NEW YORK—Columbia was picked to finish fourth in the annual preseason Ivy League Football Media Poll announced Monday afternoon by the conference office.
In a poll voted upon by various members of the media who cover Ivy League Football, the Lions earned 76 total points, one first-place vote and tied Penn for the No. 4 spot. 2017 Ivy League champion Yale was picked to finish first with 129 total points and 11 first-place votes, Princeton (104 points, three first-place votes) was picked second and Harvard (99 votes/one first-place vote) was third. Following Columbia and Penn was Dartmouth (65 points) at No. 6, Cornell (37 points) at No. 7 and Brown (26 points) at No. 8.
It is the first time in 21 years and since 1997 that Columbia was picked as high. The 1997 Lions were coming off a 1996 season where they finished in second place with 5-2 Ivy League and 8-2 overall record. The highest place Columbia was ever picked to finish in the Ivy League was third place in 1963. Columbia has been picked to finish fourth in the league standings on four different occasions.
Last year, Columbia was picked to finish seventh and ended up finishing in a tie for second place with a 5-2 Ivy League record and 8-2 overall record.
On Saturday and Sunday, Columbia completed its first two practices of preseason training camp. Practice No. 3 is set for Monday afternoon. A full schedule of preseason practices is listed at this
link.
For the second consecutive season, will host Montclair State in a preseason scrimmage at Robert K. Kraft Field on Friday, August 31 at noon. Admission is free and open to the public.
Columbia returns 15 of 22 starters and six All-Ivy League selections from a program that recorded its best season in 21 years. Last year, Columbia posted an 8-2 record, finished second in the Ivy League with a 5-2 record, began a season with six straight wins for the first time since 1996, put together the school's longest win streak since 1935 (seven games) and posted one of the nation's top-five best yearly comebacks in the FCS with a with a five-win improvement from 2016 to 2017. Along the way, it was the Lions' resiliency, toughness and work ethic that captured the attention of their fans, the New York City media and national media members alike.
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2018 IVY LEAGUE FOOTBALL PRESEASON MEDIA POLL
| Place |
Team (First Place Votes) |
Total Points |
| 1. |
Yale (11) |
129 |
| 2. |
Princeton (3) |
104 |
| 3. |
Harvard (1) |
99 |
| 4. |
COLUMBIA (1) |
76 |
|
Penn (1) |
76 |
| 6. |
Dartmouth |
65 |
| 7. |
Cornell |
37 |
| 8. |
Brown |
26 |
COLUMBIA FOOTBALL HIGHEST-EVER RANKING IN PRESEASON POLL
| Place |
Year |
Previous Year Record/Ivy Record/Place |
| 3 |
1963 |
5-4/4-3/Tie-3rd place in 1962 |
| 4 |
1997 |
8-2/5-2/2nd place in 1996 |
| 4 |
1961 |
3-4/3-6/5th place in 1960 |
| 4 |
1995 |
5-4-1/3-4/Tie-4th place in 1994 |
| 4 |
2018 |
8-2/5-2/Tie-2nd place in 2017 |
