In their first season under head coach Bob Naso, the Lions compiled a 1–9 record and were outscored 275 to 89.
Sean Cannon and Rico Josephs were the team captains.
[1] The Lions' winless (0–7) conference record was the worst in the Ivy League standings.
[2] Ivy League football teams expanded their schedules to 10 games in 1980, making this the first year since 1955 that the Lions played three games against non-Ivy opponents.
Columbia played its home games at Baker Field in Upper Manhattan, in New York City.