CAPE COD, Mass. - The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) has announced the first weekly ECAC® Lambert Meadowlands Football Poll presented by FieldTurf Tarkett of the 2008 season. In the Bowl Subdivision poll, Penn State (7-0), ranked No. 3 nationally, opens at No. 1 with South Florida (5-1) in second and Pitt (4-1) in third place. James Madison (6-1) grabs the top spot in the Championship Subdivision poll with Villanova (4-1) second and Massachusetts (4-2) third. Bloomsburg (Pa.), undefeated at 7-0, is the top team in Division II. Unbeatens Cortland State (5-0) and Muhlenberg (5-0) share the top spot in the Division III poll.

The ECAC will release the weekly poll in each of the four divisions (Bowl Subdivision (I-A), Championship Subdivision (I-AA), II and III) and the final poll in January will determine the trophy winners. The first place teams in the final poll will be presented with their Lambert Meadowlands Awards during the Eastern College Football Awards Banquet, held in the Pegasus Restaurant at the Meadowlands Sports Complex.

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 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 half of their schedule features eligible teams.

ECAC® Lambert Meadowlands
Bowl Subdivision (I-A) Football Poll
presented by FieldTurf Tarkett

1. Penn State 7-0
2. South Florida 5-1
3. Pittsburgh 4-1
4. Boston College 4-1
5. Connecticut 5-1
6. Cincinnati 5-1
7. West Virginia 4-2
8. Navy 4-2
9. Louisville 3-2
10. Rutgers 1-5

ECAC® Lambert Meadowlands
Championship Subdivision (I-AA)Football Poll
presented by FieldTurf Tarkett

1. James Madison 6-1
2. Villanova 4-1
3. Massachusetts 4-2
3. New Hampshire 4-1
5. Richmond 4-3
6. Harvard 3-1
7. William & Mary 3-2
8. Lafayette 4-1
9. Colgate 4-2
10. Yale 3-1
10. Sacred Heart 6-0

ECAC® Lambert Meadowlands
Division II Football Poll
presented by FieldTurf Tarkett

1. Bloomsburg 7-0
2. California (PA) 6-1
3. Edinboro 6-1
4. East Stroudsburg 5-2
5. American International 6-0
5. West Chester 5-2
7. Indiana Univ. (PA) 4-2
8. Mercyhurst 5-2
8. Southern Conn. State 4-2
10. Pace 4-2

ECAC® Lambert Meadowlands
Division III Football Poll
presented by FieldTurf Tarkett

1. Cortland State 5-0
1. Muhlenberg 5-0
3. Washington & Jefferson 5-0
4. Delaware Valley 4-1
4. Wesley 3-1
6. Salisbury 5-1
7. Rensselaer 4-0
8. Ithaca 4-1
9. Trinity 4-0
10. St. John Fisher 3-3

About the ECAC®

The ECAC is the nation's largest athletic and the only multi-divisional conference in the country with 321 Division I, II, and III colleges and universities. The ECAC stretches from Maine to North Carolina and westerly to Illinois. Established in 1938, the ECAC, a non-profit service organization, sponsors more than 100 championships in 37 men's and women's sports and assigns more than 4,400 officials in 12 sports. The ECAC also administers nine affiliate sports organizations and six playing leagues, and through the public relations arm of the conference, more than 2,500 student-athletes in 23 sports are recognized annually. Finally, the ECAC serves as the primary conference for select members in the sports of men's ice hockey, women's ice hockey, and men's lacrosse.