CAPE COD, Mass. - The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) has announced the final weekly ECAC® Lambert Meadowlands Football Poll presented by FieldTurf. Three of the four teams held their positions at the top of the polls this week, but there was a major change in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) poll. After an impressive 19-17 win over No. 13 LSU in the Capital One Bowl, Penn State claimed the top spot in the FBS poll from Cincinnati (12-1), which dropped a 51-24 decision to Florida in the Sugar Bowl. Villanova (14-1) won the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) national championship and retained the top spot in that poll. In Division II, California (Pa.) is No. 1, while Wesley (13-1) remains in the top spot in the Division III poll.

For Penn State, it is a record 28^th time that it has won the Lambert Meadowlands Trophy. The Nittany Lions first captured the trophy in 1947, and are receiving the trophy for the second consecutive year. From 1961-1998, Penn State won the trophy 24 times in 38 years, including five years in a row from 1971-75. Penn State has also been named the ECAC FBS Team of the Year for a record 13^th time.

Villanova will be claiming the Lambert Meadowlands Cup for the third time in school history. The Wildcats first won the historic cup in 1992, and last won it during the 2002 campaign. The Wildcats also claimed their third ECAC FCS Team of the Year Award (1997, 2002).

California (Pa.) will be receiving its third consecutive Lambert Meadowlands Award, while Wesley will be receiving the Lambert Meadowlands Award for the second time. The Wolverines last won the award in 2007. West Chester has been named the ECAC Division II Team of the Year for the fifth time in the past six years, while Wesley claims its second ECAC Division III Team of the Year honor in the past three years (2007).

The winning teams will be presented with their Lambert Meadowlands Awards during the Eastern College Football Awards Banquet, which will be held in the Pegasus Restaurant at the Meadowlands Sports Complex on Thursday, February 18, 2010.

Established in 1936 as the Lambert Trophy to recognize supremacy in Eastern college football, the award has since grown to recognize the best team in the East in the Bowl Subdivision. In 1957, the Lambert Cup was created to recognize non-Division I-A teams, and in 1966 a Division III award was added. In 1983, the Lambert family decided the Meadowlands Sports Complex would be the best organization with a sincere and involved interest in college athletics to sponsor and manage the award, and since that time, the awards have been known as the Lambert Meadowlands Awards.

To be eligible for the Lambert Meadowlands Award, a school must be located in the East or play at least half of its schedule against eligible Lambert Meadowlands 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 at least half of their schedule features eligible teams. Teams in Eastern-based football conferences, regardless of location, qualify if at least half their schedule is against Lambert Meadowlands eligible teams.

About the ECAC®
The ECAC is the nation's largest athletic and the only multi-divisional conference in the country with approximately 300 Division I, II, and III colleges and universities. The ECAC stretches from Maine to North Carolina and westerly to Illinois. Established in 1938, the ECAC, a non-profit service organization, sponsors nearly 100 championships in 37 men's and women's sports and assigns more than 4,400 officials in 12 sports. The ECAC also administers nine affiliate sports organizations and six playing leagues, and through the public relations arm of the conference, more than 2,000 student-athletes are recognized annually. Finally, the ECAC serves as the primary conference for select members in the sports of men's ice hockey, women's ice hockey, and men's lacrosse.

ECAC® Lambert Meadowlands Bowl Subdivision (FBS) Football Poll presented by FieldTurf

1. Penn State                          

2. Cincinnati                           

3. Pittsburgh                           

4. West Virginia                    

5. Rutgers                            

6. Navy                                  

7. Connecticut                        

8. Boston College                      

9. South Florida                    

10. Temple                          

ECAC® Lambert Meadowlands Championship Subdivision (FCS) Football Poll presented by FieldTurf

1. Villanova                          

2. William & Mary                  

3. Richmond                           

4. New Hampshire                  

5. Holy Cross                        

6. Penn                                         

7. Colgate                                

8. Lafayette                             

9. Delaware                             

10. Harvard                             

ARV: James Madison, Central Connecticut State.

ECAC® Lambert Meadowlands Division II Football Poll presented by FieldTurf

1. California (PA)                   

2. Shippensburg                      

3. Edinboro                             

4. East Stroudsburg                

5. Bentley                                

6. Clarion                               

7. West Chester                       

8. Bloomsburg                              

9. Merrimack                                  

10. Southern Conn. State        

ARV: Gannon

ECAC® Lambert Meadowlands Division III Football Poll presented by FieldTurf

1. Wesley                                

2. Johns Hopkins                   

3. Albright                               

4. Delaware Valley                 

4. Thomas More                      

6. Montclair State                   

7. Washington & Jefferson     

8. Amherst                             

9. Alfred                                       

10. Kean                                  

ARV: Lebanon Valley, Dickinson