1963 (70); Howard Twilley of Tulsa in 1964 (95) and 1965 (134); Manny Hazard of Houston in 1989 (142); Freddie Barnes of Bowling Green in 2009 (155); and Zay Jones of East Carolina in 2016 (158).

Leading programs
Programs with multiple receiving leaders (at least three different individuals, in any of the four categories) include:
 * Houston – 9 (Ken Hebert, Elmo Wright, Jason Phillips, Manny Hazard, Fred Gilbert, Sherman Smith, Ron Peters, Brandon Middleton, and Patrick Edwards)
 * San Diego State – 7 (Tom Reynolds, Keith Denson, Dwight McDonald, Jim Sandusky, Patrick Rowe, Derrick Lewis, and J. R. Tolver)
 * Louisiana Tech – 6 (Billy Ryckman, Rod Foppe, James Jordan, Troy Edwards, Trent Taylor, and Carlos Henderson)
 * Tulsa – 6 (Keyarris Garrett, Brennan Marion, Chris Penn, Ronnie Kelley, Steve Largent, and Howard Twilley)
 * Washington State – 5 (Ed Barker, Bill Steiger, Jack Fanning, Hugh Campbell, and Corey Alston)
 * Baylor – 5 (Corey Coleman, Sam Boyd, Larry Elkins, Melvin Bonner, and Terrance Williams)
 * BYU – 5 (Jay Miller, Clay Brown, Kirk Pendleton, Mark Bellini, and Austin Collie)
 * Stanford – 5 (Bill McColl, Sam Morley, John Stewart, Chris Burford, and Devon Cajuste)
 * Nevada – 5 (Bryan Reeves, Alex Van Dyke, Damond Wilkins, Trevor Insley, and Nate Burleson)
 * Florida – 4 (Broughton Williams, Jack Jackson, Chris Doering, and Reidel Anthony)
 * Florida State – 4 (Fred Biletnikoff, Ron Sellers, Barry Smith, and Snoop Minnis)
 * Fresno State – 4 (Stephen Baker, Henry Ellard, Rodney Wright, and Davante Adams)
 * Georgia – 4 (George Poschner, Reid Moseley, Johnny Carson, and Jimmy Orr)
 * Hawaii – 4 (Ashley Lelie, Chad Owens, Davone Bess, and Greg Salas)
 * Oklahoma State – 4 (Neill Armstrong, Justin Blackmon, Cecil Hankins, and James Washington)
 * Oregon State – 4 (Vern Burke, Reggie Bynum, Mike Hass, and Brandin Cooks)
 * Pitt – 4 (Dwight Collins, Julius Dawkins, Antonio Bryant, Larry Fitzgerald)
 * Texas Tech – 4 (Elmer Tarbox, Earle Clark, Bake Turner, and Michael Crabtree)
 * West Virginia – 4 (Stedman Bailey, Jay Kearney, Calvin Phillips, and David Sills V)
 * Notre Dame – 3 (Bernard Kirk, Eddie Anderson, Jim Morse)
 * Purdue – 3 (Dave Young, Rodney Carter, & Rondale Moore)
 * Western Michigan – 3 (Greg Jennings, Corey Davis, & Jordan White)

Pre-1937 unofficial data
Before 1937 the NCAA did not compile official statistics. This chart reflects unofficial receiving statistics compiled by historians mostly from newspapers accounts.