BETHLEHEM, PA – The final vote of the 2025 regular season by the Lambert Cup Committee sees the Lehigh Mountain Hawks still at No. 1 unanimously.
The 12-0 Mountain Hawks are Patriot League Champions following their 42-32 victory over their archrivals Lafayette, and as a reward they received the fifth overall seed in the FCS Playoffs.
Second in the poll is 10-2 out of the CAA, who completed their undefeated CAA conference record and was rewarded with the 10th overall seed. They will behosting 8-4 Central Connecticut State, champions of the NEC and 10th in the final regular season Lambert Cup poll.
First-time FCS Playoff participants Yale (8-2) and Harvard (9-1) finish 4th and 5th respectively in the Lambert Cup poll. Yale dominated their ancient Rival 45-28 to capture the 141st meeting of Harvard and Yale, and in the process qualified for the Ivy League’s first-ever FCS Playoff bid. Yale heads out to Youngstown State in a first round game this Saturday, while Harvard has a shorter trip to 9-2 Villanova in theirs. The Wildcats finished 5th in Lambert Cup voting after concluding their regular season with a 34-10 win over Sacred Heart.
8-4 New Hampshire of the CAA finished a close 6th in the voting, and made the FCS Playoffs as well following their 33-27 win over archrival Maine. They will travel to Brookings, South Dakota in the playoffs to take on South Dakota State.
The 2025 Lambert Cup Committee consists of regional and national FCS Football media members and conference representatives. If the possibility exists in the FCS Playoffs that two Lambert Cup area teams square off and they are the final two possible Lambert Cup teams remaining, the Lambert Cup may be awarded to the winner if a super majority of voting members agrees. Barring that, at the conclusion of the 2025 season, another poll will be conducted to formally determine the winner.
1. Lehigh
2. Rhode Island
3. Yale
4. Harvard
5. Villanova
6. New Hampshire
7. Delaware State
T8. Monmouth (NJ)
T8. Lafayette
10. Central Connecticut State
ORV: Dartmouth, Duquesne, LIU, Sacred Heart, William & Mary.