NEW YORK – Former Columbia sports information director and historian emeritus William C. “Bill” Steinman passed away on Wednesday, September 21. Steinman, well-known in the industry nationwide, spent 40 years working with the Columbia Lions. He was inducted into the University’s Athletics Hall of Fame for his career accomplishments in 2010.

“Bill’s passion for Columbia was second to none,” said Campbell Family Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Physical Education Peter Pilling. “He selflessly remained a key resource for our department well after his retirement, which was greatly appreciated. More importantly, Bill touched the lives of so many Columbians – from student-athletes and staff members to the countless members of his student staff that he mentored, many of whom remain involved with our athletics program. Bill’s presence at our events will be terribly missed.”

Steinman came to Morningside Heights in 1970 after serving as head statistician for the ABA’s New York Nets. A graduate of Hofstra University, Steinman worked with former sports information director Kevin DeMarrais ’64CC for 14 years until being named Columbia’s Director of Sports Information in May 1984, which coincided with the launch of the Columbia-Barnard Consortium.

Steinman’s tenure spanned several periods in Columbia’s athletics history. He was present during Columbia’s 1983 run to the NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship Game and numerous NCAA Fencing Championship victories. Steinman was the lead spokesman who promoted student-athletes such as World Series hero Gene Larkin ’84CC, NFL Pro Bowler Marcellus Wiley ’97CC, and Olympic gold medalist Cristina Teuscher ’00CC.

Not only was Steinman fantastic at his craft, but he was also an equally outstanding mentor. Assistant directors, interns and student workers reads like a “Who’s Who” in the communications field. It includes a national sports and business writer for the Associated Press, head of communications at IBM, senior editor at Citigroup and an official scorer for New York NFL and MLB teams. 

He worked closely for and with four athletics directors, eight head football coaches and eight men’s basketball coaches.

“Bill Steinman truly loved Columbia Athletics and Columbia University. He was a consummate professional that you could always depend on,” said former athletics director Dr. M. Dianne Murphy. “He was truly a gentle and kind soul, and a wonderful person to engage in conversation. I admired him so much for doing everything behind the scenes in such an unassuming and quiet way. He was not looking for glory – he loved his job, he loved sports and loved our Columbia Blue.”

Nicknamed “Stats” for his prodigious record-keeping and memory of historical data, Steinman was honored numerous times for his work promoting and publicizing Columbia’s teams. He was given the Irving T. Marsh Award by the ECAC Sports Information Directors Association as well as the Elmore “Scoop” Hudgens Sports Information Director Award from the All-American Football Foundation in 2000, and the Distinguished Service Award in 1999 from the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association. In 2010, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) presented Steinman with a Lifetime Achievement Award, and later that year, he was inducted into the Columbia University Athletics Hall of Fame in an on-campus ceremony in Low Memorial Library.

After retirement, Steinman continued to serve as Columbia Athletics’ “historian emeritus” and could be found at home football games, assisting with statistics – a role he continued up until the pandemic in 2020, as well as writing features and recaps for the Lions’ fencing, wrestling and rowing programs.