Columbia Hopes to Stop Its Streak : Toothless Lions Four Losses Shy of Major-College Record

How bad are things at Columbia?

When a man claiming to be a Buddhist priest telephoned Lion football coach Larry McElreavy last season and offered chants that would lead to victories, McElreavy chanted along.

When a man from Maryland called and suggested an offense, saying he had put in the wing-T for Ara Parseghian at Notre Dame, McElreavy listened.

When the alumni came up with ideas for plays, McElreavy thought them over.

When you are the coach of a team that has not won since 1983 and is only four losses away from breaking the major-college record for consecutive defeats, you have nothing to lose but more games.

“I’m reminded of it every day, the dubious distinction that we have,” McElreavy said of the Lions’ 31-game losing streak, the second-longest in major-college history.

Columbia’s last victory was at Yale on Oct. 15, 1983. Three weeks later, the Lions tied Dartmouth. They have been outscored by 1,065-325 since then, 877-174 in the first three quarters alone. They’ve been outrushed 7,563 yards to 2,815.

Jim Garrett, who replaced Bob Naso as coach in 1985, called the players “drug-addicted losers” after his first game. The university administration told him to leave after an 0-10 season.

Last year’s seniors didn’t win a game in their varsity careers.

Yet McElreavy, who came to Columbia last year from Division II New Haven, is optimistic.

“We will not break the record,” he said confidently one afternoon this summer. “Don’t ask me which game we’ll do it, but I know we’ll win before that.”

Games with Harvard, Lafayette, Pennsylvania and Princeton stand between Columbia and the record. No. 35, which would surpass the mark Northwestern set from 1979 to 1982, would occur on Oct. 10 at Princeton’s Palmer Stadium, where the Lions haven’t won since the Truman administration.

In cruel irony, Garrett’s three sons, who transferred to Princeton from Columbia after he was removed, probably will start at quarterback, fullback and wide receiver that afternoon.

Athletic officials at Columbia say the university is committed to a successful football team and cite the $15 million Wien Stadium, opened in 1984. It replaced the dilapidated Baker Field, a 55-year-old wooden stadium that was designed to be temporary.

Five years ago, the football budget was by far the smallest in the Ivy League. Now it is comparable to those at the other Ivy schools, somewhere between $650,000 and $1 million, according to Al Paul, Columbia’s athletic director.

“A lot of people say that the university doesn’t support football or athletics,” Paul said, “but those comments can’t be backed up by the facts.”

McElreavy and Paul must face these facts every day:

--One winning season since the advent of two-platoon Ivy League football in 1963.

--Fifteen consecutive losing seasons since 1971.

--No seasons with more than one victory since 1978.

--Five victories in the last 83 games.

“We want to get the monkey off our back,” defensive tackle Matt Sodl said, “get the losses over with and get this ball rolling.”

Players have complained of negative attitudes among their teammates in the past. McElreavy said his first task was to change that.

“If you tell a football player they’re bad, they’re going to believe you,” McElreavy said. “But they know now no one got us where we are but us, and we’re the only ones who will get us out of it.,”

McElreavy said the Lions should be improved defensively with the addition of players from last season’s freshman team, which won three and lost three. There is the addition of John Robinson, a linebacker/end who transferred from Southern Methodist after the NCAA banned the program there.

They will have a kicker this season, sophomore Matt Pollard. Last year, they had to borrow players from the soccer team.

But Chris Della Pietra and Dave Putelo, the returning quarterbacks, completed fewer than half their passes last season, and none of the returning running backs gained more than 125 yards total for the season.

Last year, the Lions gained 793 yards rushing, 35 yards more than Oklahoma’s record for a game.

But McElreavy said he doesn’t think about his team’s past shortcomings. Instead, he thinks about upsetting Harvard in the Sept. 19 season opener.

“I already dreamed that we beat them, 17-14, with Matt Pollard kicking three field goals,” McElreavy said. “I just cut to the fourth quarter. There were no fumbles, no interceptions. I was trying to herd everyone into the locker room so I could speak with them. There was a general feeling of euphoria over the whole stadium.”