Difference between revisions of "Columbia Athletics"

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[[Image:AthleticsLion.jpg|thumb|The Athletics Department's Lion Logo]]
 
[[Image:AthleticsLion.jpg|thumb|The Athletics Department's Lion Logo]]
  
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The '''Columbia Athletics Department''' administers [[Varsity Sports]] and [[Club Sports]]. It is based in [[Dodge Physical Fitness Center]].
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'''Columbia Athletics''' (also known as '''Columbia Athletics Department''' or '''Physical Education Department''') administers the following programs with various degrees of enthusiasm:
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*[[Varsity Sports]]
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*[[Club Sports]]
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*[[Intramural Sports]]
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*[[physical education requirement]]
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Columbia Athletics is based in [[Dodge Physical Fitness Center]].
  
 
== History ==
 
== History ==
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The history of Columbia varsity sports is often summed up by cynics as "futility." An authority no less than [[David J. Stern]], Commissioner of the NBA, former chairman of the Columbia Trustees, and a graduate of the [[Columbia Law School|Law School]], has admitted that being a Columbia sports fan isn't easy.
 
The history of Columbia varsity sports is often summed up by cynics as "futility." An authority no less than [[David J. Stern]], Commissioner of the NBA, former chairman of the Columbia Trustees, and a graduate of the [[Columbia Law School|Law School]], has admitted that being a Columbia sports fan isn't easy.
  
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In the 2006-2007 academic year, Columbia Athletics set a record for number of Ivy League titles won in a year with 5. Women's Soccer, Women's Golf, Women's Fencing, Men's Fencing, and Men's Tennis all brought home titles.
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Some of Columbia's top sporting highlights include, in chronological order:
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*Columbia rowers won the Visitor's Challenge Cup at the prestigious Henley Royal Regatta on the Thames in 1878
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==Cheapskates==
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*[[1934]] Rose Bowl 7-0 victory over [[Stanford]]
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Athletics is notorious for attaining a hostile attitude towards students and Columbia fans while making a point of catering to visiting fans.  For instance, at baseball games Columbia students are publicly and inappropriately chastised for cheering for the Lions.  This has contributed, in part, to students' boycott of varsity baseball games.  Another example is the Cornell-Columbia game on 23 January, 2010, when over half of the spectators in [[Francis S. Levien Gymnasium]] were Cornell fans.  This essentially nullified Columbia's home-court advantage.  Furthermore, many Columbia fans were turned away.
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*[[1947]] upset of the powerhouse Army Cadets, who hadn't lost a game in years
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*1978-1985 Men's Soccer teams that captured eight consecutive titles
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== Football and basketball ==
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*archery won a national title in 2005
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*In the 2006-2007 academic year, Columbia Athletics set a record for number of Ivy League titles won in a year with 5. Women's Soccer, Women's Golf, Women's Fencing, Men's Fencing, and Men's Tennis all brought home titles.
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Columbia last won a [[football]] [[Ivy League]] title in [[1961]], its only Ivy League title in the history of the conference, which officially dates to [[1956]]. The next closest school to Columbia's 45 year title drought is [[Cornell]], which hasn't won since 1990.
 
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The last [[basketball]] title claimed by the Lions was in [[1968]], just before protests rocked campus. This is somewhat more forgivable since a team other than [[Penn]] or [[Princeton]] has won the league title outright only eight times since 1956. Even Columbia's '68 title was shared with Princeton.
 
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Columbia's revenue teams have recently rebounded, as the football team finished 2006 at .500 for the first time since [[Marcellus Wiley]] CC'97 played defensive end in 1996, and men's basketball finished .500 in the conference and 16-12 overall for the team's first winning record since the 1992-93 season. Football achieved that mark in just one season under [[Norries Wilson]], the Ivy League's first African-American head football coach. Men's basketball returns their entire team next winter.
 
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== Other teams ==
 
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These two high-visibility teams tend to obscure Columbia's dominance in other sports. Columbia has won 33 Ivy League men's [[fencing]] titles. The women have added seven more. In addition, the men's team has won the NCAA championship on more than one occasion – most recently in [[2007]], and Columbia fencers routinely appear in the Olympic games. From 2002-2005, the Women's [[Cross Country]] team dominated the competition, with runner [[Caroline Bierbaum]] CC'06 winning the individual league title twice, and finishing second at the NCAA championships.
 
  
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Then there's Columbia's forgotten dynasty – the 1978-1985 [[Men's Soccer]] teams that captured eight consecutive titles, highlighted in [[1983]] with a trip to the NCAA Championship game, which ended with a heartbreaking double OT loss to Indiana. The [[Women's Soccer|women's side]] captured its first league title in [[2006]].
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==Programs==
  
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Individual athletes not named [[Lou Gehrig]] have also been successful. Fencers [[Jed Dupree]] CC'01, [[Erinn Smart]] BC'02, and [[Dan Kellner]] CC'98 are notable Olympians, and [[Swimming and Diving (men's)|swimmer]] [[Cristina Teuscher]] CC'00 has won an Olympic gold.
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=== Physical Education ===
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The department administers the undergraduate [[physical education requirement]]. A few extra classes beyond this requirement, and one can actually concentrate in Physical Education. Just ask [[Ken Torey]].
  
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And of course, if none of that's exciting, you can always retell the story of Columbia's 7-0 [[1934]] Rose Bowl victory over [[Stanford]], or the [[1947]] upset of the powerhouse Army Cadets, who hadn't lost a game in years.  
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=== Varsity Sports ===
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The two most prominent varsity sports are [[football]] and [[basketball]], which generally have not performed well in recent decades. Instead, Columbia has performed better in other sports such as [[fencing]], [[cross country]], [[soccer]], [[crew]], [[wrestling]], [[tennis]] and [[archery]].
  
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There's also Columbia [[rowing]], Columbia's first intercollegiate sport, and [[wrestling]], the oldest intercollegiate program in the nation. Columbia rowers won the Visitor's Challenge Cup at the prestigious Henley Royal Regatta on the Thames in [[1878]], the first time a non-English team had won a race on English waters. [[George Stephanopoulos]] wrestled for Columbia in the 1980s. Men's [[tennis]] has won seven league titles (including 2000 and 2001) and archery won a national title in 2005.
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== Notable athletes and sports personalities ==
  
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== Columbians in the Sports World==
 
 
Many Columbians play a major role in the world of sports, some who were athletes at Columbia, and some who weren't:
 
Many Columbians play a major role in the world of sports, some who were athletes at Columbia, and some who weren't:
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*[[Lou Gehrig]]
 
*[[Bob Sheppard]] '33 - "Voice of the Yankees"
 
*[[Bob Sheppard]] '33 - "Voice of the Yankees"
 
*[[Red Auerbach]] [[Seth Low Junior College|SLJC]] 1939 - Legendary coach and executive of the Boston Celtics
 
*[[Red Auerbach]] [[Seth Low Junior College|SLJC]] 1939 - Legendary coach and executive of the Boston Celtics
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*[[Max Kellerman]] C '98 - Former host of ESPN's "Around the Horn" and host of his own radio show on ESPN radio
 
*[[Max Kellerman]] C '98 - Former host of ESPN's "Around the Horn" and host of his own radio show on ESPN radio
 
*Aaron Marcovy C '05 - Four seat of the Oxford-winning blue boat in the 2008 Boat Race
 
*Aaron Marcovy C '05 - Four seat of the Oxford-winning blue boat in the 2008 Boat Race
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*[[Jed Dupree]] CC'01, [[Erinn Smart]] BC'02, and [[Dan Kellner]] CC'98 - Olympic fencers
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*[[Cristina Teuscher]] CC'00 - won an Olympic gold in swimming
  
 
== External links ==
 
== External links ==
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* [http://www.ivyleaguesports.com/ Official Conference Website]
 
* [http://www.ivyleaguesports.com/ Official Conference Website]
 
* [http://www.voy.com/152805/ Ivy League Message Board]
 
* [http://www.voy.com/152805/ Ivy League Message Board]
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* [https://web1.ncaa.org/app_data/GSR/qaahad13/inst2013/158.pdf 2012-2013 Athletics graduation data]
  
 
[[Category:Athletics]]
 
[[Category:Athletics]]
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[[Category:Departments]]

Latest revision as of 22:03, 29 January 2014

The Athletics Department's Lion Logo

Columbia Athletics (also known as Columbia Athletics Department or Physical Education Department) administers the following programs with various degrees of enthusiasm:

Columbia Athletics is based in Dodge Physical Fitness Center.

History

The history of Columbia varsity sports is often summed up by cynics as "futility." An authority no less than David J. Stern, Commissioner of the NBA, former chairman of the Columbia Trustees, and a graduate of the Law School, has admitted that being a Columbia sports fan isn't easy.

Some of Columbia's top sporting highlights include, in chronological order:

  • Columbia rowers won the Visitor's Challenge Cup at the prestigious Henley Royal Regatta on the Thames in 1878
  • 1934 Rose Bowl 7-0 victory over Stanford
  • 1947 upset of the powerhouse Army Cadets, who hadn't lost a game in years
  • 1978-1985 Men's Soccer teams that captured eight consecutive titles
  • archery won a national title in 2005
  • In the 2006-2007 academic year, Columbia Athletics set a record for number of Ivy League titles won in a year with 5. Women's Soccer, Women's Golf, Women's Fencing, Men's Fencing, and Men's Tennis all brought home titles.

Programs

Physical Education

The department administers the undergraduate physical education requirement. A few extra classes beyond this requirement, and one can actually concentrate in Physical Education. Just ask Ken Torey.

Varsity Sports

The two most prominent varsity sports are football and basketball, which generally have not performed well in recent decades. Instead, Columbia has performed better in other sports such as fencing, cross country, soccer, crew, wrestling, tennis and archery.

Notable athletes and sports personalities

Many Columbians play a major role in the world of sports, some who were athletes at Columbia, and some who weren't:

  • Lou Gehrig
  • Bob Sheppard '33 - "Voice of the Yankees"
  • Red Auerbach SLJC 1939 - Legendary coach and executive of the Boston Celtics
  • Roone Arledge C '52 - President of ABC Sports (and ABC News), inventor of Monday Night Football
  • Alfred Lerner C '55 - Late owner of the NFL Cleveland Browns
  • Robert Kraft C '63 - owner of the NFL New England Patriots
  • David J. Stern L '66 - Commissioner of the NBA
  • Jeffrey Loria B '68 - Owner of the MLB Florida Marlins
  • Stan Kasten L '76 - President, MLB Washington Nationals (2005-Present), President, MLB Atlanta Braves (1986-2003), GM NBA Atlanta Hawks (1979-1990), President, NHL Atlanta Thrashers (1999-2003)
  • Gary Cohen C '81 - TV play-by-play announcer for the New York Mets
  • Mark Attanasio L '82 - Owner of the MLB Milwaukee Brewers
  • Randy Lerner C '84 - Owner of the NFL Cleveland Browns, and English Premiership club Aston Villa F.C.
  • Max Kellerman C '98 - Former host of ESPN's "Around the Horn" and host of his own radio show on ESPN radio
  • Aaron Marcovy C '05 - Four seat of the Oxford-winning blue boat in the 2008 Boat Race
  • Jed Dupree CC'01, Erinn Smart BC'02, and Dan Kellner CC'98 - Olympic fencers
  • Cristina Teuscher CC'00 - won an Olympic gold in swimming

External links

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