The Columbia athletic department announced the end of its search and introduced its new head football coach at a press conference Monday.

Norries Wilson, formerly the offensive coordinator at the University of Connecticut, was announced Sunday as the replacement for former Lions coach Bob Shoop.

“We are convinced that the man we have selected is the best person to be the head football coach at Columbia,” said Columbia Athletic Director Dr. M. Dianne Murphy at the press conference.

Wilson, under whom the Husky offense averaged 30 points and 399 yards per game, is the first African-American head football coach in Ivy League history.

Shoop was fired Nov. 20, a day after Columbia lost 52-21 to Ivy champion Brown in its season finale. It was the Lions’ eighth straight loss of the season after beginning the year 2-0. In three seasons with Columbia, Shoop posted a record of 7-23.

In the press conference, Murphy said that the Columbia athletic department has been formulating “short-, mid- and long-term initiatives” to improve the infrastructure of the football program.

The Lions have never won the league title outright, and only once shared the crown (with Harvard in 1961).

—THE CRIMSON STAFF