Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy

The Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy is an annual award given to the best team in the Northeast in Division I FBS (formerly I-A) college football.

The Lambert Trophy was established by brothers Victor and Henry Lambert in memory of their father, August. The Lamberts were the principals in a distinguished Madison Avenue jewelry house and were prominent college football boosters. The trophy, established in 1936 as the "Lambert Trophy" to recognize supremacy in northeastern college football, has since grown to recognize the best team in the Northeast in Division I FBS. A set of parallel trophies collectively known as the Lambert Cup is awarded to teams in Division I FCS (formerly I-AA), Division II, and Division III. The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, operator of the Meadowlands Sports Complex, took over the administration of the Lambert Meadowlands Awards in 1983.

Penn State won the most recent award after the 2009 season for a record 28th time and the second consecutive year. On January 10, 2011, the NJSEA announced that the University of Connecticut had won the trophy for the very first time, after winning the Big East and making their first appearance in the BCS. Since 1936, there have been 16 different winners in Division I-A/FBS.

To be eligible for the Lambert Meadowlands Award, a school must be located in the Northeast 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. With the establishment of the Big East Conference as a major football conference, members of that conference outside of the Northeast were also made eligible. 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.

West Virginia will become ineligible for the trophy once it completes its move to the Big 12 Conference.