Hall of Fame
Standing 7 feet tall, Brooklyn-born Dave Newmark '69CC was destined to become the big man on campus when he arrived on Morningside Heights.
Recruited to Columbia from Lincoln High School, where he was a high-school All-American, the man nicknamed “shorty” would become the first building block of the eventual 1968 Ivy League Basketball Champions.
Playing in the era before freshman eligibility, Newmark made his presence felt in his first year on the varsity as a sophomore in 1965-66. Towering over the competition – Newmark averaged nearly 23 points and 14 and a half rebounds for the season, earning All-Ivy League and All-America recognition. More importantly, he helped lead the Lions to a second-place finish in the Ivy League… their best finish since the official start of the conference ten years prior.
After sitting out the 66-67 season with an illness, Newmark returned to the varsity just in time to pair with rising sophomores Hewyard Dotson and Jim McMillian for the one of the most magical seasons in Columbia Basketball history.
In 1967-68, the Lions made history, winning the ECAC Holiday Festival, tying for the Ivy League Championship and advancing to the NCAA Tournament on the strength of Columbia’s Big Three. With Newmark in the pivot, McMillian on the wing and Dotson in the backcourt, the Lions roared into the national top 10.
In the Lions race to the title – Newmark recorded 11 double-doubles, highlighted by a 40-point 18-rebound effort in a blowout of the Yale Bulldogs, en route to another All-Ivy League First Team honor.
Despite playing only two seasons – and only 48 games at Columbia – Newmark remains in the Lions top ten in rebounding, and his sophomore year scoring average of 22.9 points per game is the third best in school history.
Drafted by the NBA’s Chicago Bulls with the 31st overall pick in 1968, Newmark played three seasons of pro basketball in both the NBA and ABA with the Bulls, Atlanta Hawks and Carolina Cougars.
