In their fourth season under head coach Bob Naso, the Lions compiled a 1–7–2 record and were outscored 363 to 218.
[1] The Lions' 1–5–1 conference record finished seventh in the Ivy League standings.
The streak finally ended with a homecoming win October 9, 1988, against Princeton.
This stretch included 33 consecutive Ivy League losses, starting with 1983's Cornell and Brown games.
Columbia scheduled most of its games on the road in 1983, as its own football stadium was being rebuilt.