The Lambert Trophy was an annual award given to the best team in the East in Division I FBS college football. In affiliation with the Metropolitan New York Football Writers, the Lambert Trophy was established by brothers Victor A. and Henry L. Lambert in memory of their father, August V. Lambert. The Lamberts were the principals in a distinguished Madison Avenue jewelry house and were prominent college football boosters.

The 1936 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 1936 college football season. In its 13th season under head coach Jock Sutherland, the team compiled a 8–1–1 record, shut out five of its ten opponents, and outscored all opponents by a total of 214 to 34. The team played its home games at Pitt Stadium in Pittsburgh. The Panthers won the Rose Bowl and were selected national champion by the contemporary Boand math system and retroactively years later by the Football Researchers poll and Houlgate math system.