ECAC Announces 2022 Lambert Awards
Danbury, CT – The ECAC has announced the latest recipients of the Lambert Trophy for the fall 2022 season.
Lambert Trophy: Penn State University
Penn State capped off an impressive season with a 35-21 victory over Utah in Rose Bowl Game on Jan. 2. The Nittany Lions put up 448 yards of total offense and recorded two takeaways in the program's second Rose Bowl win. The Nittany Lions reached the 11-win plateau for the 19th time in program history. The Nittany Lions had 23 All-Big Ten selections for the 2022 season, including 10 on offense, 10 on defense and three on special teams. Penn State’s sole losses on the year came against Ohio State and Michigan, both of whom qualified for the four-team College Football Playoffs.
Lambert Cup: College of the Holy Cross
The 2022 Crusaders amassed the most wins in program history (12) and earned a trip to the NCAA quarterfinals for the first time since 1983. Holy Cross' lone loss of the season came in the NCAA quarterfinals against eventual national champion South Dakota State. Holy Cross posted its first undefeated regular season in 31 years. Among the Crusaders' marquee wins were an upset over FBS opponent and bowl-qualifying Buffalo, wins over Harvard and Yale; an overtime thriller over ranked Fordham, and an NCAA second round victory over New Hampshire. Holy Cross posted the second-best winning percentage in the nation (.923) in 2022 and finished the season ranked #6 in the polls.
Lambert Division II Cup: Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) DII
The IUP Crimson Hawks defeated Shepherd on November 12 in the PSAC Championship game and earned the top seed in Super Region One of the NCAA’s Division II Championships this past fall. IUP finished 10-2 overall, and were ranked 11th nationally in the final AFCA rankings. Head coach Paul Tortorella was named the PSAC West Coach of the Year as IUP totaled 12 All-PSAC West selections, along with five total All-American awards.
Lambert Division III Team Of The Year: Ithaca College
The Ithaca Bombers earned their first-ever Liberty League title following an undefeated regular season, reaching the postseason for the first time since 2014 and advancing to the national quarterfinals for the first time since 2003. Additionally, IC produced its first undefeated regular season since 1986, and its 12 victories tied for the second-most in program history. Head coach Michael Toerper was named AFCA Region 1 Coach of the Year, while he and his coaching staff were named Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year. Three players earned major awards from the Liberty League (A.J Wingfield - Offense, Matt DeSimpliciis - Defense, Nicholas Bahamonde - Special Teams), while two Bombers (Jake Villanueva and Matt DeSimpliciis) were selected as All-Americans.
The ECAC has assumed responsibility for the Lambert Trophy when the New York Football Writers disbanded and stopped conveying the award. The trophy was first awarded in 1936, to Pittsburgh.
ABOUT THE ECAC
The ECAC (Eastern College Athletic Conference) is an eighty-four-year-old organization with well over 200 member schools across all three NCAA Divisions - I, II and III. The ECAC exists to enhance the experience of student-athletes participating in intercollegiate athletics and provides great value for universities and colleges by sponsoring championships, leagues, bowl games, tournaments and other competitions throughout the Northeast. The ECAC's esports platform is growing and now totals more than sixty colleges and universities and is expanding the geographic footprint for the conference nationally. The ECAC is also sponsoring competitions and leagues involving other varsity and club sports that do not fall under the umbrella of the NCAA.
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