Columbia Lions football | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
First season | 1870 | ||
Athletic director | Peter Pilling | ||
Head coach | Jon Poppe 1st season, 0–0 (–) | ||
Stadium | Robert K. Kraft Field at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium (capacity: 17,000) | ||
Field surface | FieldTurf | ||
Location | New York, New York | ||
NCAA division | Division I FCS | ||
Conference | Ivy League | ||
All-time record | 373–633–43 (.376) | ||
Bowl record | 1–0 (1.000) | ||
Claimed national titles | 2 (1875, 1933) | ||
Conference titles | 1 (1961) | ||
Rivalries | Cornell (rivalry) Fordham (rivalry) | ||
Current uniform | |||
Colors | Columbia blue and white [1] | ||
Fight song | Roar, Lion, Roar | ||
Mascot | Roar-ee the Lion | ||
Website | GoColumbiaLions.com |
The Columbia Lions football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Columbia University. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Ivy League. The Columbia football team is the third oldest college football program in the United States: Columbia played Rutgers University in the fourth college football game, on November 12, 1870, in New Jersey. It was the first interstate football game. The first three college football games were played between Princeton and Rutgers in 1869 and 1870. Columbia plays its home games at the 17,000-seat Robert K. Kraft Field at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium in Inwood, Manhattan, the northernmost neighborhood on Manhattan island.
Some time in early November 1870 – while November 12 is most cited, others claim November 5 or 11th – Columbia's intercollegiate football journey began with a short trip to New Brunswick, New Jersey, to play Rutgers. Columbia lost 3–6 in the first college football game between schools from different states. The school struggled for most of the 19th century. It was not until after the turn of the century that the team would enjoy sustained success.
The program was much more successful in the first half of the 20th century, and was at times a national power. The 1915 squad went undefeated and untied. The 1933 Lions won the Rose Bowl, beating Stanford, 7–0. Lou Little, who coached the team from 1930 to 1956, was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1960.
Between 1983 and 1988, the team did not have a win in 47 games and lost 44 games in a row, which was the record for the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision until Prairie View A&M broke the record en route to 80 consecutive losses from 1989 to 1998. In the fifth game of the 1983 season, they won 21–18 over Yale. After that game, they did not win a game again for almost five years. The streak began with a tie with Bucknell in the following game, and ending the season with a loss to Holy Cross, a tie with Dartmouth, and losses to Cornell and Brown. The losing streak was so bad, that at one point, when the team came out on the field, the school's band would play the theme to The Mickey Mouse Club rather than their fight song. One notable loss during the streak was in a 1985 game vs. Harvard, where the Lions led 17–0 with 5 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, only to see the Crimson score 7 touchdowns in the remaining time to lose 49–17. After their 35th loss, they set the record for the longest Division I losing streak in history (beating Northwestern's 34 game losing streak from 1979 to 1982).
After this game, Larry McElreavy, the coach at the time told reporters, "I'm realistic; there's not a lot of talent here." ESPN rated the 1983–1988 Lions teams at 4th in its list of the top 10 worst college football teams of all time. [2] The streak was broken on October 8, 1988, with a 16–13 victory over archrival Princeton after a missed field goal attempt by the Tigers late in the game. Matthew Fox most notably played on the '88 team. That was the Lions' first victory at Wien Stadium, which was already four years old, having been opened during the streak. [3] [4]
The 1875 team was retroactively declared co-national champion by Parke H. Davis, along with Harvard and Princeton. [5] The school claims a national championship in both 1875 and 1933. [6]
Year | Selector | Coach | Record | Bowl | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1875 | Parke H. Davis | No coach | 4–1–1 | ||
1933 | Self-claimed | Lou Little | 8–1 | Rose Bowl | W 7–0 |
The Lions have just one Ivy League conference title, which they won in 1961, sharing it with Harvard. [7]
Year | Conference | Coach | Overall record | Conference record |
---|---|---|---|---|
1961 | Ivy League | Aldo Donelli | 6–3 | 6–1 |
Columbia has made one bowl appearance, garnering a record of 1–0.
Season | Coach | Bowl | Opponent | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1933 | Lou Little | Rose Bowl | Stanford | W 7–0 |
The Columbia Lions and the Cornell Big Red, the only two Ivy League teams in New York State, have met 103 times since 1889. They dedicated the Empire State Bowl in 2010. Cornell leads the series 65-37-3. Beginning in 2018, the teams will meet on the final weekend of the Ivy League season.
The Columbia Lions and the Fordham Rams, the two biggest Division I programs in New York City (Wagner also has a D-I football team) had met 24 times between 1890 and 2015. They dedicated the Liberty Cup after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Columbia discontinued the series in 2015. The series was tied 12–12.
The Columbia Lions and the Georgetown Hoyas have met 9 times. The cup was established in 2015 and is named after Lou Little, who coached at both schools. Columbia is 6-3 against Georgetown and 4-3 since the inception of the Lou Little Cup.
Pro Football Hall of Famer Sid Luckman played his college ball at Columbia, graduating in 1938. Luckman is also in the College Football Hall of Fame. Other Lions to have success in the NFL include offensive lineman George Starke, the Washington Redskins' "Head Hog," during the 1970s and 1980s, quarterback John Witkowski in the 1980s, and defensive lineman Marcellus Wiley in the 1990s. One famous Lion that had limited success on the field but more success in life was writer Jack Kerouac left school and went on the road after one injury-marred season as running back at Columbia. Another Lions back who became legendary for his accomplishments off the gridiron was baseball great Lou Gehrig, who was a two-sport star at Columbia.
Name | Years | Ref. |
---|---|---|
Sid Luckman | 1935–1938 | [8] |
Name | Years | Ref. |
---|---|---|
Paul Governali | 1940–1942 | 1986 |
Percy Haughton | 1923–1924 Coach | 1951 |
Walter Koppisch | 1922–1924 | 1981 |
Lou Little | 1930–1956 Coach | 1960 |
Sid Luckman | 1936–1938 | 1960 |
Cliff Montgomery | 1932–1934 | 1963 |
Bill Morley | 1899–1901 | 1971 |
Frank "Buck" O'Neill | 1920–1922 Coach | 1951 |
George Sanford | 1899–1901 Coach | 1971 |
Bill Swiacki | 1946–1947 | 1976 |
Harold Weekes | 1899–1902 | 1954 |
Several former players have made successful careers off the football field. Players below became notable in other fields once their football career at Columbia ended. Included are notability outside of football and their position on the team, if known.
Sidney Luckman was an American professional football quarterback who played for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) from 1939 through 1950. During his 12 seasons with the Bears, he led them to four NFL championships in 1940, 1941, 1943, and 1946.
The Virginia–Virginia Tech football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Virginia Cavaliers football team of the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech Hokies football team of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. The two schools first met in 1895 and have played annually since 1970. The game counts for 1 point in the Commonwealth Clash each year, and is part of the greater Virginia–Virginia Tech rivalry.
Luigi "Lou Little" Piccirilli December 6, 1891 – May 28, 1979) was an American football player and coach born in Boston, Massachusetts. After Lou's birth, his father changed his family name to "Little", translating the Italian family name and moved his family to Leominster in 1896. Little played football at Leominster High School where he was the team captain in 1910, his senior season. The 1910 team, led by Little’s stellar play, was Leominster’s first undefeated football team. Little went on to play one postgraduate season for the Worcester Academy Hilltoppers in 1911 before returning to coach his alma mater Leominster High School for one season in 1912. He served as the head coach at Georgetown College, now Georgetown University, from 1924 to 1929 and at Columbia University from 1930 to 1956, compiling a career college football record of 151–128–13. Little played college football as a tackle at the University of Pennsylvania for the 1916 and 1919 seasons and then with the professional football team the Frankford Yellow Jackets from 1920 to 1923. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1960. He appeared as Lu Libble in Jack Kerouac's novel Maggie Cassidy, a fictionalized account of Kerouac's early life.
Joseph Robert Garcia Kapp was an American football player, coach, and executive. He played college football as a quarterback for the California Golden Bears. Kapp played professionally in the Canadian Football League (CFL) with the Calgary Stampeders and the BC Lions and then in the National Football League (NFL) with the Minnesota Vikings and the Boston Patriots; with the Vikings, he led them to victory in the 1969 NFL Championship Game, the only league championship in team history. Kapp returned to his alma mater as head coach of the Golden Bears from 1982 to 1986. He was the general manager and president of the BC Lions in 1990.
In American football, a T formation is a formation used by the offensive team in which three running backs line up in a row about five yards behind the quarterback, forming the shape of a "T".
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The Columbia University Lions are the collective athletic teams and their members from Columbia University, an Ivy League institution in New York City, United States. The current director of athletics is Peter Pilling.
The Liberty Cup is a trophy awarded to the winner of the college football game between Columbia University and Fordham University, two National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I football programs in New York City. The cup was awarded annually from 2002 to 2015, but the two teams have not met since then.
Norries Wilson is an American football coach and former player. He was the running backs coach of the Rutgers University Scarlet Knights football team, but was let go in 2015. He was the first African-American head football coach in the Ivy League with the Columbia University football team.
The Cornell Big Red football team represents Cornell University in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) college football competition as a member of the Ivy League. It is one of the oldest and most storied football programs in the nation. The team has attained five national championships and has had seven players inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
The Rutgers Scarlet Knights are the athletic teams that represent Rutgers University's New Brunswick campus. In sports, Rutgers is famously known for being the "Birthplace of College Football", hosting the first ever intercollegiate football game on November 6, 1869, in which Rutgers defeated a team from the College of New Jersey with a score of 6 runs to 4.
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Charles Christopher "Chuckin' Charlie" O'Rourke was an American football player and coach. He played college football as a quarterback at Boston College and professionally with Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) and the Los Angeles Dons and Baltimore Colts of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC). O'Rourke quarterbacked the Boston College Eagles football team to one of its most famous wins. His 24-yard run late in the fourth quarter gave the 1940 Eagles a 19–13 victory over Tennessee in the 1941 Sugar Bowl, staking BC's claim to a national championship. O'Rourke served as the head football coach at University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass) from 1952 to 1959, compiling a record of 21–39–4. In 1972, he came the first Boston College player to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
The 1934 Rose Bowl, played on January 1, 1934, was an American football bowl game. It was the 20th Rose Bowl Game. The Columbia Lions defeated the Stanford Indians 7-0. Cliff Montgomery, the Columbia quarterback, was named the Rose Bowl Player Of The Game when the award was created in 1953 and selections were made retroactively. At 35,000, it has the lowest attendance in the Rose Bowl game since the Rose Bowl Stadium was built in 1922. This was one of the few rainy New Year's Day celebrations in Pasadena, California. Rain three days before had turned the Rose Bowl stadium into a small lake.
The Columbia Lions baseball team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of Columbia University in New York City. The team is a member of the Ivy League, which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. Columbia's first baseball team was fielded in 1868. The team plays its home games at Robertson Field at Satow Stadium in New York City. The Lions are coached by Brett Boretti.
The Penn Quakers football program is the college football team at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. The Penn Quakers have competed in the Ivy League since its inaugural season of 1956, and are a Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Penn has played in 1,413 football games, the most of any school in any division. Penn plays its home games at historic Franklin Field, the oldest football stadium in the nation. All Penn games are broadcast on WNTP or WFIL radio.
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The 1933 Columbia Lions football team was an American football team that represented Columbia University as an independent during the 1933 college football season. In their fourth season under head coach Lou Little, the Lions compiled an 8–1 record and outscored opponents 179 to 45, with four shutouts.
Gene Rossides was an American football player who was drafted by the New York Giants in 1949. He was a lawyer by training, held political office in several administrations, and was the founder of the American Hellenic Institute. For his success in various fields of government, sports, and journalism, the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs called him "one of the most emblematic figures of the Greek diaspora."
The 1983 Columbia Lions football team was an American football team that represented Columbia University during the 1983 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Columbia placed second-to-last in the Ivy League.
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