The Liberty Cup
Encyclopedia
The Liberty Cup is awarded annually to the winner of the college football
game between Columbia University
and Fordham University
, the oldest remaining and two of the only three National Collegiate Athletic Association
(NCAA) Division I football programs in New York City
(Wagner College
in the borough of Staten Island
is the third). The trophy was dedicated in 2002, a year after the Columbia-Fordham game was postponed due to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0610FF345C0C768DDDA00894D9404482
At least 43 Columbia alumni and 39 Fordham alumni and students died at the World Trade CenterCollege football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
game between Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and Fordham University
Fordham University
Fordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...
, the oldest remaining and two of the only three National Collegiate Athletic Association
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
(NCAA) Division I football programs in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
(Wagner College
Wagner College
Wagner College is a private, co-educational, national liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,400 total students located atop Grymes Hill in New York City's borough of Staten Island...
in the borough of Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
is the third). The trophy was dedicated in 2002, a year after the Columbia-Fordham game was postponed due to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0610FF345C0C768DDDA00894D9404482
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
, including two former Fordham football players: Nick Brandemarti '00 and Kevin Szocik '97.
Background
Despite their proximity and long football histories, the schools met only three times in the 100 years from 1890 until 1991 (1890, 1902, and a Division III Fordham team was fielded in 1972), with Columbia shutting out Fordham each time. However, for 35 of those years the Rams did not have a Division 1 team to field against the Lions. Fordham folded its football program in 1954 citing financial concerns, until 1970 when it was re-introduced at the Division III level. The Rams would not play at the Division I level again until 1989. Fordham won the fourth meeting, in 1991, 20-16.The teams have played annually since 2000. The Liberty Cup game now opens Columbia's season; it is typically the third game on Fordham's schedule. As of the 2010 meeting, Fordham leads the series 5-4.
Origin Of the Liberty Cup
The 10th meeting between Fordham and Columbia originally was scheduled for September 15, 2001. In the days following the September 11, 2001 attacksSeptember 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
, Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
, the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
and many NCAA Division I teams canceled games for the following weekend. But Fordham and Columbia—the only Division I teams in New York City—debated as late as Friday, September 14, 2001 about the possibility of playing. Fordham officials wanted to send a message about American resilience in the face of the attacks, but Columbia officials argued that it was too soon after the attacks to think about playing a football game. "The question was, should we not play and mourn and honor our dead, or was normalcy in the face of this disaster the best response?" said the Rev. Joseph A. O'Hare
Joseph A. O'Hare
Rev. Joseph A. O'Hare is a Jesuit priest, New York City civic leader and editor. He was a longtime president of Fordham University and, for a brief period, President of Regis High School, a New York City Jesuit High School....
, president of Fordham at that time.
The schools decided against playing on Sept. 15, but later in the season agreed to meet on Thanksgiving Day (November 22, 2001). Fordham thumped Columbia 41-10 before a capacity crowd of 7,000 fans. Afterwards, O'Hare said it had been the right decision to reschedule. "Oh, absolutely," he said. "I think we had put sports in perspective -- and we played great."
Less than 10 months after that game, the underdog Lions gained their revenge, holding Fordham close for 59 minutes and winning with a 37-yard field goal with 10.5 seconds to play. This was the inaugural Liberty Cup game. The 13-11 victory would be Columbia’s only win of the 2002 season; Fordham would finish 10-3, gaining a share of the Patriot League
Patriot League
The Patriot League is a college athletic conference which operates in the northeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I) for a number of sports; in football, it participates in the Football Championship Subdivision...
title and reaching the second round of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.
Columbia Band's altar boy joke controversy
The Columbia University Marching BandColumbia University Marching Band
The Columbia University Marching Band has performed for Columbia University since 1904. In the early 1960s, the CUMB became the first college or university marching band in the United States to convert to a scramble band format. Most of the United States' best universities now feature scramble...
drew protests from Fordham and Roman Catholics generally with an off-color double entendre
Double entendre
A double entendre or adianoeta is a figure of speech in which a spoken phrase is devised to be understood in either of two ways. Often the first meaning is straightforward, while the second meaning is less so: often risqué or ironic....
reference to the priest abuse scandal during its halftime performance at the 2002 game, when the Columbia band's self-appointed "Poet Laureate
Poet Laureate
A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...
" read from a script over the stadium's public address system:
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1741746:
"As well as the Mets' season going up in smoke, Fordham tuition going downOral sexOral sex is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a sex partner by the use of the mouth, tongue, teeth or throat. Cunnilingus refers to oral sex performed on females while fellatio refer to oral sex performed on males. Anilingus refers to oral stimulation of a person's anus...
like an altar boy, and the Fordham football team with a threat ratingHomeland Security Advisory SystemIn the United States, the Homeland Security Advisory System was a color-coded terrorism threat advisory scale. The different levels trigger specific actions by federal agencies and state and local governments, and they affect the level of security at some airports and other public facilities. It...
of a cute, neon pink, the band now presents an all-star gala halftime salute to more Columbia news."
In reporting the incident, the New York Times, the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, and most of the mainstream media found the reference to be too insensitive or offensive and refused to print it. “It’s typical of Ivy Leaguers to make fun of a Catholic school’s strait-laced reputation,” Fordham University President Joseph A. O'Hare
Joseph A. O'Hare
Rev. Joseph A. O'Hare is a Jesuit priest, New York City civic leader and editor. He was a longtime president of Fordham University and, for a brief period, President of Regis High School, a New York City Jesuit High School....
, S.J. told The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, “They’re very self-important little creatures.”
Columbia President Lee C. Bollinger apologized for the band's remark. The author of the joke refused to apologize.
Recent history
The 2003 game was a thriller, with Fordham coming out on top in a wild 37-30 game. Jerry GlanvilleJerry Glanville
Jerry Glanville is a former American football player and current head coach of the Hartford Colonials of the United Football League, former NASCAR driver and owner, and sportscaster in the United States. He served the head coach of the Houston Oilers from 1986 to 1990 and the Atlanta Falcons from...
was the color broadcaster for that game for TV as a part of the now-defunct Football Network. After CBS executives saw his work on that game, he was offered a chance to call an NFL game the following week, the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
/San Diego Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
game.
Columbia took the 2006 meeting, 37-7, in the most lopsided result of the cup series. It was the Lions' second consecutive victory over Fordham, and made Norries Wilson
Norries Wilson
Norries Wilson was the 18th head coach of the Columbia University football team, and the first African-American head football coach in the Ivy League...
the first Columbia coach since Aldo T. "Buff" Donelli to win his debut.
As of the 2011 meeting, Fordham leads the series 6-4.
The Liberty Cup results
| Year | Winning Team | Losing Team | | Location | |Series | Summary | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Columbia | 13 | Fordham | 11 | Manhattan | COL | 1–0 | Recap |
| 2003 | Fordham | 37 | Columbia | 30 | The Bronx | — | 1–1 | Recap |
| 2004 | Fordham | 17 | Columbia | 14 | Manhattan | FOR | 2–1 | Recap |
| 2005 | Columbia | 23 | Fordham | 17 | The Bronx | — | 2–2 | Recap |
| 2006 | Columbia | 37 | Fordham | 7 | Manhattan | COL | 3–2 | Recap |
| 2007 | Fordham | 27 | Columbia | 10 | The Bronx | — | 3–3 | Recap |
| 2008 | Fordham | 29 | Columbia | 22 | Manhattan | FOR | 4–3 | Recap |
| 2009 | Columbia | 40 | Fordham | 28 | The Bronx | — | 4–4 | Recap |
Results of all meetings
Including meetings before the Liberty Cup was dedicated, Columbia leads the all-time series, 12–6.- 2001 Fordham 41, Columbia 10 http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE5D9153AF930A15752C1A9679C8B63
- 2000 Columbia 43, Fordham 26 http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9903E6D81F38F934A2575AC0A9669C8B63
- 1996 Columbia 17, Fordham 10 http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=980DE1DC103CF93AA1575AC0A960958260
- 1994 Columbia 24, Fordham 13 http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C07E4DF1E3DF93AA35753C1A962958260
- 1993 Columbia 7, Fordham 0 http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE3D7173CF935A1575AC0A965958260
- 1992 Columbia 18, Fordham 9 http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CEEDC1F31F934A1575AC0A964958260
- 1991 Fordham 20, Columbia 16 http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE5D9153DF935A35753C1A967958260
- 1972 Columbia 44, Fordham 0
- 1902 Columbia 45, Fordham 0
- 1890 Columbia 40, Fordham 0