1986 Columbia Lions football team

The 1986 Columbia Lions football team was an American football team that represented Columbia University during the 1986 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Amid a record-setting loss streak, Columbia finished last in the Ivy League.

1986 Columbia Lions football
Conference	Ivy League
Record	0–10 (0–7 Ivy)
Head coach	Larry McElreavy (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Bill Narduzzi (1st season)
Captain	Chris Riga
Home stadium	Wien Stadium
Seasons ← 1985 1987 →

1986 Ivy League football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 7 Penn $	7	–	0	–	0			10	–	0	–	0
Cornell	6	–	1	–	0			8	–	2	–	0
Brown	4	–	2	–	1			5	–	4	–	1
Dartmouth	3	–	3	–	1			3	–	6	–	1
Harvard	3	–	4	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
Yale	2	–	5	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
Princeton	2	–	5	–	0			2	–	8	–	0
Columbia	0	–	7	–	0			0	–	10	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

In their first season under head coach Larry McElreavy, the Lions compiled an 0–10 record and were outscored 379 to 91. Chris Riga was the team captain.^[1]

The Lions' winless (0–7) conference record was the worst in the Ivy League standings. Columbia was outscored 257 to 28 by Ivy opponents.^[2]

By losing all of their games in 1986, the Lions extended a winless streak and a losing streak that began in 1983. They would not win or tie another game until October 9, 1988, against Princeton, an NCAA Division I record streak at the time.^[3] At the end of 1986, the streak stood at 34 games without a win, and 31 straight losses.

Columbia played its homes games at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium in Upper Manhattan, in New York City.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 20	at Harvard	Harvard Stadium Boston, MA	L 0–34	7,534	[4]
September 27	Lafayette*	Wien Stadium New York, NY	L 21–26	2,930	[5]
October 4	at Penn	Franklin Field Philadelphia, PA	L 7–42	10,878	[6]
October 11	Princeton	Wien Stadium New York, NY	L 14–20	8,150	[7]
October 18	at Yale	Yale Bowl New Haven, CT	L 0–47	10,163	[8]
October 25	Colgate*	Wien Stadium New York, NY	L 8–54	4,640	[9]
November 1	Villanova*	Wien Stadium New York, NY	L 34–42	4,750	[10]
November 8	at Dartmouth	Memorial Field Hanover, NH	L 0–41	2,210	[11]
November 15	No. 16 Cornell	Wien Stadium New York, NY (rivalry)	L 0–28	4,720	[12]
November 22	Brown	Wien Stadium New York, NY	L 7–45	3,010	[13]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from the latest NCAA Division I-AA poll released prior to the game