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Remember the Lambert Trophy? Penn State Wins 3rd Straight

The Lambert Trophy, a throwback symbol of Eastern college football, returns to Penn State for the 35th time since 1936.
Mark Wogenrich|
Penn State coach James Franklin leads his players onto the field prior to the game against the Boise State Broncos in the Fiesta Bowl.
Penn State coach James Franklin leads his players onto the field prior to the game against the Boise State Broncos in the Fiesta Bowl. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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Remember the Lambert Trophy? It has served as the symbol of Eastern college football since 1936, which meant a bit more in the days of independents and Penn State-Pitt rivalries. Well, the trophy lives on, and Penn State football just won its third straight.

The Lambert Trophy Championship Association, founded in 2024 to "re-establish the Lambert Trophy and to award an Eastern Championship annually," according to its website, announced Tuesday that Penn State has won the trophy for the third consecutive season. Penn State has won the Lambert Trophy six times under head coach James Franklin, reviving a tradition that Penn State celebrated through the 1970s, 80s and 1990s.

Penn State has won the Lambert Trophy 35 times since it was inaugurated in 1936, when Pitt claimed the first. Penn State has won by far the most Lambert Trophies in the award's history: Army is second with nine, followed by Pitt (seven) and Syracuse and Navy (six each).

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The Lambert Trophy's mission to celebrate "the best in Eastern college football" centers on a core of Northeast college football teams, both conference members and independents. They are Army, Boston College, Buffalo, Connecticut, Delaware, Massahusetts, Navy, Penn State, Pitt, Rutgers, Syracuse, Temple and West Virginia. The Lambert Trophy Championship Association was founded in 2024 to honor the award's historic tradition and to right a wrong: The trophy was not awarded in 2021 or 2023. Penn State won the 2022 trophy, though that was "not widely publicized," according to the Lambert Trophy website. Thus corrected, Penn State now has claimed three straight awards.

"The Lambert Trophy (formerly Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy), first presented in 1936, has long stood as a symbol of excellence in Eastern college football," the site states. "Presented annually, the trophy honors the most accomplished football team in the Eastern United States, celebrating a legacy of achievement, tradition, and competition. With a history spanning nearly a century, the Lambert Trophy remains one of the most prestigious awards in collegiate athletics."

Penn State made its case for the 2024 Lambert Trophy by winning a school-record 13 games, playing in the Big Ten Championship Game, reaching the semifinals of the College Football Playoff and finishing fourth in the final AP Top 25, its highest ranking in nearly 20 years.

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Mark Wogenrich
MARK WOGENRICH

Mark Wogenrich is the editor and publisher of Penn State on SI, the site for Nittany Lions sports on the Sports Illustrated network. He has covered Penn State sports for more than two decades across three coaching staffs, three Rose Bowls and one College Football Playoff appearance.

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