1996 East Tennessee State Buccaneers football team

1996 East Tennessee State Buccaneers football
NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal, L 14–44 at Montana
Conference	Southern Conference
Ranking
Sports Network	No. T–8
Record	10–3 (7–1 SoCon)
Head coach	Mike Cavan (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	David McKnight (5th season)
Defensive coordinator	Eric Schumann (5th season)
Home stadium	Memorial Center
Seasons ←  1995 1997  →

1996 Southern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 1 Marshall $^		8	–	0					15	–	0
No. T–8 East Tennessee State ^		7	–	1					10	–	3
No. 13 Furman ^		6	–	2					9	–	4
No. 25 Appalachian State		5	–	3					7	–	4
The Citadel		3	–	5					4	–	7
Georgia Southern		2	–	6					4	–	7
VMI		2	–	6					3	–	8
Chattanooga		2	–	6					3	–	8
Western Carolina		1	–	7					4	–	7
$ – Conference champion Rankings from The Sports Network poll

The 1996 East Tennessee State Buccaneers football team represented East Tennessee State University as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 1996 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by Mike Cavan in his fifth and final season as head coach, the Buccaneers compiled an overall record of 10–3 with a mark of 7–1 in conference play, placing second in the SoCon behind Marshall. East Tennessee State advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs, where they beat Villanova in the first round before falling to Montana in the quarterfinals. ^[1]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
August 29	No. 14 Liberty *		Memorial Center Johnson City, TN		W 24–20		[2]
September 7	at East Carolina *		Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium Greenville, NC		L 21–45	25,512	[3]
September 14	Glenville State *		Memorial Center Johnson City, TN		W 49–17	6,087	[4]
September 21	VMI		Memorial Center Johnson City, TN		W 38–0	4,711	[5]
September 28	at Western Carolina		E. J. Whitmire Stadium Cullowhee, NC		W 49–10	7,085	[6]
October 5	No. 4 Appalachian State		Memorial Center Johnson City, TN		W 31–10	10,416	[7]
October 12	at The Citadel	No. 16	Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, SC		W 41–20	16,212	[8]
October 26	No. 8 Furman	No. 14	Memorial Center Johnson City, TN		W 21–19	6,904	[9]
November 2	at Georgia Southern	No. 9	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA		W 17–14	12,611	[10]
November 9	No. 1 Marshall	No. 7	Memorial Center Johnson City, TN	WSAZ	L 10–34	13,131	[11]
November 16	at Chattanooga	No. 11	Chamberlain Field Chattanooga, TN		W 28–24	6,190	[12]
November 30	No. 11 Villanova *	No. 8	Memorial Center Johnson City, TN (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)		W 35–29	4,939	[13]
December 7	at No. 2 Montana *	No. 8	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT (NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal)		L 14–44	15,025	[14]
*Non-conference game Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game

References

1. White, Michael (October 18, 2016). "Bucs' 1996 playoff team to be honored Thursday". ETSU Athletics. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
2. "Bucs get off to good start". Johnson City Press. August 30, 1996. Retrieved April 7, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Bucs give ECU a game". Johnson City Press. September 8, 1996. Retrieved March 7, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Bucs overwhelm Glenville State, 49–17". Elizabethton Star. September 15, 1996. Retrieved July 7, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Buccaneers spank Virginia Military, 38–0". Johnson City Press. September 22, 1996. Retrieved February 6, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Bucs throttle Cats, 49–10". Kingsport Times-News. September 29, 1996. Retrieved July 7, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
7. "The streak is over". Johnson City Press. October 6, 1996. Retrieved November 28, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Walker guides Bucs to 41–20 win over Citadel". Bristol Herald Courier. October 13, 1996. Retrieved July 7, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Bucs 21, Paladins 19 - Yet another streak ends". Johnson City Press. October 27, 1996. Retrieved September 22, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Cavan's gamble pays off". Johnson City Press. November 3, 1996. Retrieved July 7, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Herd thunders past Bucs". Kingsport Times-News. November 10, 1996. Retrieved July 6, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Inspired Bucs rally to beat UTC, 28–24". Elizabethton Star. November 17, 1996. Retrieved July 7, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
13. "Bucs won't stop here". Johnson City Press. December 1, 1996. Retrieved April 23, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
14. "Griz grind up Buccaneers". Great Falls Tribune. December 8, 1996. Retrieved July 7, 2025– via Newspapers.com.