With Stars and Stripes, Uniforms Reflect Roots of Traditional Game

By CONNOR RYAN
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

On Sept. 15, 2001 — the world shuddered in the wake of the 9/11 attacks — two of the three NCAA Division I football programs in New York City were scheduled to play each other. It was quickly decided that game had to be postponed.

Administrators from Fordham and Columbia came together and decided the game would be made up on Thanksgiving. In addition, the two teams would play for a trophy in memory of the 36 Fordham and 43 Columbia students and alumni that had died in the attacks, according to a statement from Fordham Athletics.

And with that, the Liberty Cup — an annual tradition — was born.

On Saturday afternoon, Fordham’s football players will remember the origination of the trophy by sporting an added splash of red, white and blue when they step onto Rose Hill’s Jack Coffey Field to face Columbia.

The special uniforms will remain mostly maroon — the team’s designated home color — but player numbers and a decal on helmets will be displayed in the pattern of the American flag. Additionally, alternating abbreviations for the New York Police Department, the New York Fire Department and the Port Authority Police Department will be featured on the back of the jerseys.

Along with remembering lost alumni and students of both Fordham and Columbia, the uniforms are meant to pay tribute to the men and women of various emergency service agencies who lost their lives on 9/11.

The Rams have won the cup for three straight years. Last year, Fordham defeated Columbia, 20-13.

This year’s game will be played during Fordham’s Homecoming Weekend at Rose Hill on Saturday, Sept. 21 at 1 p.m.