Columbia Trailblazer: Robert Cottingham '88CC
2/16/2021 11:00:00 AM | General, Fencing
Black History Month Feature PageColumbia College FeatureNew Jersey SpotlightColumbia Athletics FeatureAthletic Hall of Fame BioUSA Fencing Hall of Fame
After leading the Lions fencing team to back-to-back national championships, Robert Cottingham became the first Black athlete at Columbia to earn two All-America honors.
BLACK HISTORY MONTH—Through the years Columbia University has produced many of the nation's top fencers. Among them is two-time Olympian Robert Cottingham, one of the most decorated fencers in Columbia's rich fencing history.
A member of the great Columbia fencing teams of the 1980s, Cottingham was a four-time All-Ivy League and All-America selection in men's sabre. Over his four-year career, Cottingham compiled an impressive record of 108-11 for a winning percentage of .907.
Respected among his teammates, Cottingham was selected as a team captain for his junior and senior seasons. During those years, he led the Lions to back-to-back NCAA titles. Individually, Cottingham came into his own during those years, as well. As a junior, he won silver in the individual sabre competition at the NCAA Championships and the Pan-American Games in Indianapolis. Building off that year, Cottingham did the unthinkable his senior year—he won a prized double, capturing an individual NCAA title, to go along with the team title. That same year he was named the NCAA Fencer of the Year and received the Columbia University Distinguished Athlete Award.
Upon graduating from Columbia with a degree in History in 1988, Cottingham went on to compete for the US National Team at the 1988 and 1992 Olympic Games. He was named the Newark Star-Ledger Fencer of the Decade for the 1980s and served as a member of the Executive Committee of the United States Fencing Association. In his distinguished career, Cottingham claimed six U.S. National Championship titles in saber between 1986 and 1992.
Over the years, Cottingham has earned a variety of prestigious awards. He is a 2010 Columbia Athletics Hall of Fame inductee and 2015 USA Fencing Hall of Fame recipient. He was the 2013 recipient of the prestigious NCAA Silver Anniversary Award, which each year, recognizes six distinguished former student-athletes on their 25th anniversary as college graduates. In 2015, Cottingham was named by The U.S Small Business Administration as "New Jersey's 2015 Minority Small Business Person of the Year."
He owns and operates Sabre88, a global consulting firm applying capabilities in technology, public policy, international affairs, health care, and education to government and commercial clients. The company previously was listed on Inc.'s annual "Inc. 5000" list of the nation's fastest-growing private companies ranked and was listed among the top-10 fastest-growing companies led by an African- American CEO.
Raised in Orange, N.J., Cottingham played both football and lacrosse and first became interested in fencing while attending Montclair Kimberley Academy. He went on to earn a Law degree from Rutgers in 1994.
Cottingham remains heavily involved in youth fencing with Columbia's fencing team along with the Peter Westbrook Foundation. He has played a role with the Peter Westbrook Foundation since its founding and has served as Chairman of the Board,
Cottingham married Alison Thomas in 1995, and the couple has two children, Robert III and Alison.
A member of the great Columbia fencing teams of the 1980s, Cottingham was a four-time All-Ivy League and All-America selection in men's sabre. Over his four-year career, Cottingham compiled an impressive record of 108-11 for a winning percentage of .907.
Respected among his teammates, Cottingham was selected as a team captain for his junior and senior seasons. During those years, he led the Lions to back-to-back NCAA titles. Individually, Cottingham came into his own during those years, as well. As a junior, he won silver in the individual sabre competition at the NCAA Championships and the Pan-American Games in Indianapolis. Building off that year, Cottingham did the unthinkable his senior year—he won a prized double, capturing an individual NCAA title, to go along with the team title. That same year he was named the NCAA Fencer of the Year and received the Columbia University Distinguished Athlete Award.Upon graduating from Columbia with a degree in History in 1988, Cottingham went on to compete for the US National Team at the 1988 and 1992 Olympic Games. He was named the Newark Star-Ledger Fencer of the Decade for the 1980s and served as a member of the Executive Committee of the United States Fencing Association. In his distinguished career, Cottingham claimed six U.S. National Championship titles in saber between 1986 and 1992.
Over the years, Cottingham has earned a variety of prestigious awards. He is a 2010 Columbia Athletics Hall of Fame inductee and 2015 USA Fencing Hall of Fame recipient. He was the 2013 recipient of the prestigious NCAA Silver Anniversary Award, which each year, recognizes six distinguished former student-athletes on their 25th anniversary as college graduates. In 2015, Cottingham was named by The U.S Small Business Administration as "New Jersey's 2015 Minority Small Business Person of the Year."
He owns and operates Sabre88, a global consulting firm applying capabilities in technology, public policy, international affairs, health care, and education to government and commercial clients. The company previously was listed on Inc.'s annual "Inc. 5000" list of the nation's fastest-growing private companies ranked and was listed among the top-10 fastest-growing companies led by an African- American CEO.
Raised in Orange, N.J., Cottingham played both football and lacrosse and first became interested in fencing while attending Montclair Kimberley Academy. He went on to earn a Law degree from Rutgers in 1994.
Cottingham remains heavily involved in youth fencing with Columbia's fencing team along with the Peter Westbrook Foundation. He has played a role with the Peter Westbrook Foundation since its founding and has served as Chairman of the Board,
Cottingham married Alison Thomas in 1995, and the couple has two children, Robert III and Alison.
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