The College Football BeltThe CFB Belt
Belt / Coaches / Lou Little

Head coach · Columbia · belt games 1934–1952

Lou Little

635Days with the belt
2Reigns started
7–2Defending it
2–5Challenging for it

Coached Columbia (1933–1952) in seasons with a belt game. 16 belt games in all: 9 with the belt in hand, 7 trying to take it.

Lou Little was on a sideline for 16 belt games between 1934 and 1952, at Columbia. He took the belt twice and held it for 635 days across two reigns, the 18th-most of any head coach in the belt’s history.

The first came on January 1, 1934, Columbia 7–0 over Stanford.

His longest reign ran 343 days with Columbia, beginning October 25, 1947, and was defended five times along the way.

Across his career he coached seven successful defenses, and the belt changed hands under him twice, last when Harvard won 33–24 on October 2, 1948.

He also coached five games with the belt on the other sideline and came away without it. The closest was 27–17 to Pennsylvania on October 18, 1952.

Reigns

Started under this coach

Columbia · October 25, 1947 – October 2, 1948343 days · 5 def.Columbia · January 1, 1934 – October 20, 1934292 days · 2 def.
Every belt game

16 games, newest first

October 18, 1952 · Columbia vs. Pennsylvania 17–27 as challengerlostSeptember 27, 1952 · Columbia vs. Princeton 0–14 as challengerlostOctober 28, 1950 · Columbia vs. Army 0–34 as challengerlostOctober 22, 1949 · Columbia at Army 6–63 as challengerlostOctober 2, 1948 · Columbia at Harvard 24–33 as holderlost the beltSeptember 25, 1948 · Columbia vs. Rutgers 27–6 as holderdefendedNovember 22, 1947 · Columbia vs. Syracuse 28–8 as holderdefendedNovember 15, 1947 · Columbia vs. Holy Cross 10–0 as holderdefendedNovember 8, 1947 · Columbia vs. Dartmouth 15–0 as holderdefendedNovember 1, 1947 · Columbia at Cornell 22–0 as holderdefendedOctober 25, 1947 · Columbia vs. Army 21–20 as challengertook the beltOctober 19, 1946 · Columbia at Army 14–48 as challengerlostOctober 20, 1934 · Columbia vs. Navy 7–18 as holderlost the beltOctober 13, 1934 · Columbia vs. VMI 29–6 as holderdefendedOctober 6, 1934 · Columbia at Yale 12–6 as holderdefendedJanuary 1, 1934 · Columbia vs. Stanford 7–0 as challengertook the belt

Head coaches from the College Football Data API’s coaching records, matched by team and season. A reign counts for the coach in charge the season it began; a mid-season change isn’t split.