1996 Lehigh Mountain Hawks football team

1996 Lehigh Mountain Hawks football
Conference	Patriot League
Record	5–6 (3–2 Patriot)
Head coach	Kevin Higgins (3rd season)
Captains	Brian Bartelle Lance Eckenrode Mark Miller Doug Yates
Home stadium	Goodman Stadium
Seasons ←  1995 1997  →

1996 Patriot League football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Bucknell $		4	–	1					6	–	5
Colgate		3	–	2					6	–	5
Lehigh		3	–	2					5	–	6
Lafayette		2	–	2					5	–	5
Fordham		1	–	3					2	–	8
Holy Cross		1	–	4					2	–	9
$ – Conference champion

The 1996 Lehigh Mountain Hawks football team was an American football team that represented Lehigh University during the 1996 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Lehigh finished third in the Patriot League.

In their third year under head coach Kevin Higgins, the newly renamed Mountain Hawks compiled a 5–6 record. ^[1] Brian Bartelle, Lance Eckenrode, Mark Miller and Doug Yates were the team captains. ^[2]

The Mountain Hawks were outscored 264 to 208. Their 3–2 conference record, however, placed third in the six-team Patriot League standings. ^[3]

Lehigh's football team competed under a new name for the first time since 1914. The "Mountain Hawk" mascot had been introduced in November 1995, ^[4] but the football team completed that season under its longstanding "Engineers" name.

In the ensuing months, many fans and alumni were vocal about their attachment to the "Engineers" nickname and brown-and-white colors. As late as spring 1996, college administrators were reaffirming that Lehigh's teams were still officially known as "Engineers". ^[5] By the start of the 1996 football season, however, the new identity had taken hold. ^[6]

Lehigh played its home games at Goodman Stadium on the university's Goodman Campus in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 7	at No. 5 Delaware *	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE (rivalry)	L 7–49	15,520	[7]
September 14	Fordham	Goodman Stadium Bethlehem, PA	W 20–14	6,527	[8]
September 21	Buffalo *	Goodman Stadium Bethlehem, PA	L 20–34	8,227	[9]
September 28	Dartmouth *	Goodman Stadium Bethlehem, PA	L 14–21	11,325	[10]
October 5	at Princeton *	Palmer Stadium Princeton, NJ	W 20–14	7,053	[11]
October 12	at No. 24 New Hampshire *	Cowell Stadium Durham, NH	L 27–42	7,335	[12]
October 19	at Penn *	Franklin Field Philadelphia, PA	W 28–24	5,074	[13]
November 2	Bucknell	Goodman Stadium Bethlehem, PA	L 6–7	10,271	[14]
November 9	at Holy Cross	Fitton Field Worcester, MA	W 20–10	2,863	[15]
November 16	Colgate	Goodman Stadium Bethlehem, PA	L 23–30	6,104	[16]
November 23	at Lafayette	Fisher Field Easton, PA (The Rivalry)	W 23–19	13,208	[17]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game

References

1. "Year-by-Year Results". Lehigh Football Record Book (PDF). Bethlehem, Pa.: Lehigh University. p. 22. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
2. "Lehigh Football Captains". Lehigh Football Record Book (PDF). Bethlehem, Pa.: Lehigh University. p. 12. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
3. "Football All-Time Year-by-Year Results". Patriot League Football Record Book (PDF). Center Valley, Pa.: Patriot League. 2020. p. 5. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
4. Blockus, Gary R. (November 12, 1995). "Lehigh Clinches Share of League Title; Abdullah Sets Mark in Rout of Holy Cross". The Morning Call . Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
5. Larimer, Terry (March 20, 1996). "Lehigh Alumni Find Changes for the Birds". The Morning Call . Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
6. Tomashek, Tom (September 4, 1995). "Raymond Warns of Potential Upset Against Lehigh". The News Journal . Wilmington, Del. p. C3 – via Newspapers.com.
7. Tomashek, Tom (September 8, 1996). "Defense Shines in Blue Hen Opener; Lehigh Rushes for Just 17 Yards in UD Romp". Sunday News Journal . Wilmington, Del. p. E1 – via Newspapers.com.
8. Blockus, Gary R. (September 15, 1996). "Defense Leads Lehigh to Win Over Fordham". The Morning Call . Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com. Attendance figure in "Scoreboard: Division I-AA". The Miami Herald (Florida ed.). Miami, Fla. September 8, 1996. p. 7C.
9. Blockus, Gary R. (September 22, 1996). "Lehigh Goes Local, Falls to Buffalo". The Morning Call . Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
10. Blockus, Gary R. (September 29, 1996). "Two Lehigh Turnovers Lead to Loss to Dartmouth". The Morning Call . Allentown, Pa. p. C3 – via Newspapers.com.
11. Finnegan, Tara (October 6, 1996). "Lehigh Finds Right Motivation to Shut Down Princeton". The Home News & Tribune . New Brunswick, N.J. p. C8 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "New Hampshire Holds Off Lehigh". The Morning Call . Allentown, Pa. October 13, 1996. p. C3 – via Newspapers.com.
13. Blockus, Gary R. (October 20, 1996). "Lehigh's Heroes Spark Rally to Beat Penn". The Morning Call . Allentown, Pa. p. C3 – via Newspapers.com.
14. Blockus, Gary R. (November 3, 1996). "Missed PAT Costs Lehigh in 7-6 Loss to Bucknell". The Morning Call . Allentown, Pa. p. C3 – via Newspapers.com.
15. Burgin, Sandy (November 10, 1996). "Lehigh Tops Holy Cross to Forge Three-Way Tie". The Morning Call . Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com. Attendance figure in "New England Football Summaries". Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Mass. November 10, 1996. p. C18.
16. Blockus, Gary R. (November 17, 1996). "Colgate Ruins Lehigh's Hopes for Patriot Title". The Morning Call . Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
17. Meixell, Ted (November 24, 1996). "Lehigh's Comeback in the Second Half Topples Lafayette". The Morning Call . Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.