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WITHIN THE FAMILY

Of Comings and Goings

By Alex Sachare ’71

When I was issued my freshman beanie and welcomed to Morningside Heights in September 1967, Aldo T. “Buff” Donelli was Columbia’s head football coach.

For those of you who’ve never heard of freshman beanies, they were these odd little caps that freshmen were supposed to wear throughout orientation week (which, by the way, was nowhere near the elaborate production it is today). For some reason, Barnard women delighted in racing up behind unsuspecting Columbia freshmen and swiping the beanies off their heads, then racing away. A reverse panty raid syndrome, perhaps? We’ll never know, as freshman beanies have long gone the way of the nickel subway ride and cheap gasoline.

For those who’ve never heard of Buff Donelli, he’s the third-winning­est coach in Columbia football history, which dates back to 1870. Unfortunately, Donelli compiled only 30 victories in the 11 seasons he was head coach, 1957–67, which says something about the state of Columbia football in those years.

When I met Norries Wilson, who was introduced as Columbia’s 18th head football coach in January, it struck me that in my 39-year association with Columbia, nine different men have tried to lead the Lions back to gridiron glory. Yes, Columbia has had its share of great football moments, including beating Stanford 7–0 in the 1934 Rose Bowl, edging Army 21–20 to snap the Cadets’ long winning streak and capturing a share of the 1961 Ivy League championship. But since then, times have been tough, and Wilson understands the magnitude of the challenge he faces (see page 19).

Will he be the one to turn it around? To do so, Wilson will need support from Columbia’s top ranks. The fact that the chair of Columbia’s Board of Trustees, Bill Campbell ’62, was captain of that Ivy championship team and is a former head football coach, can only help. Same for the fact that President Lee C. Bollinger came here from Michigan, which plays its home football games before more than 100,000 fans on Saturdays.

With four straight home games to start the season, Wilson’s program could get off to a positive start this season. But that may be deceiving, as eventually the Lions will have to take to the road and face the powers of the Ivy League.

The bottom line is that solid recruiting is key to a successful football program, and because of the number of players needed, this takes time. Don’t judge Wilson on this season’s results, or next, as long as Columbia is playing hard and is competitive more often than not. Give him two or three recruiting classes, then judge whether he has made the progress we all want.

As we welcome the Class of 2010 into the Columbia family, the CCT family bids a fond fare­well to assistant editor Laura Butchy ’04 Arts, our Class Notes coordinator and so much more. Butchy joined us as a work-study student seven years ago and went on staff in 2001 when we expanded to six issues a year.

We’ve watched proudly as she grew and took on more and more responsibility with the magazine. Under Butchy’s leadership, we have one of the largest and most vibrant Class Notes sections in the country, fulfilling our mission of connecting alumni with each other and with the College. Butchy also instituted several new CCT features, including “First Person,” “5 Minutes with … ” and the games that appear on the inside back cover. She has overseen our “Bookshelf” section, working with our work-study students to recognize the efforts of alumni and faculty authors, and most recently she has overseen the revival of “Columbia Forum.” She’s even found time to write several cover stories.

Butchy left last month to pursue a new challenge as director of development communications at Poly Prep Country Day School in Brooklyn. We wish her all the success in the world, and she’ll always be part of our family.

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