The Lambert Trophy/Cup (Part I)

There are some things in sports that used to be a big deal, but now … well, they’re not dead, but they’re basically on life support:

• Heavyweight boxing fights (rendered obsolete by UFC);
• Harness racing (once a religion here in Maine, now it’s a footnote to a footnote’s footnote);
• The Lambert Trophy.

Ah, the Lambert Trophy, and its kid brother, the Lambert Cup. In the days when Eastern football teams played largely independent schedules outside the Ivy League (after 1954), the Lambert Trophy was annually presented by one New York media group or another to the top team(s) in the East starting in 1936, not long after the attention of college fans became more distracted to goings-on in Tuscaloosa and Ann Arbor and South Bend and Fort Worth — places decidedly not in the East. 

The award served two purposes: to present a de facto conference title to a team in the indy-heavy East and publicize an area rapidly becoming left behind in the football rat-race. A Lambert Cup, for smaller schools, was established in 1957; Lamberts were later handed out to top teams in FBS, FCS and Divisions II and III.

(An aside: I always thought the Lambert Trophy had something to do with a gentleman named Piggy Lambert, but it was actually donated by a couple brothers named Lambert who ran a Madison Avenue jewelry store. Piggy Lambert was a Purdue basketball coach; one of his players was some guy named John Wooden.)

The Lambert Trophy was a big deal for many years before it lost steam somewhere along the way, kinda like harness racing. Apparently it’s been presented haphazardly in the 21st century, and some of the awards have been retroactive. Guess a Lambert’s not as sexy as an appearance in the R&L Carriers Bowl.

Anyway, this and the next few posts will concern Lambert Trophy/Cup winners from the teams covered by this site: twelve Trophy winners and 44 Cup champs (get ready for a lotta Delaware). We’ll start with the big award, the Trophy.

Some miscellaneous notes:

• Boston College won the Trophy five times, the most of any team covered here.
• Delaware has won 19 Cups, eight from FCS and 11 (including seven straight) from its Division II days.
• Despite decades as FCS regional powers, New Hampshire and UMass have fewer Cups (two apiece) than Rhode Island (three).
• Four Ivy schools (Cornell, Dartmouth, Princeton and Yale) won the Trophy; the only Ivies to win the Cup were the Dartmouth-Harvard-Penn three-way tie in 2015.
• Teams covered by this site that have never won any Lambert booty: Brown, Bryant, Central Connecticut, Columbia, Fairfield (defunct), Merrimack, Northeastern (defunct), Sacred Heart, Stonehill, UMass Lowell (defunct), Vermont (defunct). Mostly defunct programs, D-I newbies and career mediocrities or worse.
• New Haven won four D-II Cups, the last (2011) coming after the program was suspended and revived.
• Penn State (35) has won the Trophy more than anyone else, 26 more than second-place Army.
• Two New England teams not covered by this site (Plymouth State, Wesleyan) each won a Cup, and I’ll probably toss them in.
• Yes, UConn really made the Fiesta Bowl that time.

OK, onto the Lambert Trophy winners, in chronological order:

My favorite tidbit about the '39 Big Red is that they turned down a Rose Bowl invite so the athletes could catch up on their classwork. So I'm guessing they didn't use NIL cash to get that No. 4 ranking?

BC claims a national title for this team, and the Eagles might not be wrong, since their bowl win over unbeaten Tennessee happened after the final polls came in.

BC won the Trophy despite losing to Holy Cross in the Cocoanut Grove fire game that probably saved the Eagles' lives.

Princeton clinched an undefeated season by beating Dartmouth while a hurricane was literally blowing through New Jersey.

The year Dick Kazmeier won the Heisman Trophy, the third and last by an Ivy player.

Yale shared the award with Navy.

The first year of the classic Dartmouth helmet we all know and love.

The Big Green won six games by shutout and is the last Ivy team to finish in the major national rankings. Longtime coach Bob Blackman left for Illinois after the season.

BC's first ranked finish in 41 years.

After beating Holy Cross in the regular-season finale, Doug Flutie hopped into a helicopter for New York to accept his Heisman in person that night.

The first year of the Matty Ice (Matt Ryan) era.

Coach Randy Edsall didn't fly with the team back to Connecticut from the Fiesta Bowl, I guess because he was so eager to run Maryland into the ground.

American International Yellow Jackets (1970-71, 74)

The more I think about it, the more I realize the period from roughly 1963-73 was a bit of a golden age for New England/Ivy League football. Little (and big) All-Americans, undefeated teams, bowl teams, nationally ranked teams, a Heisman runner-up, a game of the century candidate — there was always something going on each fall. 

The wonderfully named American International College of Springfield, Mass., made its own contribution to this era, Although the Yellow Jackets played what would be considered a Division II/III schedule by today's standards, they somehow came up with Little All-American Bruce Laird, a Lowell, Mass, native who went on to a 12-year career as a standout safety for the Baltimore Colts and San Diego Chargers. (An aside: Do you realize after the 2026 season the Ravens will have been in Baltimore as long as the Colts were? We're all getting old.)

A Portland Press Herald clipping from 1971.

At AIC, Laird was more than a great defender: he was close to a 60-minute man at a time when 60-minute men had gone the way of leather helmets (well, at least until Gordie Lockbaum came along). He ran for 1,402 yards as a senior in 1971, and he was the team's punter and punt/kickoff returner. The Colts grabbed him in the sixth round of the 1972 NFL Draft and he made the Pro Bowl as a return specialist his rookie year. He also played a couple years in the USFL.

An AIC newsletter from 1971 hypes up Bruce Laird.

Oddly enough, AIC never had a winning record with Laird; the Jackets were 4-5, 2-6-1 and 4-5 in his three seasons in Springfield.

A few years later, AIC made a bit of history when it defeated Vermont in the final game in Catamounts' history.

The uniforms, at least from '71 onward, vaguely resemble the New Orleans Saints, especially those Topps cards from the '70s when all the logos were airbrushed off.

Boston College, Delaware, UConn, UMass (2025)

Better late than next season, here are the 2025 FBS uniforms covered on the this site. A few random notes:

• All four teams made a few minor modifications, but no one made any major overhauls.
• Boston College replaced the retro BC logo on the sleeves with stripes similar to what the Eagles wore in the Flutie era (albeit with the colors reversed.) The Welles Crouther memorial bandanna uniform was given a fresh look.
• Delaware replaced the CAA patch with a Conference USA version for its first season in FBS and placed names on the back of the jerseys for the first time. The "Blue" Hens also added a black-and-silver "midnight collection" alternate that looks more at home in Las Vegas. Actually, it's not that bad. 
• UConn may have set some sort of record with four different blue helmets: Husky head, white C, star-spangled C and cancer ribbon.
• UMass slightly changed its road uniform. Remember that "Married ... With Children" episode where Al sinks a bunch of money into a shoe hotline? When it inevitably fails, Al responds by sinking even more money into it, only for it to fail even more. That sums up UMass' move to FBS pretty well, I'd say.

Central Connecticut, Colgate, Holy Cross, Merrimack, New Haven, Sacred Heart, Stonehill (2025)

 Some more New England FCS uniforms from the 2025 season. A few random notes:

• Sacred Heart's alternate "Pios" logo, used for 2024's star-spangled helmets, became the base helmet logo in 2025.. (A shame, as there was nothing wrong with the "SHU" logo.) The Pioneers also broke out the 1990s hiking pioneer logo (an obvious paean to Pat Patriot) for a couple late-season games. The logo also was used on occasion in 2019. After a couple years of independence, SHU joins to Coastal Athletic Association for 2026. 
• Merrimack ditched its navy blue shirts and made yellow the primary home color. The Warriors also ditched Under Armour for New Balance. (As a Maine alum, I say welcome aboard!)
• Holy Cross' shield logo, which replaced the big "HC" logo on the purple helmets in 2024, was added to the white helmets in '25. (Again, a shame, as the big "HC" logo was a classic to these fading eyes.)
• Colgate also added a shield logo to its helmets. Must be something in the Patriot League water. The logo is even tinier than Maine's.
• New Haven joined the Division I ranks in 2025 and added a Northeast Conference logo patch to two of its three jerseys (sorry, yellow).

And now, the uniforms:

CAA (2025)

Next up for the uniforms of 2025 are New England's representatives in the Coastal Athletic Association, or as I like to call it, the Crumbling Athletic Association, since teams seem to be leaving left and right, usually for the Patriot League (William & Mary, Villanova, Richmond) or FBS (James Madison, Delaware). Hey, UMass, you can always come home. ...

Sacred Heart will join the league in 2026.

All four teams covered here didn't change their look much from last year, although I wonder why Maine doesn't wear its light blue alternates when the Black Bears recruits always wear them on social media.

Ivy League (2025)

We'll start the uniforms of 2025 with the ivy League. A few notable things:

• Harvard added white pants, and they look pretty sharp;
• Yale wore names on their jerseys for the first time for the Harvard game;
• Harvard and Yale wore NCAA patches as the Ivies participated in the NCAA FCS tourney for the first time (yay!). Harvard played it first postseason game since the 1920 Rose Bowl, while Yale made its postseason debut.

And so, without further ado ...

New Hampshire Wildcats (2004)

 

Can one person singlehandedly turn a program around? Take a dreary team and make it succeed beyond fans’ wildest imaginations? 

Absolutely. And no, I’m not talking about Tom Brady. (Despite the belief of many hot-take artists, Bill Belichick did far more than twirl a whistle for 20 years while TB12 did all the dirty work.) I’m looking about 100 miles north, in Durham, New Hampshire.

Going into the 2004 season, New Hampshire had enjoyed one winning season over the previous seven years, and even that was a tepid 6-5 mark in 2000. Sixth-year coach Sean McDonnell had a lifetime record of 23-33. The 2003 Wildcats went 5-7 in front of mostly blah crowds at ancient, dilapidated Cowell Stadium. (A late-season game against James Madison attracted a whopping 1,815 fans; even the annual rivalry game against Maine two weeks later drew a modest gathering of 4,246.)

The 2004 season looked to be more of the same. UNH was picked to finish fourth in the Atlantic 10’s six-team North Division. The Wildcats’ season opener was at Delaware, the 2003 I-AA (now FCS) national champion and preseason No. 1 in ’04. The season, frankly, looked to be over before it started. 

Then it happened. Sept. 2, 2004. Delaware Stadium, Newark, Delaware. More than 22,000 Blue Hen zealots in attendance.

UNH quarterback Mike Granieri, who was coming off a solid 2003 season (2,595 yards, 22 TDs, 8 interceptions), went down with a knee injury in the first half. In came redshirt freshman Ricky Santos, a walk-on from Bellingham, Massachusetts who had contemplated trying out for basketball if this football thing didn’t work out. Playing more like a four-year starter, Santos was 10-for-11 passing for 146 yards, including a go-ahead, fourth-quarter 44-yard TD pass to David Ball in a 24-21 mega-upset of the Blue Hens —the Wildcats' first-ever win over a No. 1 team.

The miracle man.

One week later, UNH pulled off another stunner, defeating Big East member Rutgers 35-24, the first five straight wins against I-A/FBS competition. Santos threw for 385 yards and five TDs, three in the second half, when the Wildcats outscored the Scarlet Knights 21-0.

After a 9-7 loss to William & Mary in the home opener in front of only 3,512 fans, UNH won seven of its last eight regular season games to finish at 9-2, claim a No. 6 ranking in the Sports Network poll and earn its first I-AA postseason berth since 1994. Santos threw for 3,318 yards and 31 TDs, and his favorite target, David Ball, caught 86 passes for 1,504 yards and 17 TDs. UNH outscored its opponents 426-339, 32.8 points per game. 

Santos and Ball, the Steve Young and Jerry Rice of FCS.
(Ball actually broke Rice's FCS record for career TD catches,)

Despite the lofty ranking, UNH had to visit lower-ranked (No. 10) Georgia Southern in the first round of the I-AA tournament. Although Santos threw for only 204 yards and one TD, UNH pulled off a 27-23 "upset." 

The Wildcats’ title dream came to an end a week later in the quarterfinals at Montana (a 47-17) loss, but the die had been cast by Ricky Santos. And it has yet to be broken. Just look at the Cats' run of success since.

UNH went on to reach the NCAA tourney 14 straight seasons. Sean McDonnell, he of the 23-33 record, retired in 2021 with a record of 157-104 (134-71 A.S. — After Santos). Chip Kelly, his heretofore unknown offensive coordinator, was acclaimed as a genius. A spanking new stadium was built in 2016. UNH has gone 20-3 against archival Maine since 2003 (sad face from this Maine alum) after going 41-42-8 previously.

You can even dust off those old Playstation 2 NCAA Football
video games and play as Ricky Santos, although you'll have to add his name. 

And Santos, the guy who wondered if this football thing would work out? He went on to win the Walter Payton Award as the nation’s top I-AA/FCS player in 2006, had his jersey retired and is now the Wildcats’ head coach — where he’s back going to the postseason every year.

All because Mike Granieri injured his knee at Delaware.

Phrases like “transformational” and “generational talent” get tossed around like wobbly passes in a backyard game these days, but Ricky Santos truly lived up to those lofty labels.

UMass Minutemen (1978)

It’s not easy being a UMass football fan. 

As of this writing, the Minutemen are 28-136 (.170 winning percentage) over 13 1/2 seasons since leaving the Football  Championship Subdivision for the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2012. Some people say UMass should return to FCS; others say the school should just dump the sport entirely and spend the money on, well, anything else. Fans, what few are left, are wondering what sins they committed in a previous life to deserve this fate. Most UMass students likely don’t remember the last time the school fielded a winning team (2010, when it went 6-5 in its next-to-last FCS season).  

It wasn’t always like this.

As noted elsewhere, UMass had a loud-and-proud football history. An FCS (I-AA) title in 1998. National title game appearances in 1978 and 2006. Bowl games in 1964 and 1972. A 1963 team that allowed 12 points ALL SEASON. Twenty-two conference titles.

One season that stood out in hearts and minds (not to mention the trophy case) was 1978, the first season of I-AA (now FCS), which was created when Division I split into two to separate the Alabamas of the world from the small fry. (Yeah, like there are no small-fry teams in today’s “big time” football.) UMass, which was officially Division II for football purposes along with the rest of its Yankee Conference brethren, was one of 43 charter members of the new division.

The 1978 UMass Minutemen.

The program, like now, was in a period of uncertainty. Beloved coach Dick MacPherson had just left for an assistant’s post with the Cleveland Browns and was replaced by unproven assistant Bob Pickett. The team had graduated a talented group of seniors from 1977’s 8-3 bunch that ran the table in the Yankee Conference and reached the NCAA Division II quarterfinals. The school was in a budget crunch, according to an Ernie Roberts column in the January 11, 1978 Boston (Evening) Globe that noted reductions in scholarships, a struggle to recruit on a level with the likes of New Hampshire and other YC rivals and an administration that seemed more focused on intramural programs.

Despite the shaky situation and a tough schedule that included five I-A schools (only two, Boston College and Rutgers, remain in football’s top tier today), the Globe still picked the Minutemen to win the YC that fall.

UMass poised for action against New Hampshire in 1978,
a 34-7 Minuteman win.

UMass dropped two of its first three games (Villanova and Harvard, both I-A programs at the time), then won seven of its final eight regular-season games, including all five Yankee Conference contests. A 19-17 win over Rhode Island on Oct. 21 sent the Minutemen into the Associated Press top 10 rankings for the first time. UMass dropped out of the rankings two weeks later after a loss to I-A Rutgers, but 33-8 win over I-A Holy Cross sent the team back in the top 10 to stay. 

The Minutemen ended the season with a 27-0 win over I-A Boston College (which went 0-11 that year). Eleven UMass players were named all-Yankee Conference, and guard Bruce Kimball was named a I-AA All-American. Running back Dennis Dent, all 5-feet-7 and 157 pounds of him, ran for 1,139 yards (a school record at the time) and nine TDs, and backfield-mate Hank Sareault added 823 yards and seven scores. Quarterback Mike McEvilly threw 12 TD passes. 

Defensively, Kevin Sullivan (no, not the famous pro wrestler and Boston native) and John Beerworth picked off eight passes each. Pickett was named ECAC I-AA coach of the year.

The first I-AA tournament consisted of a whopping four teams. UMass, seeded No. 4 with an 8-3 record, traveled to the University of Nevada and dismantled the top-seeded and undefeated Wolf Pack 44-21 in the semis on the strength of Dent’s 96-yard TD kickoff return and Sullivan’s three interceptions. 

Using a faux-New York Daily News motif, the 
Massachusetts Daily Collegiate previews the 1978 
I-AA national championship game.

UMass’ dream ride came to an end in the I-AA final (a.k.a. the Pioneer Bowl), where the Minutemen fell to Florida A&M 35-28 in Wichita Falls, Texas (roughly halfway between Dallas and Oklahoma City). Rattler running backs Mike Solomon and Melvin McFayden combined to run for 384 yards in 25 mph winds for fierce A&M failed to complete a pass.

While UMass didn’t return to the I-AA playoffs for another decade, the Minutemen won three of the next four YC titles and reaffirmed their status as one of New England’s top programs.

UMass’ uniforms had one of my all-time favorite logos — the minuteman perched between the “U” and “M.” That logo needs to make a comeback — along with the rest of the program. 

Columbia Lions (1915)

Many of you probably know that Rutgers and Princeton played the first intercollegiate "football" game in 1869, although that game bore little semblance to the game of even 30 years alter. A year later, Columbia University became the third school to take up the sport. The Lions (actually, they didn't use that name until 1910) were rather undistinguished until the turn of the century, when they went 49-22-4 from 1899-1905. 

But just as Columbia seemed to be getting it's act together, the school dropped football, citing the increase of violence that had plagued the sport in recent years, what with kicking, biting, flying tackles and the occasional death thrown in for good measure. Although a series of sweeping rules changes (highlighted by the addition of the forward pass) were passed in 1906, Columbia refused to reinstate the sport. (According to Mark F. Bernstein's Football: The Ivy League Origins of an American Obsession, the source for much of the info here, MIT, Northwestern, Trinity, Duke, California and Stanford also punted the sport after the '05 season.)

The Columbia student paper didn't hide its feelings on football.

After years of protest from students, Columbia allowed interclass games in 1914 and announced the return of the varsity game in February 1915. There were some conditions, however, including the prohibition of facing most of the big Ivy schools (Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Penn, Cornell), games has to be restricted to campus and freshmen were forbidden from playing (a practice that eventually became universal). 

The 1915 Columbia Lions. Welcome back.

This illustration from the 1917 Columbian yearbook (which covered the 
1915-16 academic year) heralds the return of football to campus.

Columbia went 5-0 in its first season back, facing relative lightweights such as Stevens Tech, UConn and Wesleyan. The Lions played all their games on South Field on campus. And when I say "on campus," I mean "on campus." It looks like Columbia shoehorned a football field onto a campus mall or quad. Temporary stands were squeezed behind the sidelines. The Lions played in this makeshift facility until Baker Field opened in 1923.

The top photo is from 1915; the second photo is from 1919.
But they illustrate how Columbia's games were played on the heart of the campus.
Wonder if students walked across the field on their way to the library
 (the domed building in the background)? 

Columbia continued to play NESCAC-level teams the next several years, even after the ban against bigger Ivy schools was lifted. (In fact, Columbia didn't play Harvard again until 1948, Yale until 1934 and Princeton until 1932.)

Columbia's uniforms are pretty typical from the era; the trademark "Columbia blue" jerseys didn't arrive until about the late 1920s. The primitive numbers were sewn onto white squares that were stitched onto the jerseys.