FARGO — Columbia University is one of the best mid-majors in the nation, led by 10th-year Lavine Family Coach of Women’s Basketball (despite being only 40 years old) Megan Griffith. She was a standout guard for the Lions from 2003-2007, a three-time captain who was inducted into the school’s athletics hall of fame in 2016 (despite being only 30 years old).
The title of Griffith’s position is important. The women’s and men’s basketball coaching jobs at Columbia are endowed, thanks to a $10 million gift in January from Jonathan and Jeannie Lavine and their two children. Jonathan Lavine, who earned his undergraduate degree from Columbia in 1988, has done OK in the business and investment world.
It was the largest single gift in the women’s basketball program’s history.
When I asked Griffith on Saturday who her favorite Columbia alumnus is — this is an Ivy League school on the west side of Manhattan, New York City, that claims five Founding Fathers, five U.S. presidents, 88 Nobel Prize laureates, dozens of famous heavy hitters in arts, academia, media, business, sports — her answer surprised me.
Alexander Hamilton?
Theodore Roosevelt?
Franklin D. Roosevelt?
Barack Obama?
WBIT TOURNAMENT
Columbia at NDSU
When: 1 p.m. Sunday
Where: Scheels Center
TV: ESPN+
“There are so many people I know and don’t know personally. I would say some of my favorite people are the ones I get to interact with the most, right?” Griffith said Saturday morning. “The Lavine family. Jonathan Lavine, who my coaching position is named after, and his family. He’s one of my favorite alums. Somebody who had no reason to take an interest in liking our program and he did, then showed up in a big way. That’s something I’ll always respect, admire and be grateful for. So he’s up there, probably top three.”
That answer was a surprise until there was a chance to search Google.
Good call, Coach.
Griffith and her team arrived in Fargo by charter flight from New York City on Friday afternoon in preparation for their game Sunday at 1 p.m. against North Dakota State in the Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament at Scheels Center.
“I’ve never been here before, so new state checked off my list,” Griffith said. “The weather is phenomenal. It’s gorgeous outside.”
Columbia’s Riley Weiss was the Ivy League women’s basketball player of the year in 2025-26.
Contributed / Columbia University Athletics
The ballgame against the Bison should be a dandy. The 21-8 Lions finished second behind Princeton in the Ivy League and are 59th in the computer NET rankings, compared to 29-4 NDSU’s spot at No. 47.
Here’s the thing off Columbia’s schedule that immediately catches the eye: The Lions beat South Dakota State 80-67 way back in November in a tournament in Cancun.
If you’re a Bison basketball fan, you might have heard of the Jackrabbits.
“Obviously different teams, but of course you’re going to draw some sort of comparison because I don’t think we have any other common opponents. I do think they are different teams and unique in their own ways,” Griffith said. “I think for us, because they just played South Dakota State, I think that’s a game we’re looking at pretty intently. But I think we’re treating it like it’s a new opponent and not trying to draw too many comparisons.”
Junior guard Riley Weiss was the Ivy League player of the year, averaging nearly 20 points a game on 37% shooting from 3-point range. Senior forward Perri Paige was the conference’s defensive player of the year while averaging about 14 points. Paige is 5-foot-11.
Columbia’s Perri Paige was the Ivy League’s defensive player of the year in 2025-26.
Contributed / Columbia University Athletics
“We’re a high-pressure, up-tempo team that likes to push things on both ends of the floor so there’s going to be a lot of full-court pressure mixed in with some other styles,” Griffith said. “We have a lot of great weapons. Riley Weiss was our leading scorer, but we have some other kids, too. I know Avery was defensive player of the year in their conference, so it’s going to be fun to see her and Paige go at it a little bit.”
Avery would be Avery Koenen, NDSU’s leading scorer (19 points per game) and rebounder (10.5 rebounds) who was the Summit League’s player of the year and defensive player of the year.
“They’re really well-coached and they have some star power in Avery. She’s a competitor, great motor, love her length and with that she can do a lot of things around the basket. She’s a big part of what they do,” Griffith said. “Their guards all play great roles for them. Really well-disciplined like a well-oiled machine. It should be a great matchup.”
Columbia women’s basketball coach Megan Griffith.
Contributed / Columbia University Athletics
We don’t hear much about Columbia around these parts because New York City and the Ivy League might as well be a million miles away. But in the five seasons since COVID canceled Columbia’s 2020-21 season, the Lions are averaging 24 victories a year and have made the WNIT quarterfinals, the WNIT title game, qualified twice for the NCAA tournament and are in the second round of the WBIT this year.
That is a strong mid-major resume.
“I think you want to be a strong program, not just a strong mid-major program. We’ve always tried to be different stylistically not just in our league but in the nation in terms of how we do things, how we recruit, what our team looks like,” Griffith said. “For us it’s been a lot of recruiting effort and consistency in messaging. I’ve had the same associate head coach (Tyler Cordell) for 14 years. We were relatively young in the business when we got hired so we’ve been able to grow and age with the program.”
In the Ivy League, athletes are on a four-year clock to compete once they enroll and the conference does not allow graduate students to play athletics. Griffith says she hasn’t had one player with Ivy League eligibility remaining transfer to another Division I program. A few have dropped to Division II and several graduate students have played their final year at Power Four programs.
“We truly get the four-year players. It’s been fun. We get to age with our players,” Griffith said. “Columbia is a unique place that’s about so much more than basketball, right?”
Five U.S. presidents as alumni would answer that question.
Mike McFeely is a columnist for The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. He began working for The Forum in the 1980s while he was a student studying journalism at Minnesota State University Moorhead. He’s been with The Forum full time since 1990, minus a six-year hiatus when he hosted a local radio talk-show.