The Lions represent Columbia athletics in the Ivy League. The Lions bring 42 athletes into the Ivy League competition this season. The Lions are preparing for the rowing season as the regatta schedule progresses. Columbia enters 2026 with 42 athletes on the roster. Located in , , Gould-Remmer Boathouse and 1929 Boathouse (Baker Athletics Complex) serves as the home of Lions rowing. The Lions' regatta schedule will be updated as results are posted. Roar-ee the Lion remains a fixture of the Lions regatta-day experience inside Gould-Remmer Boathouse and 1929 Boathouse (Baker Athletics Complex), where "Roar, Lion, Roar" continues to be played by the Columbia band. RallyFuel connects Lion fans directly with the athletes who represent Columbia. Ninety percent of every contribution goes to the athlete, and refund protection covers any deal where conditions aren't met.
Columbia University fields 31 NCAA Division I varsity teams as a member of the Ivy League, competing from its Morningside Heights campus in New York City and the Baker Athletics Complex at the northern tip of Manhattan. Women's wrestling is set to become the school's 32nd varsity sport in 2027-28.
Fencing is Columbia's most successful program, with 16 NCAA team championships, most recently in 2019, and 55 Ivy League titles. Rowing won Intercollegiate Rowing Association varsity eight titles in 1914, 1927 and 1929, and the lightweight eight won IRA gold in 2016 and 2022. Men's basketball won the outright Ivy title in 1968, men's soccer reached the 1983 NCAA final and shared the 2016 Ivy crown, men's squash won the Ivy title in 2018, and men's golf has five Ivy championships. In tennis, Michael Zheng won the NCAA singles title in 2024 and 2025.
According to the school, 59 Columbia athletes have competed in the Olympic Games since 1896, and 13 of them have won a combined 16 medals. Swimmer Cristina Teuscher won gold in the 4x200 freestyle relay in 1996, and Katie Meili won gold in the 4x100 medley relay and bronze in the 100 breaststroke at Rio in 2016. At Paris 2024, foil fencer Jackie Dubrovich won team gold for the United States. Other Lions in Paris included epee fencer Anne Cebula and rower Charlotte Buck, whose U.S. women's eight placed fifth, plus Maodo Lo, who played for Germany's fourth-place basketball team, and Bogdan Hamilton, who fenced foil for Canada.
Football and lacrosse play at Robert K. Kraft Field at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium, part of the Baker complex. Baseball uses Hal Robertson Field at Phillip Satow Stadium, soccer plays at Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium, and softball has Columbia Softball Stadium. On the main campus, Levien Gymnasium hosts basketball and volleyball, and the Blue Gym inside the Dodge Physical Fitness Center is home to fencing and wrestling.
Columbia and Yale share the longest continuous rivalry in college basketball. In football, the Lions close each season against Cornell for the Empire Cup, a tradition since 2018. Fans sing the fight song "Roar, Lion, Roar," and the mascot is Roar-ee the Lion. The school colors are Columbia blue and white.
