Penn State Football: Nittany Lions Earn Lambert Trophy For 29th Time

Penn State might be trying to dominate the state, but the domination may go much farther than that as the Nittany Lions received the Lambert Trophy for a record 29th time earlier this week.

The Nittany Lions will be honored March 27 at the Eastern College Football Awards Banquet, hosted by the ECAC, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

In total, 18 different programs have been awarded the Lambert Meadowlands Trophy, but no four schools combined can match Penn State’s 29 titles.

Established in 1936 by brothers Victor and Henry Lambert in memory of their father, August, the Lambert Trophy was first captured by Penn State in 1947 under Coach Bob Higgins. Coach Rip Engle guided Lambert Trophy winners in 1961, ’64 and ’65. The first of Paterno’s Lambert titles came in 1967. Penn State most recently received the award in 2009.

To be eligible for the Lambert Trophy, a school must be located in the East or play at least half of its schedule against eligible Lambert teams. The winner is determined to be the best team in the Lambert Trophy eligible territory that year.

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 at least half of their schedule features eligible teams. Teams in Eastern-based football conferences, regardless of location, qualify if at least half their schedule is against Lambert eligible teams.

So while Penn State may dominate the state, it seems that for now, Penn State also dominates the east coast.

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