Fisher Football Receives Coveted Lambert Award
Thursday marked the Annual Eastern College Athletic Conference Football Awards Banquet at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. with the nationally-ranked St. John Fisher squad being awarded the Lambert Meadowlands Football Award Winner for Division III as the top team in the East. The Cardinals were ranked No. 1 in the final regular season Lambert Poll for the second time in school history (2006) after compiling a 10-3 record which ended with a quarterfinal loss in the NCAA Division III Football Championship to the University of Mary-Hardin Baylor. Fisher thwarted No. 9 John Carroll University 25-16 in the opening round followed by a 27-6 victory over No. 8 Hobart College in the second round to advance to the Elite 8 for the fourth time in program history.
The awards banquet honored both teams and individuals for their on-field performances during the 2013 season. Among the team award winners were the Penn State Nittanny Lions who were tabbed the Division I Lambert Football Award Winner for their performance in 2013. Attendees were also treated to a speech from Guest of Honor Kevin Gilbride, who recently retired from the NFL after years of being an offensive coordinator.
Established in 1936 as the Lambert Trophy to recognize supremacy in Eastern college football, the award has since grown to recognize the best team in the East in the Bowl Subdivision. In 1957, the Lambert Cup was created to recognize non-Division I-A teams, and in 1966 a Division III award was added. In 1983, the Lambert family decided the Meadowlands Sports Complex would be the best organization with a sincere and involved interest in college athletics to sponsor and manage the award, and since that time, the awards have been known as the Lambert Meadowlands Awards.
To be eligible for the Lambert Meadowlands Award, a school must be located in the East or play at least half of its schedule against eligible Lambert teams. The territory includes New York, New Jersey, New England and Pennsylvania, while teams in the bordering states of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia and the District of Columbia qualify if at least half of their schedule features eligible teams. Teams in Eastern-based football conferences, regardless of location, qualify if at least half their schedule is against Lambert eligible teams.