Day 87: UNH & Chris Tillotson

Will the Lions roam to the Granite State?


Bruce Wood of Big Green Alert is reporting that Columbia is one of the schools the University of New Hampshire is considering replacing Dartmouth with on its schedule after this year.

Taking on a team that has recently beaten BCS clubs like Northwestern sounds pretty scary... but it also could be fun.

And if we add UNH to the schedule, a scholarship-strength Fordham team won't look so scary anymore!


Chris Tillotson


Getting back to the "100 Players in 100 Days" countdown, I continue my look at notable Columbia defensive backs with the spotlight today on Chris Tillotson '99.

Chris was recruited first as a wide receiver, but he first started getting his feet wet helping out the great defense on the 1996 team that went 8-2.

In 1997 he earned honorable mention All Ivy honors, mostly because of his efforts at defensive back, but he also stepped in at wide receiver from time to time and scored some key touchdowns.

Tillotson's 1998 senior season didn't start out great, as he was suspended for the first two games, but he made up for it with stellar play the rest of the way.

It all came to an impressive crescendo against Cornell on November 14, 1998 when Tillotson almost singlehandedly defeated the Big Red in a 22-10 Columbia victory.

Tillotson finished the game with two interceptions, a 25-yard reception to set up one field goal, a cagy 12-yard punt return to set up another, a 17-yard game on a reverse, and a 70-yard return of a fumble recovery for the game-icing touchdown.

Tillotson finished the season as a first time All Ivy member, an impressive feat for someone benched for the first two games of a 10-game season.