In the fall of 1967, New York was a city in turmoil. Opposition to the war in Vietnam was reaching its height, while the divide between blacks and whites continued to grow. In this climate of instability lay Morningside Heights, a hotbed for activism and protest felt both within the boundaries of the Columbia gates and beyond. Students sought to address political conflict and racial tension by joining groups such as the Students for a Democratic Society and the Black Panthers. For a few winter months in late 1967 and early 1968, however, it was the Lions that provided the Columbia community reason for a united front.
The 1967 college basketball season began with high expectations for the Light Blue. A host of freshmen, who were not allowed to play on varsity teams during their first year, displayed supreme talent and potential the year before and provided hope for the upcoming season. Led by head coach and former Lion Jack Rohan, Columbia had confidence that it could join perennial powerhouse Princeton in the Ivy League elite.
The talent-laden roster was highlighted by a trio of homegrown heroes whose ability on the court helped to blind people of their ethnic backgrounds. Seven-foot senior Dave Newmark, who would later be dubbed “the tallest Jew in NBA history,” provided veteran leadership, while sophomores Jim McMillian, a stocky, Brooklyn-bred player with old-school ability, and Heyward Dotson, an overachieving graduate of the esteemed Stuyvesant High School, provided an infusion of youth to the Lions and were among the growing minority of African-American players in the league.
As expected, Columbia got off to a fast start, winning its first four games against Lehigh, CCNY, NYU, and Rutgers. The Lions headed to Cornell to open Ivy play on the road with confidence and momentum, but fell to the Big Red to begin a three-game skid. Following losses at Georgetown and Fordham, Columbia’s season faced a turning point. The next three games would be part of the upcoming Holiday Festival, after which the second half of the season would commence and would bring with it the bulk of the Lions’ Ivy competition.
Held in Madison Square Garden, the Holiday Festival was then the most prestigious in-season college basketball tournament and featured three top-20, nationally ranked teams. The first round pitted Columbia against one such team in West Virginia. In a stunning showing, the Lions upset the Mountaineers 94-68 and were set to take on second-seeded Louisville. After another unlikely victory, Columbia advanced to the championship game against St. John’s. In the World’s Most Famous Arena, the Lions introduced themselves to the national stage by defeating the Red Storm 60-55, capturing their first and only Holiday Festival championship. McMillian was named tournament MVP, one of many personal honors still to come, and Columbia managed to bring attention to itself as a potential dark horse in the league.
In the spring of 1968, the Lions attacked their schedule with a newfound sense of conviction and assertiveness, determined to be a contender in the Ivy League. Columbia hit the century mark in a win against Yale and proceeded to rout Brown, Colgate, and Penn, winning by margins of 20 or more. After avenging its early loss to Cornell with a 93-51 blowout, the team defeated defending champion Princeton and was firmly cemented as a force to be reckoned with.
Columbia went on to defeat Dartmouth and Harvard on the road, and then again at home, culminating in a 115-56 victory over the Crimson, a game which would boast the Lions’ all-time scoring record for the next 10 years. Three additional wins rounded out the winning streak and set up the last game of the regular season at Princeton. A Light Blue victory brought Columbia its first Ivy League championship in the program’s history.
A strong showing by the Tigers evened the teams’ records, however, and forced a one-game playoff, winner take all—in this case, the winner would claim an Ivy title and a berth in the NCAA tournament. The 1968 Ivy League championship game was held in so-called “neutral” territory at St. John’s Alumni Hall. The packed arena housed 6,000 fans, most of whom were Lions faithful ready to see an end to Tiger dominance, as the team from across the river had already won six Ivy titles in the course of the decade. With a unified team effort, Columbia defeated Princeton 92-74 and captured the school’s first and only Ivy League championship.
The Lions were unable to repeat their success on the national scale, losing to Davidson 61-59 in the second round of the NCAA tournament. But the team had already succeeded in what it had set out to achieve. The team that managed to topple the formidable Princeton legacy—arguably the greatest team in Columbia sports history—also managed to finally break through on the national scale.
After enjoying illustrious careers in the Ivy League, Newmark, Dotson, and McMillian
were each drafted by NBA franchises. McMillian enjoyed nine years in professional basketball and even won another championship ring after he replaced the legendary Elgin Baylor on the Los Angeles Lakers.
This season marks the 40th anniversary of Columbia’s lone championship season. In the midst of social upheaval, a college basketball team provided a healthy distraction and a glimmer of hope. In a similar political climate, on a campus satiated with protest and dissatisfaction, we can only hope that future generations of Lions can provide Columbia with the same pride that the 1967-68 team did.