University of Delaware Football Captures Lambert Meadowlands Cup, Named ECAC Team of the Year
January 13, 2011
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Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell
CAPE CODE, Mass. -- The University of Delaware football team has been honored yet again for its outstanding 2010 season as this week as the Blue Hens were selected as the winners of both the Lambert Meadowlands Trophy and the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Team of the Year Award.
Delaware, which was named the winner for the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision, was honored along with Division I Football Bowl Subdivision champion University of Connecticut, Division II winner Mercyhurst, and Division III winner Wesley College.
All four teams will be presented with their Lambert Meadowlands Award during the ECAC Football Awards Banquet at the New Meadowlands Stadium in February. Established in 1936, the Lambert Trophy recognizes supremacy in Eastern college football.
Delaware was honored as the Lambert Meadowlands Award winner for a record 20th time in school history and also earned the ECAC Team of the Year Award for the 12th time. The Blue Hens won both awards for the first time since 2007 and have now won each award three times in nine seasons under head coach K.C. Keeler. Keeler also won the Lambert award six times and the ECAC award twice while serving as head coach at Rowan (N.J.) University.
Delaware was the unanimous No. 1 pick for the Lambert award with 180 points and was followed by Villanova, William & Mary, New Hampshire, Penn, Lehigh, James Madison, Richmond, Harvard, and Robert Morris. Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Yale, and Colgate also earned votes in a poll of Eastern college football media members.
Delaware enjoyed one of the finest seasons in its illustrious history in 2010 as Keeler led the Blue Hens to a 12-3 record, a share of the Colonial Athletic Association title, and a berth in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Game. Delaware stormed through the NCAA Tournament this fall, defeating Lehigh, New Hampshire, and Georgia Southern in order at home before falling to top-ranked Eastern Washington 20-19 in the title game Friday night in Frisco, Texas.
The Blue Hens, who posted a 6-5 record during the 2009 season, opened the 2010 campaign ranked No. 16 in The Sports Network poll and No. 19 in the FCS Coaches poll but quickly moved up, winning their first seven games of the season. Delaware was ranked No. 1 in the nation for two weeks (Nov. 8-15) in the Coaches Poll and No. 1 in the TSN rankings (Nov. 15) before taking a No. 5 ranking into the post-season. The Blue Hens were the No. 3 seed for the NCAA Tournament.
Keeler guided a balanced Blue Hen attack in 2010 that featured 16 all-conference players and a group of four All-Americans in senior quarterback Pat Devlin, freshman running back Andrew Pierce, senior safety Anthony Bratton, and senior cornerback Anthony Walters. Delaware led the nation in scoring defense all season, allowing just 12.1 points per game.
In addition to the four All-Americans, Devlin, senior wide receiver Mark Mackey, and senior tight end/deep snapper Zack Reed earned ESPN/College Sports Information Directors of America District 2 All-Academic honors, and senior defensive tackle Siddiq Haynes was named the national Team Captain for the Allstate AFCA Good Works team for outstanding community service.
Delaware also won the Lambert Cup in 1959, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1979, 1982, 1991, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2003, and 2007 and captured the ECAC Team of the Year Award in 1974, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1992, 1995, 2000, 2003, and 2007.
