NEW YORK—Patricia and Shepard Alexander Head Coach of Football Al Bagnoli officially announced its 2019 Columbia Football signing class on Monday morning.
 
"Our coaching staff has done a tremendous job of putting this recruiting class together," said Bagnoli, who begins his fifth season at Columbia in August 2019. "We are extremely excited to have the opportunity to work with these young men and include them into the mix with the players we're bringing back to the team."
 
Columbia's Football Class of 2023 consists of 15 All-State honorees, 11 student-athletes who guided their high school teams to either a state title or state finals appearance, 24 who led their teams to a state playoff appearance, 21 team captains, 24 multi-sport athletes, 26 players who earned all-conference and all-district honors and eight four-year high school football letterwinners.
 
On offense, the Lions added one quarterback, four wide receivers, three tight ends and five offensive linemen. On defense, Columbia added five defensive linemen, one linebacker and eight defensive backs. The Lions also have two incoming placekickers/punters.
 
In addition, the Class of 2023 is comprised of student-athletes from two nations and 18 different states including five players from Georgia, two players each from Texas, Florida, California, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Kansas. The Lions also signed one player each from Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Maryland, North Carolina, New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Virginia.
 
For a full list of the Class of 2023, Columbia's 2019 preseason roster is available here. To access the list, click on "List View," then click on the "Yr." column and the list will appear within the full roster. Each incoming student-athlete will have a full written bio and at least one or two highlight video embeds.
 
Columbia completed its 2018 season with a 6-4 overall and 3-4 Ivy League record despite injuries to over 25 key players. The Lions registered back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 1961 and 1962. Columbia has amassed 14 victories over the last two seasons, its highest win total in consecutive years since the institution joined the Ivy League in 1956. In addition, its six overall victories rank among the top-five season win totals at Columbia since 1956.
 
Columbia returns 16 starters (seven on offense and nine on defense) and a host of additional players who saw extensive action during the 2018 season. As a whole, the Lions return 61 total letterwinners. Nine Lions return who have earned All-Ivy League honors over the past three seasons, including Josh Wainwright, Oren Milstein, Parker Coogan, Will Allen, Daniel DeLorenzi, Michael Murphy, Ronald Smith, sophomore punter Drew Schmid and first-year kickoff/punt return specialist and wide receiver Mike Roussos.
 
2019 Columbia Football season tickets and True Blue Packages are on sale. Season tickets start at just $75 and all orders by June 28 will receive this year's commemorative ticket sheet. To purchase season tickets, click here or call 888-LIONS-11. To purchase True Blue packages, click here. Lock in your tickets now for the best seats at the best value.
 
Columbia opens its 2019 season on Saturday, Sept. 21 when it travels to play Saint Francis University in Loretto, Pa. The Lions' first home game is on Saturday, Sept. 28 when it hosts Georgetown for its annual Lou Little Cup Game at Robert K. Kraft Field at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium. A complete fall 2019 Columbia football schedule is listed at this link. More schedule details will be announced at a later date.
 
The Ivy League's preseason media poll will be announced on August 8. On August 15, Bagnoli and two student-athletes will travel to Bristol, Conn. to participate in Ivy League Football Media Day, a special session in conjunction with the yearlong celebration of college football's 150^th anniversary (CFB150). Columbia Football players will report to preseason camp in mid-August.
 
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