1996 Columbia Lions football team

1996 Columbia Lions football
1996 Columbia Lions football
Conference	Ivy League
Record	8–2 (5–2 Ivy)
Head coach	Ray Tellier (8th season);
Defensive coordinator	Mike Donnelly (5th season)
Captains	Ryan Gabriele; Randy Murff; Marcellus Wiley; Rory Wilfork;
Home stadium	Wien Stadium
	Seasons ← 1995 1997 →

1996 Ivy League football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 17 Dartmouth $	7	–	0	10	–	0
Columbia	5	–	2	8	–	2
Brown	4	–	3	5	–	5
Cornell	4	–	3	4	–	6
Penn	3	–	4	5	–	5
Harvard	2	–	5	4	–	6
Princeton	2	–	5	3	–	7
Yale	1	–	6	2	–	8

$ – Conference champion Rankings from The Sports Network poll

The 1996 Columbia Lions football team was an American football team that represented Columbia University during the 1996 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Columbia finished second in the Ivy League.

In their eighth season under head coach Ray Tellier, the Lions compiled a 8–2 record and outscored opponents 181 to 159. Ryan Gabriele, Randy Murff, Marcellus Wiley and Rory Wilfork were the team captains.^[1]

Despite a 5–2 conference record that placed second in the Ivy League standings, Columbia was outscored 133 to 119 by Ivy opponents.^[2]

Columbia played its homes games at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium in Upper Manhattan, in New York City.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 21	Harvard	Wien Stadium New York, NY	W 20–13 ^OT	5,760	^[3]
September 28	at Fordham*	Coffey Field Bronx, NY (rivalry)	W 17–10	5,713	^[4]
October 5	at Holy Cross*	Fitton Field Worcester, MA	W 42–16	9,349	^[5]
October 12	at Penn	Franklin Field Philadelphia, PA	W 20–19 ^OT	6,435	^[6]
October 19	Lafayette*	Wien Stadium New York, NY	W 3–0	1,170	^[7]
October 26	at Yale	Yale Bowl New Haven, CT	W 13–10	24,715	^[8]
November 2	Princeton	Wien Stadium New York, NY	L 11–14	9,100	^[9]
November 9	at No. 25 Dartmouth	Memorial Field Hanover, NH	L 0–40	5,119	^[10]
November 16	Cornell	Wien Stadium New York, NY (rivalry)	W 24–10	7,055	^[11]
November 23	Brown	Wien Stadium New York, NY	W 31–27	5,175	^[12]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1996 Columbia Lions football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
TE	`83`	Billy Campbell	Fr
WR	`3`	Dennis Lee	Sr
FB	`28`	Paul Thomas	Jr
QB	`19`	Bobby Thomason	Jr
WR	`88`	Chris Wachter	Sr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DE	`92`	Charlie Bettinelli	Sr
DE	`81`	Greg Bowman	Fr
DT	`63`	Brett Bryant	Sr
ROV	`11`	Anthony Caffiero	Jr
DE	`96`	Tom Nelson	Fr
FS	`22`	Jessie Nunn	Sr
DE	`85`	Juan Tabio	Fr
DE	`5`	Marcellus Wiley	Sr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K, P	`9`	Matt Linit	So

Head coach

Ray Tellier

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Roster

References

^ "Columbia Football 2019 Record Book". New York, N.Y.: Columbia University. August 19, 2019. p. 218. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
^ "Year-by-Year History". Ivy League Football Media Guide (PDF). Princeton, N.J.: Ivy League. 2017. pp. 36–37. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
^ Lessels, Allen (September 22, 1996). "Sour Finish for Harvard". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. C15 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Cavanaugh, Jack (September 29, 1996). "Mistakes Abound, but Columbia Finds Itself at 2-0". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S4.
^ El-Bashir, Tarik (October 6, 1996). "Lions Remain Perfect by Trouncing Crusaders". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. pp. S4, S6.
^ Juliano, Joe (October 13, 1996). "Kick Fails in OT as Columbia Tops Penn". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pa. p. C18 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Meixell, Ted (October 20, 1996). "Columbia Zips Lafayette in Impossible Conditions". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pa. p. C4 – via Newspapers.com. Attendance figure in "Ivy League Summaries". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. October 20, 1996. p. D19.
^ Berlet, Bruce (October 27, 1996). "Columbia Defeats Yale on Late FG". The Hartford Courant. Hartford, Conn. pp. D12, D14 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Princeton Edges Past Columbia". The Home News & Tribune. New Brunswick, N.J. Associated Press. November 3, 1996. p. C5 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Concannon, Joe (November 10, 1996). "Big Win for the Big Green". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. C15 – via Newspapers.com.
^ McShea, Keith (November 18, 1996). "A Heartbreaker: Injury Stops Levitt Short of Goal; CU Falls". The Ithaca Journal. Ithaca, N.Y. p. 3B – via Newspapers.com.
^ Cavanaugh, Jack (November 24, 1996). "Lions Eke Out Victory in Closing Minutes". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S3.

[Record-1] "Columbia Football 2019 Record Book". New York, N.Y.: Columbia University. August 19, 2019. p. 218. Retrieved June 15, 2020.

[League-2] "Year-by-Year History". Ivy League Football Media Guide (PDF). Princeton, N.J.: Ivy League. 2017. pp. 36–37. Retrieved July 10, 2020.

[3] Lessels, Allen (September 22, 1996). "Sour Finish for Harvard". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. C15 – via Newspapers.com.

[4] Cavanaugh, Jack (September 29, 1996). "Mistakes Abound, but Columbia Finds Itself at 2-0". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S4.

[5] El-Bashir, Tarik (October 6, 1996). "Lions Remain Perfect by Trouncing Crusaders". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. pp. S4, S6.

[6] Juliano, Joe (October 13, 1996). "Kick Fails in OT as Columbia Tops Penn". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pa. p. C18 – via Newspapers.com.

[7] Meixell, Ted (October 20, 1996). "Columbia Zips Lafayette in Impossible Conditions". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pa. p. C4 – via Newspapers.com. Attendance figure in "Ivy League Summaries". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. October 20, 1996. p. D19.

[8] Berlet, Bruce (October 27, 1996). "Columbia Defeats Yale on Late FG". The Hartford Courant. Hartford, Conn. pp. D12, D14 – via Newspapers.com.

[9] "Princeton Edges Past Columbia". The Home News & Tribune. New Brunswick, N.J. Associated Press. November 3, 1996. p. C5 – via Newspapers.com.

[10] Concannon, Joe (November 10, 1996). "Big Win for the Big Green". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. C15 – via Newspapers.com.

[11] McShea, Keith (November 18, 1996). "A Heartbreaker: Injury Stops Levitt Short of Goal; CU Falls". The Ithaca Journal. Ithaca, N.Y. p. 3B – via Newspapers.com.

[12] Cavanaugh, Jack (November 24, 1996). "Lions Eke Out Victory in Closing Minutes". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S3.

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v t e Columbia Lions football
Venues	Polo Grounds (1880–1883, 1890, 1899, 1901–1903, 1920–1927, 1936) Berkeley Oval (1889) Columbia Grounds (1891) Columbia Field (1900) American League Park (1904–1905) South Field (1915–1923) Robert K. Kraft Field at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium (1923–1982, 1984–present) Giants Stadium (1983) Hofstra Stadium (1983)
Bowls & rivalries	1934 Rose Bowl Cornell Fordham: Liberty Cup
Culture & lore	Columbia University Marching Band Roaree the Lion "Roar, Lion, Roar" The Union Club
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885–1888 1889 1890 1891 1892–1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906–1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold