Official Website of the Eastern College Athletic Conference

ECAC ANNOUNCES 2017 FOOTBALL TEAMS OF THE YEAR AND LAMBERT AWARDS

1/29/2018 9:58:00 AM

DANBURY, Conn. - The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) has announced the ECAC Football Teams of the Year along with the recipients of the 2017 Lambert Awards, to be presented at the 82nd Eastern College Football Awards Banquet in the Toyota Club at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Feb. 22.

Penn State University will be honored for the 31st time at this year's event when the Nittany Lions receive one of the nation's oldest and prestigious trophies, the Lambert Trophy. Repeating as the top-ranked college football team in the East in the poll conducted by the Metropolitan New York Football Writers, head coach James Franklin's squad defeated 12th-ranked Washington State 35-28 in the 47th Fiesta Bowl to finish 11-2 and were ranked No. 8 in the final national poll.

Army West Point will claim the 2017 ECAC Division I Football Subdivision Team of the Year award after finishing the season with 10 wins for only the second time in school history and won eight of their final nine games of the season to reach the milestone. Army also led the nation in rushing offense with 362.3 yards per game and had a total of 4,710 rushing yards in 2017. The Black Knights captured a thrilling 14-13 victory over service-academy rival Navy in the 118th installment of the Army Navy Game, securing the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy for the first time since 1996. The squad claimed their consecutive bowl championship with a 42-35 victory over San Diego State in the 2017 Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl.

Head coach Mike Houston and the Dukes of James Madison University will receive their second consecutive and fourth overall Lambert Division I FCS Cup after posting a 14-1 record. The defending FCS national champions dropped a 17-13 thriller to North Dakota State in the title game of the FCS national tournament.

The 2017 ECAC Division I Football Championship Subdivision Team of the Year will be presented to Stony Brook University. The 2017 campaign was a very successful season for the Seawolves with a program record-tying 10 wins and a return to the NCAA Division I Football Championships. Stony Brook also claimed a program-best seven conference wins and placed second in the Colonial Athletic Association with a 7-1 mark. The team ranked 11th in the final 2017 national FCS polls which is the highest ranking for the Seawolves in the final polls since the 2012 team was 10th when the season concluded.

Claiming its 12th overall Lambert Division II Cup, first-year head coach Paul Tortorella's Indiana University of Pennsylvania squad concluded the 2017 season as the nation's No. 3-ranked team with a 13-1 record. The Crimson Hawks rolled to 13 straight victories before falling to West Florida in the third round of the NCAA Division II playoffs.
LIU Post will take home the ECAC Division II Football Team of the Year accolade after finishing the regular season with a five-game win streak. The Pioneers ended their 2017 campaign 8-2 including a 7-2 record in conference play.

The College at Brockport will be awarded the Lambert Division III. After a historic run to the NCAA semifinals, the College at Brockport football team finishes the 2017 season ranked No. 5 in both the AFCA and D3Football.com National Polls posting a 13-1 record. The position is not only the highest the Golden Eagles have finished a season, but their highest national ranking in program history.

The Presidents from Washington & Jefferson College will receive the ECAC Division III Football Team of the Year award. W&J finished 11-1 on the season and won the PAC for the league-leading 25th time and also made its 25th appearance in the NCAA Division III Football Championship, the second-most in Division III history. The Presidents hosted two playoff games at Cameron Stadium for the first time since 2004 this season as well. Senior wide receiver Jesse Zubik will be honored as ECAC DIII Offensive Player of the Year while Mike Sirianni will accept ECAC DIII Coach of the Year.

All Lambert and ECAC Award recipients, along with ECAC major award winners, football All-Stars and Red Hill Officiating Award honorees will be honored on Feb. 22 at MetLife Stadium.

A full list of major award winners can be found here.
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