The Liberty Cup is a trophy awarded to the winner of the college football game between Columbia University and Fordham University, two National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I football programs in New York City. The cup was awarded annually from 2002 to 2015, but the two teams have not met since then. The trophy was dedicated a year after the Columbia-Fordham game was postponed following the attacks of September 11, 2001. At least 43 Columbia alumni and 39 Fordham alumni and students died at the World Trade Center. They included two former Fordham football players, Nick Brandemarti, a member of the class of 2000, and Kevin Szocik, a 1997 graduate. Columbia ended the crosstown rivalry series after a run of losses in the 2010s. Background Columbia, based in Upper Manhattan, and Fordham, based in The Bronx, today represent two of the three Division I football teams in New York City; Wagner College, on Staten Island, is the third. In the early days of college football, they were two of the three nationally prominent teams in New York City, with New York University the third. Despite their proximity and long football histories, however, the schools met only three times in the 100 years up to 1990. The first matchup took place in 1890, and another followed in 1902. Both contests were lopsided shutout wins by Columbia. Columbia had been one of the first universities to sponsor a football team, and the Blue and White, along with other future Ivy League teams, were among the nation's leaders in the early decades of the 20th century. The two teams did not meet again for several decades, even after Fordham joined Columbia in the NCAA's "major" level, equivalent to today's Division I, in 1928. Aside from 1943–1945 hiatus due to World War II, Fordham remained a major program until the 1954 season. It pursued a national schedule, however, rather than meeting "Ancient Eight" teams like Columbia. After a string of losing seasons both athletically and financially, Fordham folded its football program in 1954. A renewal of the rivalry became possible only in 1970, when Fordham reintroduced varsity football, at what is now known as the Division III level. Columbia, along with the rest of the Ivy League, still played at what is now known as the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Nonetheless, the Columbia scheduled Fordham in 1972 as a replacement