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| Columbia Lions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 | ||||
| University | Columbia University | |||
| First season | 1984 | |||
| All-time record | 442–718 (.381) | |||
| Head coach | Megan Griffith (10th season) | |||
| Conference | Ivy League | |||
| Location | New York City,New York | |||
| Arena | Levien Gymnasium (capacity: 2,500) | |||
| Nickname | Lions | |||
| Student section | TBD | |||
| Colors | Columbia blue and white[1] | |||
| Uniforms | ||||
| ||||
| NCAA tournament appearances | ||||
| 2024, 2025 | ||||
| Conference regular-season champions | ||||
| 2023, 2024, 2025 | ||||
TheColumbia Lions women's basketball team is theintercollegiate women's basketball program representingColumbia University. The school competes in theIvy League inDivision I of theNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). TheLions play home basketball games at theLevien Gymnasium inNew York, New York, on the university campus.[2] Columbia has won three Ivy League championships.[3] The team has been coached byMegan Griffith since 2016.
After the 2023–24 season, the Lions have a 442–718 record since beginning play in 1984 after Columbia went co-ed in 1983. They joined theIvy League in women's basketball in 1986 after two seasons in Division III play. The women's teams used to be known as the Barnard Bears, named for the affiliated women's college of the same name. For their first 23 seasons, they never finished higher than fourth in the eight-team conference.[4] They received their firstNCAA Tournament bid as an at-large bid in 2024, leaving only Yale as the one Ivy League team to never make the women's tournament. They won the Ivy regular season title once again in the 2024-25 season but lost in the championship game of the Ivy Tournament to Harvard. However, Columbia would receive an at-large bid to reach their second straight NCAA Tournament.
| Year | Record | Conference Record | Coach |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984–85 | 19–7 | n/a | Nancy Kalafus |
| 1985–86 | 21–6 | n/a | Nancy Kalafus |
| 1986–87 | 8–16 | 2–12 | Nancy Kalafus |
| 1987–88 | 12–14 | 4–10 | Nancy Kalafus |
| 1988–89 | 12–14 | 5–9 | Nancy Kalafus |
| 1989–90 | 12–14 | 5–9 | Nancy Kalafus |
| 1990–91 | 10–16 | 5–9 | Nancy Kalafus |
| 1991–92 | 4–22 | 1–13 | Kerry Phayre |
| 1992–93 | 7–19 | 1–13 | Kerry Phayre |
| 1993–94 | 4–22 | 2–12 | Kerry Phayre |
| 1994–95 | 0–26 | 0–14 | Kerry Phayre |
| 1995–96 | 2–24 | 1–13 | Kerry Phayre |
| 1996–97 | 6–20 | 3–11 | Jay Butler |
| 1997–98 | 4–22 | 0–14 | Jay Butler |
| 1998–99 | 6–20 | 2–12 | Jay Butler |
| 1999–2000 | 7–19 | 6–8 | Jay Butler |
| 2000–01 | 9–18 | 6–8 | Jay Butler |
| 2002–03 | 11–16 | 4–10 | Jay Butler |
| 2003–04 | 12–14 | 6–8 | Jay Butler |
| 2004–05 | 12–15 | 5–9 | Traci Waites/Tory Verdi |
| 2005–06 | 6–21 | 2–12 | Paul Nixon |
| 2006–07 | 8–20 | 4–10 | Paul Nixon |
| 2007–08 | 10–18 | 7–7 | Paul Nixon |
| 2008–09 | 13–15 | 6–8 | Paul Nixon |
| 2009–10 | 18–10 | 9–5 | Paul Nixon |
| 2010–11 | 7–21 | 6–8 | Paul Nixon |
| 2011–12 | 3–25 | 1–13 | Paul Nixon |
| 2012–13 | 5–23 | 3–11 | Paul Nixon |
| 2013–14 | 6–22 | 3–11 | Stephanie Glance |
| 2014–15 | 8–20 | 2–12 | Stephanie Glance |
| 2015–16 | 12–17 | 1–13 | Sheila Roux |
| 2016–17 | 13–14 | 3–11 | Megan Griffith |
| 2017–18 | 8–21 | 2–12 | Megan Griffith |
| 2018–19 | 8–19 | 4–10 | Megan Griffith |
| 2019–20 | 17–10 | 8–6 | Megan Griffith |
| 2020–21 | Season Cancelled Due to Covid | ||
| 2021–22 | 25–7 | 12–2 | Megan Griffith |
| 2022–23 | 28–6 | 12–2 | Megan Griffith |
| 2023–24 | 23–7 | 13-1 | Megan Griffith |
| Name | Years | Record | % | Conf. Record | Conf. % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nancy Kalafus | 1984–91 (7) | 94–87 | .519 | 21–49 | .300 |
| Kerry Phayre | 1991–96 (5) | 17–113 | .131 | 5–65 | .071 |
| Jay Butler | 1996–04 (8) | 67–143 | .319 | 33–79 | .295 |
| Traci Waites | 2004–05 (<1) | 9–8 | .529 | 2–2 | .500 |
| Tory Verdi | 2004–05 (<1) | 3–7 | .300 | 5–7 | .417 |
| Paul Nixon | 2005–13 (8) | 70–153 | .314 | 39–74 | .345 |
| Stephanie Glance | 2013–15 (2) | 14–42 | .250 | 5–23 | .178 |
| Sheila Roux | 2015–16 (1) | 12–17 | .414 | 1–13 | .071 |
| Megan Griffith | 2016–pres. (8) | 122–84 | .592 | 54–44 | .551 |
Columbia has appeared in two NCAA Tournaments.
| Year | Seed | Round | Opponent | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 12 | First Four | (12)Vanderbilt | L 68–72 |
| 2025 | 11 | First Four First round | (11)Washington (6)West Virginia | W 63–60 L 59–78 |
| Year | Round | Opponent | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | First round Second round Third round Quarterfinals | Holy Cross Old Dominion Boston College Seton Hall | W 80–69 W 62–59 W 54–51 L 75–78 |
| 2023 | First round Second round Super 16 Great 8 Fab 4 Championship Game | FDU Fordham Syracuse Harvard Bowling Green Kansas | W 69–53 W 78–73 W 88–82 W 77–71 W 77–70 L 59–66 |
Megan Griffith's tenure as head coach has brought about a marked improvement in the Lions' standing in both the Ivy League conference and overall. In the 2019–20 season, the team qualified for theIvy League Women's Basketball Tournament for the first time.[6] They finished second in the2022 Ivy League tournament, losing in the finals toPrinceton.[7] In 2022, Columbia began receiving votes in theAP poll for the first time in program history.[8] In 2023, the team won a share of theIvy League women’s basketball title, also for the first time in program history.[9] On March 17, 2023, Griffith became the winningest head coach in program history after picking up her 95th career win.[10]
Notable players on the Columbia Women's Basketball roster include junior Abbey Hsu, 2023 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award Semifinalist and 2022–23 First Team All-Ivy League,[11] and senior Kaitlyn Davis, 2021–22 and 2022–23 First Team All-Ivy League.[12] Both players joined the 1,000-point club in the 2022–23 season, along with senior Sienna Durr, becoming the 12th, 13th, and 14th Lions to do so in program history.[13][14] On January 28, 2023, Kaitlyn Davis made history as the first player to ever record a triple-double in Columbia Women's Basketball history.[15]
The Lions made Ivy League history two seasons in a row, being the first Ivy League team to reach theWNIT quarterfinals in2022 and the first to reach the semifinals or finals in2023.[16]
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