Columbia Lions
IvyManhattan, NYLawrence A. Wien Stadium
2026: 4–1 (1–1 Ivy). Last: won at Pennsylvania 28–27. Next: Dartmouth, Saturday, Oct 24, 1:30 p.m. ET.
- W 40–34Lafayette
- W 20–17at Georgetown
- L 7–35Princeton
- W 41–28at Marist
- W 28–27at Pennsylvania
- Oct 24Dartmouth
- Oct 31Yale
- Nov 7at Harvard
- Nov 14at Brown
- Nov 21Cornell
Columbia has played football since 1870 and is officially 420–706–43; 929 of its 1,169 games are in our file. Columbia claims two national championships (1875, 1933). Their best finish in the final AP poll is No. 20, in 1947. They have won two Ivy League titles (the last in 2024), counting shared titles. The College Football Hall of Fame holds 7 players and 4 coaches from Columbia. Lou Little (1930–1956) won more games here than any other coach: 110. The most-played rival is Cornell: 91 meetings, Cornell leads 52–36–3. This season, they’re 4–1.
Résumé
- All-time record
- 420–706–43 official; 360–533–36 on file; how we count
- Postseason
- 1–0 matches the official bowl record
- AP No. 1 finishes
- 0
- Weeks at No. 1
- 0 of 14 ranked
- Elo now
- 1301
- Computer rankings
- Massey No. 52 · Composite No. 60 in FCS, Oct 17; up 19 since Oct 11. From Massey Ratings
- Conference titles
- 2 last in 2024
- Seasons
- 112 since 1870, 929 games
Identity
- Fight song
- Roar, Lion, Roar
- Band
- Columbia University Marching Band since 1904
2026 season 4–1
RosterFull 2026 season| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 19 | vs Lafayette | W 40–34 | 47% |
| Sep 26 | at Georgetown | W 20–17 | 52% |
| Oct 3 | vs Princeton | L 7–35 | 61% |
| Oct 9 | at Marist | W 41–28 | 38% |
| Oct 16 | at Pennsylvania | W 28–27 | 38% |
| Oct 24 | vs Dartmouth | Preview | 53% |
| Oct 31 | vs Yale | Preview | 45% |
| Nov 7 | at Harvard | Preview | 19% |
| Nov 14 | at Brown | Preview | 45% |
| Nov 21 | vs Cornell | Preview | 53% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
This season, game by game
On the 2026 team
- Chase Goodwin1,489 passing yards, 11 TD (leads Columbia in passing yards)
- Griffin Johnson486 rushing yards, 3 TD (leads Columbia in rushing yards)
- Bryce Coleman35 catches, 453 yards, 8 TD (leads Columbia in receiving yards)
- A.J. George32 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 1 INT (leads Columbia in tackles)
- Hutch Crow27 catches, 326 yards, 1 TD
- Beckett Robinson12 catches, 252 yards, 2 TD
Program greats See all
Heisman finalists, College Football Hall of Famers, consensus All-Americans, national award winners and first-round picks, for what they did at Columbia.
Paul GovernaliHall of Fame, 1986
Sid LuckmanHall of Fame, 1960
Bill MorleyHall of Fame, 1971
Bill SwiackiHall of Fame, 1976
Harold WeekesHall of Fame, 1954
Walter KoppischHall of Fame, 1981- Cliff MontgomeryHall of Fame, 1963
Richard Shore SmithConsensus All-American, 1903
Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.
Program strength since 1870
Best seasons everHead coaches
| Coach | Years | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Bob Naso | 1980–1981 | 2–18 |
| Bill Campbell | 1974–1979 | 12–41–1 |
| Frank Navarro | 1968–1973 | 16–36–2 |
| Aldo Donelli | 1957–1967 | 30–67–2 |
 Lou Little | 1930–1956 | 110–116–10 |
| Charles Crowley | 1925–1929 | 26–16–4 |
 Paul Withington | 1924 | 1–2–1 |
 Percy Haughton | 1923–1924 | 8–5–1 |
| Frank “Buck” O’Neill | 1920–1922 | 7–12 |
 Fred Dawson | 1918–1919 | 0–1–1 |
| Bill Morley | 1902–1905 | 26–11–3 |
 George Sanford | 1899–1901 | 24–11–1 |
Most-played series
All rivalries- Cornell
36–52–3 in 91
- 2015 L 0–3
- 2016 L 40–42
- 2017 W 18–8
- 2018 W 24–21
- 2019 L 9–35
- 2021 W 34–26
- 2022 W 45–22
- 2023 W 29–14
- 2024 W 17–9
- 2025 W 29–12
Won the last five; holds the Empire Cup.
Next: Nov 21
- Pennsylvania
22–61–1 in 84
- 2016 L 10–35
- 2017 W 34–31
- 2018 L 10–13
- 2019 W 44–6
- 2021 W 23–14
- 2022 L 14–34
- 2023 L 17–20
- 2024 W 23–17
- 2025 L 21–35
- 2026 W 28–27
Won the last one.
- Yale
17–62–2 in 81
- 2015 W 17–7
- 2016 L 23–31
- 2017 L 6–23
- 2018 W 17–10
- 2019 L 10–45
- 2021 L 30–37
- 2022 L 16–41
- 2023 L 7–35
- 2024 W 13–10
- 2025 L 10–24
Lost the last one.
Next: Oct 31
| Opponent | Games | COLU record |
|---|---|---|
| Cornell | 91 | 36–52–3 |
| Pennsylvania | 84 | 22–61–1 |
| Yale | 81 | 17–62–2 |
| Princeton | 74 | 12–61–1 |
| Dartmouth | 73 | 16–57 |
| Brown | 68 | 29–37–2 |
| Harvard | 62 | 13–48–1 |
| Rutgers | 49 | 21–23–5 |
Rivals the program names: Cornell, Fordham.
The trophy it holds: Empire Cup (Cornell, since 2021). Who holds each comes from the games on file; the trophies from Wikipedia.
Every opponent (71)
Every program Columbia has played, A to Z, with Columbia’s record against it. Each links to the series, game by game.
- Alfred 1–0
- Amherst 4–3–3
- Army 4–14–3
- Berkeley A.C. 1–0
- Brown 29–37–2
- Bucknell 2–1–1
- Buffalo 2–2
- Carlisle 2–1
- Central Connecticut 2–2
- City College of New York 3–0
- Colgate 4–15–1
- Columbia Alumni 1–0
- Cornell 36–52–3
- Crescent A.C. 0–3
- Dartmouth 16–57
- Duke 1–0
- Duquesne 1–0
- Fordham 6–10
- Fort Monmouth 1–0
- Franklin & Marshall 1–0
- Georgetown 9–4
- Georgia 1–1
- Hamilton 3–0
- Harvard 13–48–1
- Haverford 3–0
- Hobart 1–0
- Holy Cross 1–4
- Iona 1–0
- Johns Hopkins 2–0–1
- Lafayette 11–16–1
- Lehigh 5–6
- Maine 3–0
- Manhattan A.C. 1–1
- Marist 8–0
- Michigan 0–3
- Middlebury 6–0
- Monmouth 0–2
- Navy 9–13–1
- New York University 5–0–1
- Ohio 0–1
- Ohio State 0–2
- Orange A.C. 0–1
- Penn State 2–0
- Pennsylvania 22–61–1
- Princeton 12–61–1
- Rutgers 21–23–5
- Sacred Heart 0–1
- Saint Francis 1–1
- Seton Hall 1–0
- St. Lawrence 1–0
- Stanford 2–0–1
- Stevens 9–4–2
- Swarthmore 3–0
- Syracuse 9–11–4
- Towson 1–1
- Trinity (CT) 0–2
- Tufts 1–0
- Tulane 0–1
- UAlbany 0–2
- Union (NY) 11–0
- Ursinus 2–0
- Vermont 3–0
- Virginia 4–0
- VMI 4–0
- Wagner 5–0
- Walton 1–0
- Wesleyan (CT) 14–1–1
- William & Mary 1–0
- Williams 13–3–1
- Wisconsin 1–0
- Yale 17–62–2
Conference titles
2, counting shared titlesAs the program counts them in its Wikipedia article, shared titles included, and listed under each conference’s current name (a Western Conference title of the 1900s counts as a Big Ten title); season pages use the name the conference had that year. A title the article files under a conference the team wasn’t in that season is listed under the one it was. Division titles include years the team tied for its division.
Conferences
- Independent 1870, 1872–1884, 1889–1891, 1899–1905 and 1915–1955
- Ivy League 1982–2019 and since 2021
Columbia’s football conferences by season, from CollegeFootballData.com’s memberships (renamed conferences keep the name of the time).
National award winners
All awards| 1942 | Paul Governali QB | Maxwell |
Consensus All-Americans 6
| 1947 | Bill Swiacki E |
| 1942 | Paul Governali RB |
| 1903 | Richard Shore Smith FB |
| 1901 | Bill Morley RB/QB |
| 1901 | Harold Weekes RB |
| 1900 | Bill Morley RB/QB |
Led the nation 1
| 1942 | Paul Governali passing yards (1,442 yds) |
The NCAA’s official national leaders since 1937, from Wikipedia’s yearly leader lists.
Heisman runners-up and finalists
The votes| 1942 | Paul Governali QB | 2nd |
| 1938 | Sid Luckman QB | 3rd |
Second to fifth in the vote, from each season’s Wikipedia article.
In the Hall of Fame
Every inductee- Players
- 7
- Coaches
- 4
| 1986 | Paul Governali QB |
| 1981 | Walter Koppisch RB |
| 1976 | Bill Swiacki E |
| 1971 | Bill Morley RB/QB |
| 1971 | George Sanford coach here, 1899–1901 |
| 1963 | Cliff Montgomery QB |
| 1960 | Lou Little coach here, 1930–1956 |
| 1960 | Sid Luckman RB |
| 1954 | Harold Weekes RB |
| 1951 | Frank “Buck” O’Neill coach here, 1920–1922 |
| 1951 | Percy Haughton coach here, 1923–1924 |
In the NFL Draft
By college- Drafted, rounds 1–7
- 9 since 1936
- First-round picks
- 3
| 1969 | Marty Domres QB | No. 9, San Diego Chargers |
| 1943 | Paul Governali QB | No. 4, Brooklyn Dodgers |
| 1939 | Sid Luckman QB | No. 2, Chicago Bears |
The school
Columbia University in the City of New York- Enrollment
- 35,173 9,164 undergraduates, fall 2024
- Where
- New York, New York
- Public or private
- Private nonprofit; Research 1
- Founded
- 1754
- Graduates’ median earnings
- $102,491 10 years after starting
Enrollment, place and Carnegie research tier from the National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS, public domain). Earnings from the US Department of Education’s College Scorecard (CC BY 4.0): the median for students who received federal aid and were working, not in school. Founding year from Wikidata. Every school’s in the data.
Old photographs
Football – Columbia – AmherstPhoto: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Bain News Service photograph collection, no known restrictions on publication 
Football, ColumbiaPhoto: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Bain News Service photograph collection, no known restrictions on publication 
Columbia v. Amherst footballPhoto: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Bain News Service photograph collection, no known restrictions on publication 
Columbia v. Amherst footballPhoto: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Bain News Service photograph collection, no known restrictions on publication 
Columbia v. Amherst footballPhoto: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Bain News Service photograph collection, no known restrictions on publication 
Columbia v. Amherst footballPhoto: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Bain News Service photograph collection, no known restrictions on publication
From the Library of Congress’s Prints & Photographs Division, with no known restrictions on publication. The records don’t give these a season; those they date are on their seasons’ pages.
On the newsreel
- RUTGERS 32 - COLUMBIA 19
- COLUMBIA 35 DARTMOUTH 14
- COLUMBIA DOWNS YALE 11-0
- ARMY ROUTS COLUMBIA, 63-6
- PENN TOPS COLUMBIA, 20-14
- COLUMBIA ENDS ARMY STREAK
- YALE UPSETS COLUMBIA
- COLUMBIA TOPS NAVY
- MICHIGAN ROUTS COLUMBIA, 28-0
- GEORGIA NIPS COLUMBIA, 7-3
And 7 more
- COLUMBIA TOPS GEORGIA, 19-13
- GRIDIRON THRILLS OF THE WEEK
- NAVY DOWNS COLUMBIA, 13-6
- BIG GRID TEAMS OPEN SEASON
- COLUMBIA LIONS DOWN YALE AS OLD GRID FEUD RESUMES
- COLUMBIA TEAM WELCOMED
- COLUMBIA SCUTTLES NAVY, 14-7
Universal Newsreel, National Archives (catalog record). Story titles and words as Universal’s release sheet gives them; the films themselves may still be under copyright, so we link to the record rather than show them.
Season by season
National championsShaded: national title seasons, No. 1 in the final AP poll or claimed by Columbia (2 claimed).
| Season | Record | Conf. | AP pre | AP final | Coach | Elo | SP+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 1301 | ||||
| 2025 | 2–8 | 1–6 | 1250 | ||||
| 2024 | 7–3 | 5–2 | 1375 | ||||
| 2023 | 3–7 | 1–6 | 1253 | ||||
| 2022 | 6–4 | 3–4 | 1336 | ||||
| 2021 | 7–3 | 4–3 | 1344 | ||||
| 2019 | 3–7 | 2–5 | 1220 | ||||
| 2018 | 6–4 | 3–4 | 1330 | ||||
| 2017 | 8–2 | 5–2 | 1337 | ||||
| 2016 | 3–7 | 2–5 | 1164 | ||||
| 2015 | 2–8 | 1–6 | 1106 | ||||
| 2014 | 0–10 | 0–7 | 1016 | ||||
| 2013 | 0–10 | 0–7 | 1039 | ||||
| 2012 | 3–7 | 2–5 | 1151 | ||||
| 2011 | 1–9 | 1–6 | 1138 | ||||
| 2010 | 4–6 | 2–5 | 1242 | ||||
| 2009 | 4–6 | 3–4 | 1240 | ||||
| 2008 | 2–8 | 2–5 | 1147 | ||||
| 2007 | 1–9 | 0–7 | 1116 | ||||
| 2006 | 5–4 | 2–4 | 1228 | ||||
| 2005 | 2–8 | 0–7 | 1112 | ||||
| 2004 | 1–9 | 1–6 | 1148 | ||||
| 2003 | 4–6 | 3–4 | 1225 | ||||
| 1982 | 0–1 | 1280 | |||||
| 1981 | 1–9 | 1–6 | Bob Naso | 1199 | -17.8 |
Every season back to 1870 (87 more)
| Season | Record | Conf. | AP pre | AP final | Coach | Elo | SP+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 1–9 | 0–7 | Bob Naso | 1196 | -29.2 | ||
| 1979 | 1–8 | 1–6 | Bill Campbell | 1249 | -21.7 | ||
| 1978 | 3–5–1 | 2–4–1 | Bill Campbell | 1314 | -14.0 | ||
| 1977 | 2–7 | 1–6 | Bill Campbell | 1305 | -11.6 | ||
| 1976 | 3–6 | 2–5 | Bill Campbell | 1348 | -8.6 | ||
| 1975 | 2–7 | 2–5 | Bill Campbell | 1297 | -7.4 | ||
| 1974 | 1–8 | 0–7 | Bill Campbell | 1228 | -24.8 | ||
| 1973 | 1–7–1 | 1–6 | Frank Navarro | 1306 | -23.0 | ||
| 1972 | 3–5–1 | 2–4–1 | Frank Navarro | 1460 | 0.3 | ||
| 1971 | 6–3 | 5–2 | Frank Navarro | 1444 | 6.9 | ||
| 1970 | 3–6 | 1–6 | Frank Navarro | 1327 | -2.4 | ||
| 1969 | 1–8 | 1–6 | Frank Navarro | 1285 | |||
| 1968 | 2–7 | 2–5 | Frank Navarro | 1314 | |||
| 1967 | 2–7 | 0–7 | Aldo Donelli | 1307 | |||
| 1966 | 2–7 | 2–5 | Aldo Donelli | 1314 | |||
| 1965 | 2–7 | 1–6 | Aldo Donelli | 1311 | |||
| 1964 | 2–6–1 | 1–5–1 | Aldo Donelli | 1391 | |||
| 1963 | 4–4–1 | 2–4–1 | Aldo Donelli | 1470 | |||
| 1962 | 5–4 | 4–3 | Aldo Donelli | 1446 | |||
| 1961 | 6–3 | 6–1 | Aldo Donelli | 1514 | |||
| 1960 | 3–6 | 3–4 | Aldo Donelli | 1359 | |||
| 1959 | 2–7 | 1–6 | Aldo Donelli | 1290 | |||
| 1958 | 1–8 | 1–6 | Aldo Donelli | 1207 | |||
| 1957 | 1–8 | 1–6 | Aldo Donelli | 1210 | |||
| 1956 | 3–6 | 2–5 | Lou Little | 1305 | |||
| 1955 | 1–8 | Lou Little | 1250 | ||||
| 1954 | 1–8 | Lou Little | 1280 | ||||
| 1953 | 4–5 | Lou Little | 1431 | ||||
| 1952 | 2–6–1 | Lou Little | 1403 | ||||
| 1951 | 5–3 | Lou Little | 1472 | ||||
| 1950 | 4–5 | Lou Little | 1416 | ||||
| 1949 | 2–7 | Lou Little | 1374 | ||||
| 1948 | 4–5 | Lou Little | 1511 | ||||
| 1947 | 7–2 | 11 | 20 | Lou Little | 1579 | ||
| 1946 | 6–3 | 11 | Lou Little | 1510 | |||
| 1945 | 8–1 | 20 | Lou Little | 1502 | |||
| 1944 | 2–6 | Lou Little | 1252 | ||||
| 1943 | 0–8 | Lou Little | 1251 | ||||
| 1942 | 3–6 | Lou Little | 1374 | ||||
| 1941 | 3–5 | 20 | Lou Little | 1477 | |||
| 1940 | 5–2–2 | Lou Little | 1511 | ||||
| 1939 | 2–4–2 | Lou Little | 1454 | ||||
| 1938 | 3–6 | Lou Little | 1447 | ||||
| 1937 | 2–5–2 | Lou Little | 1467 | ||||
| 1936 | 5–3 | Lou Little | 1528 | ||||
| 1935 | 4–4–1 | Lou Little | 1507 | ||||
| 1934 | 7–1 | Lou Little | 1628 | ||||
| 1933 | 8–1 | Lou Little | 1619 | ||||
| 1932 | 7–1–1 | Lou Little | 1560 | ||||
| 1931 | 7–1–1 | Lou Little | 1513 | ||||
| 1930 | 5–4 | Lou Little | 1390 | ||||
| 1929 | 4–5 | Charles Crowley | 1380 | ||||
| 1928 | 5–3–1 | Charles Crowley | 1450 | ||||
| 1927 | 5–2–2 | Charles Crowley | 1486 | ||||
| 1926 | 6–3 | Charles Crowley | 1479 | ||||
| 1925 | 6–3–1 | Charles Crowley | 1471 | ||||
| 1924 | 5–3–1 | Percy Haughton, Paul Withington | 1424 | ||||
| 1923 | 4–4–1 | Percy Haughton | 1330 | ||||
| 1922 | 5–4 | Frank “Buck” O’Neill | 1325 | ||||
| 1921 | 2–6 | Frank “Buck” O’Neill | 1309 | ||||
| 1920 | 0–2 | Frank “Buck” O’Neill | 1426 | ||||
| 1919few games on file | 0–0–1 | Fred Dawson | 1492 | ||||
| 1918few games on file | 0–1 | Fred Dawson | 1492 | ||||
| 1905 | 4–3–2 | Bill Morley | 1514 | ||||
| 1904 | 7–3 | Bill Morley | 1547 | ||||
| 1903 | 9–1 | Bill Morley | 1595 | ||||
| 1902 | 6–4–1 | Bill Morley | 1473 | ||||
| 1901 | 8–5 | George Sanford | 1555 | ||||
| 1900 | 7–3–1 | George Sanford | 1557 | ||||
| 1899 | 9–3 | George Sanford | 1449 | ||||
| 1891 | 1–5 | 1171 | |||||
| 1890 | 1–6–1 | 1274 | |||||
| 1889 | 2–7–2 | 1283 | |||||
| 1884few games on file | 0–1 | 1380 | |||||
| 1883few games on file | 1–3 | 1367 | |||||
| 1882 | 0–5 | 1433 | |||||
| 1881 | 3–3–1 | 1474 | |||||
| 1880few games on file | 1–2 | 1445 | |||||
| 1879 | 0–3–2 | 1445 | |||||
| 1878few games on file | 0–0–2 | 1459 | |||||
| 1877few games on file | 2–2 | 1446 | |||||
| 1876few games on file | 1–3 | 1447 | |||||
| 1875 | 4–1–1 | 1473 | |||||
| 1874 | 1–5 | 1436 | |||||
| 1873few games on file | 2–1 | 1487 | |||||
| 1872few games on file | 1–2–1 | 1476 | |||||
| 1870few games on file | 0–1 | 1488 |
Officially 420–706–43 since 1870 (per Wikipedia, rechecked weekly); game by game here, 360–533–36 (929 of its 1,169 games are on file). Some games are missing from our source.
No season on file for 1871, 1885–88, 1892–98, 1906–17, 1983–2002, 2020: the program may not have played, or our source may be missing them.
Records are computed from every game on file at CollegeFootballData.com, whose coverage of the earliest seasons can be incomplete. Elo is this site’s own rating; see how it works on the records page.