1984 Columbia Lions football team
The 1984 Columbia Lions football team was an American football team that represented Columbia University during the 1984 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Amid a record-setting loss streak, Columbia finished last in the Ivy League.
| 1984 Columbia Lions football | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Conference | Ivy League |
| Record | 0–9 (0–7 Ivy) |
| Head coach |
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| Captain | Tony Mazzarini |
| Home stadium | Wien Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Penn $ | 7 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Yale | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Harvard | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Brown | 4 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Princeton | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cornell | 2 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dartmouth | 2 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Columbia | 0 | – | 7 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 9 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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In their fifth and final season under head coach Bob Naso, the Lions compiled an 0–9 record and were outscored 282 to 117. Tony Mazzarini was the team captain.[1]
The Lions' winless (0–7) conference record was the worst in the Ivy League standings. Columbia was outscored 224 to 87 by Ivy opponents.[2]
By losing all of their games in 1984, the Lions extended a winless streak and a losing streak that began in 1983. The team would later set a Division I record for consecutive games without a win, 44, from 1983 to 1988. Columbia's last win before the streak was October 15, 1983, at Yale; its last tie was November 5, 1983, against Dartmouth. It would not win or tie another game until October 9, 1988, against Princeton. This stretch, which included the entirety of the 1984 to 1987 seasons, included 33 consecutive Ivy League losses.[3] A decade later, Columbia's streak was surpassed by an 80-game loss streak by Prairie View A&M in 1989-1998.
Following a season with seven road games and three "home" games at neutral sites, Columbia in 1984 moved into Lawrence A. Wien Stadium in Upper Manhattan, in New York City, playing six of its nine games at home. The new stadium was built on the same site as the former Baker Field, which hosted Columbia football from 1923 to 1982.
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance | Source | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 22 | Harvard |
| L 21–35 | 10,500 | [4] | ||
| September 29 | Lafayette* |
| L 14–23 | 4,034 | [5] | ||
| October 6 | at Penn | L 7–35 | 8,469 | [6] | |||
| October 13 | Princeton
|
| L 8–38 | 9,621 | [7] | ||
| October 20 | at Yale | L 21–28 | 13,888 | [8] | |||
| October 27 | No. 15 Colgate* |
| L 16–35 | 6,617 | [9] | ||
| November 3 | at Dartmouth | L 9–41 | 5,685 | [10] | |||
| November 10 | Cornell |
| L 7–19 | 5,996 | [11] | ||
| November 20 | Brown |
| L 14–28 | 4,635 | [12] | ||
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References
- "Columbia Football 2019 Record Book". New York, N.Y.: Columbia University. p. 216. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
- "Year-by-Year History". Ivy League Football Media Guide (PDF). Princeton, N.J.: Ivy League. 2017. pp. 30–31. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
- Goodman, Brett (October 9, 1988). "Columbia Ends 44-Game Loss Skid". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pa. p. 1-F – via Newspapers.com.
- Powers, John (September 23, 1984). "Harvard Brings Down the House, 35-21". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 100 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Columbia Bows to Lafayette". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. September 30, 1984. p. S9.
- Newman, Chuck (October 7, 1984). "Chambers Leads Unbeaten Penn to 35-7 Triumph". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pa. pp. 11-E, 16-E – via Newspapers.com.
- Miller, Laurel (October 14, 1984). "Princeton Rolls over Columbia". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pa. pp. 13-E, 14-E – via Newspapers.com.
- Apple, Ginny (October 21, 1984). "Yale Swats Down Columbia's Comeback Bid". The Hartford Courant. Hartford, Conn. pp. B17, B20 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Raiders Gun Down Columbia, 35-16". The Sunday Press. Binghamton, N.Y. October 28, 1984. pp. 7E, 2E – via Newspapers.com.
- Robbins, Paul (November 4, 1984). "Dartmouth Whips Columbia". The Sunday Rutland Herald. Rutland, Vt. sect. 2, p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- Van Sickle, Kenny (November 11, 1984). "Cornell Gridders Seeking Big Finish". The Ithaca Journal. Ithaca, N.Y. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
- Durso, Joseph (November 18, 1984). "Brown Ends Columbia's Season at 0-9". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. pp. S7, S8.