Lamenting Lambert

There was a time when the football programs in the East cared about the Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy. With the BCS and almost every team in a conference the significance of the honor is somewhat hollow these days.

On Monday, Penn State was awarded the Trophy for the 27th time—by far the most of any team.

According to Wikipedia, to be eligible for the Lambert Trophy, a school must be located in the East or play half its schedule against eligible Lambert teams. The territory includes New York, New Jersey, New England and Pennsylvania, while teams in the bordering states of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia and the District of Columbia qualify if half their schedule features eligible teams. While they were members of the Big East Conference, Virginia Tech and Miami of Florida were also eligible. Current Big East members Cincinnati, Louisville and South Florida are now eligible.

Here are the 2008 Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy standings:
1. Penn State
2. Cincinnati
3. West Virginia
4. Pittsburgh
5. Rutgers
6. Boston College
7. Connecticut
8. South Florida
9. Navy
10. Buffalo