Strange But True: Columbia Football Is Tied for First in the Ivy League

Updated: 5:30 pm Saturday, October 28.

Columbia University has one of the nation’s oldest football programs – and historically, one of its least successful. But this year, a seeming miracle is unfolding, as the Columbia Lions have scored six back-to-back wins. Alumni and students are stunned, even as players say they were hard at work on a comeback.

“We’re a good team, we always knew we were a good team,” said senior defensive back Cameron Roane. “We put ourselves in this position. It’s no secret, no surprise to us.”

Columbia’s losing history is the stuff of legend. In the mid 1980s, the Lions went 44 consecutive games without a win, a period known affectionately as “the Streak.” In 2013 and 2014, the Lions were halfway toward another Streak, losing every match for two consecutive years.

The following autumn, a new coach took control of the program: Al Bagnoli, formerly of the University of Pennsylvania. With nine Ivy League titles under his belt, Bagnoli was a legend. He had already announced plans to retire, when he abruptly reversed himself and agreed to re-boot Columbia’s football program. 

WNYC chronicled the Lions' first season with Bagnoli in The Season podcast.

Bagnoli convinced Columbia to significantly increase spending on the football program and he hired a new staff of assistant coaches. The turnaround appeared to move slowly, until this year.

In 2015, the Lions won two games out of 10. In 2016, they won three games. This year, they have six wins and one loss. The Yale Bulldogs defeated the Lions 23-6 on Saturday afternoon.

In 2015, quarterback Anders Hill completed 46 percent of passes. This year he's thrown 66 percent completions.

Bagnoli said the turnaround can’t be reduced to one or two big changes. It was lots of big and little decisions — and a change in attitude.

“Our kids and our staff have worked exceptionally hard, whether it’s in the off-season weight room, or kids staying here over the summer, or how we approached spring football, or how we approached preseason camp,” he said.