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Jan. 4, 2007

AMHERST, Mass. - The UMass football team has captured the 2006 Lambert Trophy, symbolic of the team top team in the East, presented by the ECAC. The Minutemen were the winners in the I-AA/FCS Division. Head coach Don Brown and the team will be recognized on Thursday, Feb. 15 at the Meadowlands.

Here is the complete release from the ECAC.

The Lambert Trophy was established by brothers Victor and Henry Lambert in memory of their father, August. The Lambert's were the principals in a distinguished Madison Avenue jewelry house and were prominent college football boosters.

The final ECAC Lambert Football Poll presented by FieldTurf Tarkett has been released and honors the top teams in the East in all divisions. The ECAC conducted the weekly poll, in conjunction with the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA), in each of the four divisions and the final poll has determined the trophy winners. The teams will be presented with their awards at the Eastern College Football Awards Banquet Presented by FieldTurf Tarkett on Thursday, February 15 at 6 p.m. at the Pegasus Restaurant at the Meadowlands Sports Complex.

University of Louisville (12-1), the FedEx Orange Bowl Champions, will receive the Lambert Meadowlands Trophy presented with the ECAC in Division I-A. The 2006 Division I-AA National Runner-Up University of Massachusetts (13-2) will receive the Lambert Meadowlands Cup in Division I-AA while West Chester University (9-3) and St. John Fisher (12-2) will be presented the Lambert Meadowlands Teams of the Year presented with the ECAC in Divisions II and III, respectively.

Louisville wins its first Lambert Trophy after becoming eligible in 2005 when they entered the Big East Conference. The University of Massachusetts will take home the Lambert Cup for only the third time (1978 and 1998). West Chester University captures the Division II Award for the second time in three years while St. John Fisher is a first time recipient.

Established in 1936 as the "Lambert Trophy" to recognize supremacy in eastern college football, the award has since grown to recognize the best teams in the East in Divisions I-A, I-AA, II and III. Before asking the ECAC to assume the administration, the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority managed the weekly poll and the award beginning in 1983 through the 2001 season.

To be eligible for the Lambert Meadowlands Awards, a school must be located in the East or play half of its schedule against eligible Lambert teams. The territory includes New York, New Jersey, New England and Pennsylvania while teams in the bordering states of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia and the District of Columbia qualify if half of their schedule features eligible teams. Four separate panels of media, one in each division, participate in a weekly poll and the final poll determines the winners. Playoffs and bowl games are including in the polling.

To be eligible for the Lambert Award, a school must be located in the East or play half of its schedule against eligible Lambert teams. The territory includes New York, New Jersey, New England and Pennsylvania while teams in the bordering states of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia and the District of Columbia qualify if half of their schedule features eligible teams. The Lambert Trophy and Lambert Cup are rotating awards that remain in the winning school's possession for the subsequent year.

While Boston College joined the ACC in 2005 and was not to play at least half of its games against Lambert Meadowlands teams, by virtue of its location in Massachusetts it continues to be eligible. This same principle also applies to Temple and Buffalo, which both entered the Mid-American Conference. Although their schedules are not comprised mostly of other Lambert teams, both institutions are located in the East and both remain eligible.

Conversely, while Cincinnati, Louisville, and South Florida are not located within the East, but because they joined the BIG EAST in 2005 and will thus play at least half of their games against Lambert teams, they are eligible.

Since 1936, there have been 15 different winners in Division I-A. Pennsylvania State University has won the award a record 26 times while the University of Delaware won or shared the cup, 12 times as a member of Division II and six times at the Division I-AA level. Indiana University (Pa.) has won or shared the Division II award ten times since 1987.. At the Division III level, Rowan University has captured the award six times since 1993.