The Lambert Trophy was an annual award given to the best team in the East in Division I FBS (formerly I-A) college football. In affiliation with the Metropolitan New York Football Writers (founded 1935), the Lambert Trophy was established by brothers Victor A. and Henry L. Lambert in memory of their father, August V. Lambert.[4] The Lamberts were the principals in a distinguished Madison Avenue jewelry house and were prominent college football boosters.
By the time the “Lambert Trophy” was established in 1936, major schools in other regions of the country had formed their own leagues (i.e., SEC, Big Ten, Big Eight, Pacific Coast Conference, etc.) and Division I FBS (formerly I–A) schools located in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions remained independent, with the exception of the 1954 formation of the Ivy League.[5][6] Emblematic of the "Eastern championship",[7][8] the Lambert Trophy, voted on by a panel of sports writers in New York, became the de facto conference championship for those schools.[9]
Since 1936, there have been 19 different winners in Division I-A/FBS. To be eligible for the Lambert Award, a school must be located in the "East." Teams in the "East" were originally interpreted as being north of Washington D.C. and east of the western boundary of Pennsylvania,[10] but has sometimes been expanded to include teams located in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware and the District of Columbia (although there are no FBS teams in Delaware nor Washington D.C., there are teams that compete at lower levels that can win the various Lambert Cup awards for their levels). Additionally, while the Big East Conference was a football conference, members of that conference outside of the "East" were also made eligible if at least half their schedule was against Lambert-eligible teams.
A set of parallel trophies collectively known as the Lambert Cup use to be awarded to teams in Division I FCS (formerly I-AA), Division II, and Division III. The Metropolitan New York Football Writers, owned and operated by American Football Networks, Inc., took the administration of the Lambert Meadowlands Awards back from the New Jersey Sports & Exhibition Authority in 2011.
As of 2024, plans were announced to revive the Lambert Trophy and begin awarding it for the 2024 season.[11]
^ Now a member of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
† Now a member of NCAA Division III.
* No longer eligible to win Lambert Trophy
NOTE: The Ivy League, and until 1997, the Patriot League, do/did not participate in the NCAA Division I Football Tournament.
[14]
† Now a member of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).
‡ Discontinued football
‡ Now a member of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).
† Now a member of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
^ Now a member of Division III.
† Now a member of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
‡ Now a member of Division II.
^ Discontinued football