2001 Columbia Lions football team

The 2001 Columbia Lions football team was an American football team that represented Columbia University during the 2001 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Columbia tied for fourth in the Ivy League.

2001 Columbia Lions football
Conference	Ivy League
2001 record	3–7 (3–4 Ivy)
Head coach	Ray Tellier (13th season)
Captains	Sloane Joseph Brian Lysiak Jeff McCall Johnathan Reese
Home stadium	Wien Stadium

2001 Ivy League football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 19 Harvard $		7	–	0					9	–	0
No. 24 Penn		6	–	1					8	–	1
Brown		5	–	2					6	–	3
Princeton		3	–	4					3	–	6
Columbia		3	–	4					3	–	7
Cornell		2	–	5					2	–	7
Dartmouth		1	–	6					1	–	8
Yale		1	–	6					3	–	6
$ – Conference champion Rankings from The Sports Network poll

In their 13th season under head coach Ray Tellier, the Lions compiled a 3–7 record and were outscored 326 to 206. Sloane Joseph, Brian Lysiak, Jeff McCall and Johnathan Reese were the team captains.[1]

The Lions' 3–4 conference record tied for fourth in the Ivy League standings. Columbia was outscored 231 to 162 by Ivy opponents.[2]

When the September 11 attacks disrupted the opening weekend of Ivy League football, Columbia was the last league member to cancel its scheduled game, making the announcement on Friday afternoon just 24 hours before kickoff. The Lions and crosstown rival Fordham Rams had initially hoped to play the game as a sign of New York City resiliency.[3]

Unlike the other Ivy League teams, which played a nine-game schedule in 2001, Columbia chose to reschedule its canceled game and add it to the end of the year, on Thursday, November 22. This was the first time in nearly 40 years that Columbia had played an opponent other than Brown University in its season-ender, and played a game on Thanksgiving Day; it did both in 1963, when the final game of the season was rescheduled following the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

Columbia played its homes games at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium in Upper Manhattan, in New York City.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 15	at Fordham*	Coffey Field Bronx, NY (rivalry)	Postponed		[3]
September 22	Bucknell*	Wien Stadium New York, NY	L 20–23 ^OT	3,116	[4]
September 29	at Princeton	Princeton Stadium Princeton, NJ	L 11–44	13,559	[5]
October 6	at Lafayette*	Fisher Field Easton, PA	L 14–31	2,912	[6]
October 13	No. 24 Penn	Wien Stadium New York, NY	L 7–35	10,644	[7]
October 20	at Dartmouth	Memorial Field Hanover, NH	W 27–20	7,020	[8]
October 27	Yale	Wien Stadium New York, NY	W 28–14	3,079	[9]
November 3	Harvard	Wien Stadium New York, NY	L 33–45	4,011	[10]
November 10	at Cornell	Schoellkopf Field Ithaca, NY (rivalry)	W 35–28	5,282	[11]
November 17	Brown	Wien Stadium New York, NY	L 21–45	3,516	[12]
November 22	at Fordham*	Coffey Field Bronx, NY (rivalry)	L 10–41	3,715	[13]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game

References

1. "Columbia Football 2019 Record Book". New York, N.Y.: Columbia University. p. 218. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
2. "Year-by-Year History". Ivy League Football Media Guide (PDF). Princeton, N.J.: Ivy League. 2017. pp. 39–40. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
3. Mattura, Greg (September 15, 2001). "Columbia, Fordham Finally Give In". The Record. Hackensack, N.J. p. S-3 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Bison Win on Late Surge". The Daily Item. Sunbury, Pa. September 23, 2001. p. D1 – via Newspapers.com. Attendance figure in "Summaries". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. September 23, 2001. p. C21.
5. "QB Splithoff Leads Tigers to Rout of Lions". Asbury Park Press. Asbury Park, N.J. Associated Press. September 30, 2001. p. H16 – via Newspapers.com. Attendance figure in "Summaries". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. September 30, 2001. p. C18.
6. Meixell, Ted (October 7, 2001). "Numbers Say It All for Leopards". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pa. p. C6 – via Newspapers.com. Attendance figure in "Standings, Summaries". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. October 7, 2001. p. C21.
7. Juliano, Joe (October 14, 2001). "Quakers Get Wake-Up Call, Pummel Lions". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pa. p. C10 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Columbia 27, Dartmouth 20". The Sunday Rutland Herald. Rutland, Vt. Associated Press. October 21, 2001. p. B5 – via Newspapers.com. Attendance figure in "Ivy League Standings, Summaries". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. October 21, 2001. p. D18.
9. Hine, Tommy (October 10, 2001). "Lots of Driving, but Yale Stalls". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Conn. pp. E8, E10 – via Newspapers.com.
10. Powers, John (November 4, 2001). "Crimson Set the Stage for an Ivy Showdown". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. D18 – via Newspapers.com.
11. Feaver, Christopher (November 12, 2001). "No Late Magic for Big Red". The Ithaca Journal. Ithaca, N.Y. p. 5B – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Malan (4 TDs) Drives Brown Past Columbia". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. Associated Press. November 18, 2001. p. D19 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Carney Helps Fordham Rout Columbia, 41-10". The Journal News. White Plains, N.Y. Associated Press. November 23, 2001. p. 5C – via Newspapers.com.