Lambert Trophy |
| Awarded for | the best team in the East in Division I FBS (formerly I-A) college football.
Eastern championship[1][2] |
|---|
| Location | Eastern United States |
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| Country | United States |
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| Presented by | Lambert Trophy Championship Association |
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|
| First award | 1936 |
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| First winner | Pittsburgh |
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| Most recent | Penn State |
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| Next ceremony | 2025 |
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| Website | LambertTrophy.org |
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The Lambert Trophy (formerly the "Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy") is an annual award given to the best team in the East in Division I FBS (formerly Division I-A) college football.
In affiliation with the Metropolitan New York Football Writers (founded 1935), the Lambert Trophy was established by brothers Victor A. and Henry L. Lambert in memory of their father, August V. Lambert.[4] The Lamberts were the principals in a distinguished Madison Avenue jewelry house and were prominent college football boosters.[5]
By the time the “Lambert Trophy” was established in 1936, major schools in other regions of the country had formed their own leagues (i.e., SEC, Big Ten, Big Eight, Pacific Coast Conference, etc.) and Division I FBS (formerly I-A) schools located in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions remained independent, with the exception of the 1954 formation of the Ivy League.[6][7] Emblematic of the "Eastern championship",[8][9] the Lambert Trophy, voted on by a panel of sports writers in New York, became the de facto conference championship for those schools.[10]
Since 1936, there have been 19 different winners in Division I-A/FBS. To be eligible for the Lambert Award, a school must be located in the "East." Teams in the "East" were originally interpreted as being north of Washington D.C. and east of the western boundary of Pennsylvania,[11] but has sometimes been expanded to include teams located in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware and the District of Columbia (although there are no FBS teams in Delaware nor Washington D.C., there are teams that compete at lower levels that can win the various Lambert Cup awards for their levels). Additionally, while the Big East Conference was a football conference, members of that conference outside of the "East" were also made eligible if at least half their schedule was against Lambert-eligible teams.
A set of parallel trophies collectively known as the Lambert Cup were formerly awarded to teams in Division I FCS (formerly I-AA), Division II, and Division III. The Metropolitan New York Football Writers, owned and operated by American Football Networks, Inc., took the administration of the Lambert Meadowlands Awards back from the New Jersey Sports & Exhibition Authority in 2011.
As of 2024, plans were announced to revive the Lambert Trophy and begin awarding it for the 2024 season. Following this, the newly announced Lambert Trophy Championship Association awarded retroactive championships to Pittsburgh for 2021 and Penn State for 2023.[12] It was additionally re-announced that Penn State had been awarded the trophy in 2022.[13] Boston College, Temple, Navy, Army, Buffalo, West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Penn State, UMass, UConn, and Syracuse will have automatic eligibility for The Lambert Trophy in 2024, with Delaware becoming eligible in 2025.[14]
Lambert Trophy winners
By year
[12]
By team
| School |
Total |
Years won
|
| Penn State |
35 |
1947, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024
|
| Army |
9 |
1944, 1945, 1946, 1948, 1949, 1953, 1958, 2018, 2020
|
| Pittsburgh |
7 |
1936, 1937, 1955, 1976, 1979, 1980, 2021
|
| Syracuse |
6 |
1952, 1956, 1959, 1966, 1987, 1992
|
| Navy |
6 |
1943, 1954, 1957, 1960 (co-champions), 1963, 2015
|
| Boston College |
5 |
1940, 1942, 1983, 1984, 2004
|
| Miami (FL)* |
4 |
2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
|
| West Virginia |
4 |
1988, 1993, 2007, 2011
|
| Dartmouth^ |
2 |
1965, 1970
|
| Princeton^ |
2 |
1950, 1951
|
| Virginia Tech* |
2 |
1995, 1999
|
| Carnegie Tech† |
1 |
1938
|
| Cincinnati* |
1 |
2012
|
| Connecticut |
1 |
2010
|
| Cornell^ |
1 |
1939
|
| Fordham^ |
1 |
1941
|
| Louisville* |
1 |
2006
|
| Rutgers |
1 |
2014
|
| Yale^ |
1 |
1960 (co-champions)
|
^ Now a member of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
† Now a member of NCAA Division III.
* No longer eligible to win Lambert Trophy
Lambert Cup
NOTE: The Ivy League, and until 1997, the Patriot League, do/did not participate in the NCAA Division I Football Tournament.
[18]
Most FCS Lambert Cups
| Team |
Total |
Years won
|
| Delaware † |
8 |
1982, 1991, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2007, 2010
|
| James Madison † |
7 |
1994, 2004, 2008, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020
|
| Holy Cross |
6 |
1983, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 2022
|
| Villanova |
3 |
1992, 2002, 2009
|
| Lehigh |
2 |
2001, 2011
|
| UMass † |
2 |
1998, 2006
|
| New Hampshire |
2 |
2005, 2014
|
| Rhode Island |
2 |
1984, 1985
|
| William & Mary |
2 |
1990, 1996
|
| Boston University ‡ |
1 |
1993
|
| Colgate |
1 |
2018
|
| Fordham |
1 |
2015
|
| Hofstra ‡ |
1 |
1999
|
| Old Dominion † |
1 |
2012
|
| Towson |
1 |
2013
|
† Now a member of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).
‡ Discontinued football
Division II
|
|
|
| Year |
Team |
Record |
Playoff results
|
| 2019 |
West Chester[3] |
9–3 |
First Round
|
| 2020 |
N/A |
N/A |
–
|
| 2021 |
N/A |
N/A |
–
|
| 2022 |
IUP[17] |
10–2 |
Quarterfinals
|
|
Most D-II Lambert Cups
| School |
Total |
Years won
|
| IUP |
13 |
1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2012, 2017, 2022
|
| Delaware ‡ |
11 |
1959, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1969(½), 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973(½), 1974, 1976, 1979
|
| West Chester |
6 |
1967, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2013, 2019
|
| Lehigh † |
5½ |
1957, 1961, 1973 (½), 1975, 1977, 1980
|
| New Haven |
4 |
1992, 1995, 1997, 2011
|
| Bloomsburg |
3 |
1985, 2000, 2014
|
| Towson State † |
3 |
1983, 1984, 1986
|
| Bucknell † |
2 |
1960, 1964
|
| California (PA) |
2 |
2007, 2009
|
| East Stroudsburg |
2 |
1982, 2005
|
| Shepherd |
2 |
2015, 2016
|
| Buffalo ‡ |
1 |
1958
|
| Clarion |
1 |
1996
|
| Gettysburg ^ |
1 |
1966
|
| LIU Post † |
1 |
2018
|
| Maine † |
1 |
1965
|
| UMass ‡ |
1 |
1978
|
| Mercyhurst † |
1 |
2010
|
| Millersville |
1 |
1988
|
| Shippensburg |
1 |
1981
|
| Slippery Rock |
1 |
1998
|
| Wesleyan ^ |
½ |
1969 (½)
|
‡ Now a member of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).
† Now a member of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
^ Now a member of Division III.
Division III
Most D-III Lambert Cups
| Team |
Total |
Years won
|
| Ithaca |
8½ |
1974, 1975, 1978, 1980, 1984 (½), 1985, 1988, 1991, 2022
|
| Rowan |
8 |
1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2005
|
| Wesley ^ |
6 |
2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015
|
| Alfred |
2 |
1971, 2016
|
| Brockport |
2 |
2002, 2017
|
| C. W. Post † |
2 |
1973, 1976
|
| St. John Fisher |
2 |
2006, 2013
|
| Wagner † |
2 |
1967, 1987
|
| Washington & Jefferson |
2 |
1992, 1994
|
| Widener |
2 |
1981, 2000
|
| Wilkes |
2 |
1966, 1968
|
| Union (NY) |
1½ |
1984 (½), 1989
|
| Allegheny |
1 |
1990
|
| Carnegie Mellon |
1 |
1979
|
| Cortland |
1 |
2008
|
| Edinboro ‡ |
1 |
1970
|
| Franklin & Marshall |
1 |
1972
|
| Hobart |
1 |
2012
|
| Hofstra ^ |
1 |
1983
|
| Johns Hopkins |
1 |
2018
|
| Lycoming |
1 |
1997
|
| Merchant Marine |
1 |
1969
|
| Muhlenberg |
1 |
2019
|
| Plymouth State |
1 |
1982
|
| RPI |
1 |
2003
|
| Salisbury |
1 |
1986
|
| Westminster (PA) |
1 |
1977
|
† Now a member of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
‡ Now a member of Division II.
^ Discontinued football
References
- ^ "Boys' Life". November 1968.
- ^ Dartmouth College Football: Green Fields of Autumn. Arcadia. 2004. ISBN 9780738536118.
- ^ a b c d e f g "ECAC Announces 2020 and 2019 Lambert Awards". ecacsports.com. ECAC Sports. June 18, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
- ^ "Get Lambert Award". Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. December 1, 1936. p. 26. Retrieved June 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Burton, Chuck (February 19, 2025). "The Lost History of the Lambert Trophy And Lambert Cups". college-sports-journal.com. The College Sports Journal. Retrieved March 15, 2025.
- ^ "Remember What It Took to Get Here". 11 April 2016.
- ^ "What happened to college football in the Northeast?". 4 August 2022.
- ^ "Boys' Life". November 1968.
- ^ Dartmouth College Football: Green Fields of Autumn. Arcadia. 2004. ISBN 9780738536118.
- ^ "Remember What It Took to Get Here". 11 April 2016.
- ^ "Dec 01, 1936, page 18 - The Times Leader at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
- ^ a b "Lambert Trophy Winners". Lambert Trophy. Archived from the original on January 13, 2025. Retrieved December 24, 2024.
- ^ @LambertTrophy (October 25, 2024). "It's not widely known, but the #LambertTrophy was actually awarded in 2022 to @PennStateFball. For archivists, here's the press release from the time" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
- ^ @LambertTrophy (September 23, 2024). "... @SickosCommittee @PickSixPreviews @FQACC @ECACSports @ShutdownFullcas @SplitZoneDuo @ArmyWP_Football @SolidVerbal" (Tweet). Archived from the original on September 24, 2024. Retrieved September 23, 2024 – via Twitter.
West Point, NY — The following statement was released today by the Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy regardings its future plans: I'm back.
- ^ a b c Mackall, Dave (January 5, 2010). "Penn State finishes atop MNYFW poll". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Archived from the original on January 10, 2010. Retrieved January 5, 2010.
- ^ a b c d "ECAC Announces 2018 Football Teams of the Year and Lambert Awards". ecacsports.com. ECAC Sports. January 15, 2019. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
- ^ a b c d "ECAC Announces 2022 Lambert Awards". ecacsports.com. ECAC Sports. March 27, 2023. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
- ^ "American Football Networks, Inc. - Lambert FCS Cup". Archived from the original on Jun 29, 2016. Retrieved June 14, 2016.