As the Columbia Lions gear up for the 2010 season, Football Head Coach Norries Wilson will be answering fan questions ahead of the season opener against Fordham at the Robert K. Kraft Field at Columbia's Baker Athletics Complex on Sept. 18. Post questions there by noon on Sept. 10, and check back for his answers on Sept. 17.
The Columbia Lions football team finished the 2009 campaign on a high note, winning its final two games to finish in fourth place in the Ivy League, posting the program's best league record since 2003. On Ivy League Media Day, the press placed Columbia fifth in the 2010 Ivy League Football preseason poll against its peers.
The Lions return 12 starters from last year's squad, including three 2009 All-Ivy League honorees. Junior offensive lineman Jeff Adams was a first-team selection a year ago and senior tight end Andrew Kennedy and senior defensive back Adam Mehrer earned spots on the second team. The squad also returns senior linebacker Alex Gross, a first-team All-Ivy selection as a sophomore and the 2007 Ivy League Rookie of the Year, along with junior defensive lineman Owen Fraser, who was an All-Ivy honorable mention during his rookie season in 2008.
Norries Wilson became Columbia's Patricia and Shepard Alexander Head Coach of Football in December 2005. He is the 18th head coach of Columbia Football.
Wilson, who served as offensive coordinator at UConn for four seasons, was one of five finalists for the Frank Broyles Award as the nation's top assistant coach in 2004, a season in which the Huskies led the Big East in both total and scoring offense. In 2003, he guided UConn's offense that posted 477.5 yards per game, which ranked eighth in the nation.
In 2002, Wilson was promoted to the Huskies' offensive coordinator after joining the UConn staff in 1999 as offensive line coach. He continued to work specifically with the Huskies' centers and guards. In 2004, UConn defeated Toledo to win the Motor City Bowl. Three members of that team's offense went on to sign National Football League contracts.
Prior to the 2004 season, Wilson was one of 12 coaches selected to participate in the NCAA Expert Coaching Program. The program is designed to teach and reinforce various aspects of securing, managing and excelling in NCAA head coaching positions at the Division I-A level.
