1996 Air Force Falcons football team

1996 Air Force Falcons football
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Division	Pacific Division
Record	6–5 (5–3 WAC)
Head coach	Fisher DeBerry (13th season)
Offensive coordinator	Paul Hamilton (7th season)
Offensive scheme	Wishbone triple option
Co-defensive coordinators	Richard Bell (2nd season) Cal McCombs (7th season)
Base defense	3–4
Captains	Chris Gizzi Lee Guthrie Beau Morgan
Home stadium	Falcon Stadium
Seasons ←  1995 1997  →

1996 Western Athletic Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Mountain Division
No. 5 BYU x$		8	–	0					14	–	1
Utah		6	–	2					8	–	4
Rice		6	–	2					7	–	4
SMU		4	–	4					5	–	6
New Mexico		3	–	5					6	–	5
TCU		3	–	5					4	–	7
Tulsa		2	–	6					4	–	7
UTEP		0	–	8					2	–	9
Pacific Division
No. 22 Wyoming x		7	–	1					10	–	2
San Diego State		6	–	2					8	–	3
Colorado State		6	–	2					7	–	5
Air Force		5	–	3					6	–	5
Fresno State		3	–	5					4	–	7
San Jose State		3	–	5					3	–	9
Hawaii		1	–	7					2	–	10
UNLV		1	–	8					1	–	11
Championship: BYU 28, Wyoming 25 OT
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1996 Air Force Falcons football team represented the United States Air Force Academy as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by 13th-year head coach Fisher DeBerry, the Falcons compiled an overall record of 6–5 with a mark of 5–3 in conference play, placing fourth the WAC's Pacific Division. The team played home games at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31		San Jose State	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO		W 45–0
September 7		at UNLV	Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NV		W 65–17	22,945
September 21	1:00 p.m.	at Wyoming	War Memorial Stadium Laramie, WY		L 19–22	31,009
September 28		Rice	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO		W 45–17
October 12		Navy *	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)		L 17–20
October 19	12:30 p.m.	at No. 8 Notre Dame *	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)		W 20–17 OT	59,075
October 26		Hawaii	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO (rivalry)		W 34–7	36,454
November 2		Colorado State	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO (rivalry)		L 41–42	51,116
November 9	1:30 p.m.	at Army *	Michie Stadium West Point, NY (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)	ABC	L 7–23	41,251
November 16		at Fresno State	Bulldog Stadium Fresno, CA		W 44–38 OT	39,112
November 28		at San Diego State	Jack Murphy Stadium San Diego, CA	ESPN2	L 23–28	18,353
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

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Roster

1996 Air Force Falcons football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class TE 87 Matt Brancato So RB 15 Floyd Brazier Jr OT 60 Scott Breece Jr QB 2 Tom Brown Sr OT 64 Jason Campbell Sr OT 73 Joe Cashman So OL 74 Frank Mindrup So QB 12 Beau Morgan Sr QB 11 Blane Morgan So	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 56 Steve Fernandez Jr LB 91 Sean Finnan Jr DT 70 Craig Fisher So LB 51 Chris Gizzi Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K Dallas Thompson	Head coach Fisher DeBerry Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

NFL draft

The following Falcon was selected in the 1997 NFL draft following the season.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL team
6	178	Daniel Palmer	Center	San Diego Chargers

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References

1. "1996 Air Force Falcons Schedule and Results". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference . Retrieved April 27, 2025.
2. "1996 Football Schedule". United States Air Force Academy . Retrieved April 27, 2025.
3. "1996 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 23, 2023.