CAPE COD, Mass. – The University of Connecticut football team was recognized as the top FBS team of 2010 in the Eastern College Athletic Conference Lambert Meadowlands Bowl Subdivision Football Poll which was released this afternoon. The Huskies, who finished the season with 150 points, edged out BIG EAST opponent West Virginia who finished the year with 148 points. Other BIG EAST teams that made the top-10 include Pittsburgh, South Florida, Syracuse and Louisville.

UConn Huskies footballThe Huskies will be crowned as the Lambert Meadowlands Team of the year and will be presented with their award during the Eastern College Football Awards Banquet held at the New Meadowlands Stadium in February.

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 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 eligible teams.

ECAC Lambert Meadowlands Bowl Subdivision Football Poll
Record Points
1. Connecticut 8-5 150
2. West Virginia 9-4 148
3. Pittsburgh 8-5 134
4. Navy 9-4 118
5. Penn State 7-6 108
6. South Florida 8-5 94
6. Syracuse 8-5 94
8. Boston College 7-6 46
9. Temple 8-4 44
10. Louisville 7-6 34
ARV: Army, Cincinnati