Lehigh University Athletics
Lehigh wins prestigious Lambert Cup
9/19/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
For the first time since 1980 Lehigh has won the prestigious Meadowlands Lambert Cup, crowning the Mountain Hawks the champions of eastern Division I-AA football. The award comes on the heels of an 11-1 season that included a sixth Patriot League championship title, fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA playoffs, and an undefeated regular season.
"While our program has been fortunate to receive many accolades over the last several seasons, the Lambert Cup has been one major goal that has eluded us," said head coach Pete Lembo, the 2001 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year recipient as the top coach in I-AA. "Winning this prestigious award puts a final asterisk next to the 2001 season for everyone associated with our program. It brings further credibility to our position as one of the nation’s premier teams at the I-AA level and connects us with the great Lehigh teams from past generations that have won the award."
Prior to the establishment of the Division I-AA football playoffs, the Lambert Cup was a symbol of supremacy not only in eastern football but nationally as well. This is the sixth time Lehigh has won the highly coveted award and is the first Patriot League team since Holy Cross in 1989 to capture the cup. Only Delaware has won more Division I-AA and Division II Lambert Trophies (17), than the Brown and White.
"The Lambert Cup is a great accomplishment for our team," said All-American wide receiver Josh Snyder. "Every year we set our goals high and one of those goals is to be the best team in the east. This year we reached that goal. The new challenge is to maintain the honor and achieve it on a regular basis."
Last season Lehigh finished third in the Lambert Cup voting and has finished in the top five each of the past four years including a second place finish behind National Champion Massachusetts in 1998 and fourth place in 1999.The Lambert Cup was established in 1957 by brothers Victor and Henry Lambert, two New York jewelers and college football boosters, in memory of their father, August, to recognize supremacy in eastern college football.
In 1984 the Meadowlands Sports Complex was selected to sponsor the award. A dinner and awards ceremony is held every year at Giants Stadium to honor ECAC award winners.
The award territory includes eastern teams from Maine to Virginia. A panel of seven regional media members does the weekly voting.
