1996 NCAA Division I-AA football season

1996 NCAA Division I-AA season
1996 NCAA Division I-AA season
Regular season
Number of teams	117
Duration	August–November
Payton Award	Archie Amerson (RB, Northern Arizona)
Buchanan Award	Dexter Coakley (LB, Appalachian State)
Playoff
Duration	November 30–December 21
Championship date	December 21, 1996
Championship site	Marshall University Stadium ; Huntington, West Virginia
Champion	Marshall
NCAA Division I-AA football seasons
	« 1995 1997 »

Last updated January 21, 2024

The 1996 NCAA Division I-AA football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I-AA level, began in August 1996, and concluded with the 1996 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 21, 1996, at Marshall University Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia. The Marshall Thundering Herd won their second I-AA championship, defeating the defending national champion Montana Grizzlies by a score of 49–29.^[1]

Conference changes and new programs

The American West Conference disbanded following the 1995 season and its four remaining members either became independents (Cal Poly, Sacramento State, and Southern Utah) or joined the Big Sky (Cal State Northridge).
Prior to the season, the Northeast Conference , a preexisting Division I conference, announced it would add football for its five members that sponsored the sport.

School	1995 Conference	1996 Conference
Boise State	Big Sky	Big West (I-A)
Cal State Northridge	American West	Big Sky
Cal Poly	American West	I-AA Independent
Central Connecticut State	I-AA Independent	Northeast
Central Florida	I-AA Independent	I-A Independent
Eastern Illinois	Gateway	Ohio Valley
Fairfield	New Program	MAAC
Idaho	Big Sky	Big West (I-A)
Jacksonville State	D-II Independent	I-AA Independent
Monmouth	I-AA Independent	Northeast
Morehead State	Ohio Valley	I-AA Independent
Portland State	D-II Independent	Big Sky (I-AA)
Robert Morris	I-AA Independent	Northeast
Sacramento State	American West	I-AA Independent
St. Francis (PA)	I-AA Independent	Northeast
Southern Utah	American West	I-AA Independent
Troy State	I-AA Independent	Southland
UAB	I-AA Independent	I-A Independent
Wagner	I-AA Independent	Northeast

Conference standings

1996 Big Sky Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 2 Montana $^	7	–	0	14	–	1
No. 6 Northern Arizona ^	6	–	1	9	–	3
Cal State Northridge	4	–	3	7	–	4
Weber State	4	–	3	7	–	4
Eastern Washington	3	–	4	6	–	5
Montana State	3	–	4	6	–	5
Idaho State	1	–	6	4	–	7
Sacramento State	0	–	7	1	–	10
Portland State	0	–	0	3	–	8

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Portland State games did not count in conference standings Rankings from The Sports Network poll

1996 Gateway Football Conference standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 3 Northern Iowa $^	5	–	0	12	–	2
No. 10 Western Illinois ^	3	–	2	9	–	3
No. 21 Southwest Missouri State	3	–	2	7	–	4
Indiana State	3	–	2	6	–	5
Southern Illinois	1	–	4	5	–	6
Illinois State	0	–	5	3	–	8

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

1996 Ivy League football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 17 Dartmouth $	7	–	0	10	–	0
Columbia	5	–	2	8	–	2
Brown	4	–	3	5	–	5
Cornell	4	–	3	4	–	6
Penn	3	–	4	5	–	5
Harvard	2	–	5	4	–	6
Princeton	2	–	5	3	–	7
Yale	1	–	6	2	–	8

$ – Conference champion Rankings from The Sports Network poll

1996 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Duquesne $	8	–	0	10	–	1
Georgetown	7	–	1	7	–	3
Marist	6	–	2	7	–	3
St. John's	5	–	3	6	–	4
Canisius	4	–	4	5	–	4
Saint Peter's	2	–	6	2	–	7
Siena	2	–	6	2	–	7
Fairfield	1	–	7	1	–	8
Iona	1	–	7	1	–	9

$ – Conference champion

1996 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 12 Florida A&M $^	7	–	0	9	–	3
No. 20 Howard	6	–	1	10	–	2
North Carolina A&T	4	–	3	8	–	3
South Carolina State	4	–	3	4	–	6
Hampton	3	–	4	5	–	6
Morgan State	2	–	5	4	–	7
Delaware State	2	–	5	3	–	8
Bethune–Cookman	0	–	7	2	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

1996 Northeast Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Robert Morris +	3	–	1	9	–	2
Monmouth +	3	–	1	7	–	3
Central Connecticut	2	–	2	3	–	7
Wagner	2	–	2	5	–	5
Saint Francis (PA)	0	–	4	3	–	7

+ – Conference co-champions

1996 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 4 Murray State $^	8	–	0	11	–	2
No. 16 Eastern Illinois ^	6	–	2	8	–	4
Eastern Kentucky	6	–	2	6	–	5
Middle Tennessee	4	–	4	6	–	5
Tennessee Tech	4	–	4	5	–	6
Tennessee State	3	–	5	4	–	7
Southeast Missouri State	3	–	5	3	–	8
Austin Peay	1	–	7	1	–	10
Tennessee–Martin	1	–	7	1	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

1996 Patriot League football standings
v t e
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

1996 Pioneer Football League standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 24 Dayton $	5	–	0	11	–	0
Drake	4	–	1	8	–	3
Evansville	2	–	3	5	–	5
Butler	2	–	3	3	–	7
San Diego	1	–	4	4	–	6
Valparaiso	1	–	4	4	–	6

$ – Conference champion Rankings from The Sports Network poll

1996 Southern Conference football standings
v t e
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

1996 Southland Football League standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 5 Troy State $^	5	–	1	12	–	2
No. 19 Nicholls State ^	4	–	2	8	–	4
No. 22 Stephen F. Austin	3	–	3	7	–	4
Northwestern State	3	–	3	6	–	5
Sam Houston State	3	–	3	4	–	7
Southwest Texas State	2	–	4	5	–	6
McNeese State	1	–	5	3	–	8

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

1996 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. T–8 Jackson State $^	6	–	1	10	–	2
Southern	5	–	2	7	–	5
Mississippi Valley State	5	–	2	7	–	4
Texas Southern	5	–	2	7	–	4
Alcorn State	3	–	4	4	–	7
Grambling State	2	–	5	3	–	8
Alabama State	2	–	5	3	–	8
Prairie View A&M	0	–	7	0	–	11

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network Poll

1996 Yankee Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
New England Division
No. 18 New Hampshire x	6	–	2	8	–	3
Maine	5	–	3	7	–	4
UMass	4	–	4	6	–	5
Connecticut	3	–	5	4	–	6
Rhode Island	2	–	6	4	–	6
Boston University	0	–	8	1	–	10
Mid-Atlantic Division
No. 7 William & Mary x$^	7	–	1	10	–	3
No. 14 Villanova ^	6	–	2	8	–	4
No. 11 Delaware ^	6	–	2	8	–	4
No. 23 James Madison	5	–	3	7	–	4
Northeastern	3	–	5	6	–	5
Richmond	1	–	7	2	–	9

$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

1996 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Buffalo		–		8	–	3
No. 15 Youngstown State		–		8	–	3
Saint Mary's		–		7	–	3
Western Kentucky		–		7	–	4
Davidson		–		6	–	4
Towson		–		6	–	4
Samford		–		6	–	5
Wofford		–		6	–	5
Cal Poly		–		5	–	6
Hofstra		–		5	–	6
Liberty		–		5	–	6
Southern Utah		–		4	–	7
Charleston Southern		–		2	–	8
Morehead State		–		2	–	8
Jacksonville State		–		1	–	9

^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

Conference champions

Conference Champions
Big Sky Conference – Montana Gateway Football Conference – Northern Iowa Ivy League – Dartmouth Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference – Duquesne Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – Florida A&M Northeast Conference – Monmouth and Robert Morris Ohio Valley Conference – Murray State Patriot League – Bucknell Pioneer Football League – Dayton Southern Conference – Marshall Southland Football League – Troy State Southwestern Athletic Conference – Jackson State Yankee Conference – William & Mary

Postseason

The location of the title game, Marshall University Stadium, was determined before the playoffs started.^[2]

NCAA Division I-AA playoff bracket

First Round November 30 Campus sites			Quarterfinals December 7 Campus sites			Semifinals December 14 Campus sites			National Championship Game December 21 Marshall University Stadium Huntington, West Virginia

16	Nicholls State	3

1	Montana *	48
			1	Montana*	44

			6	East Tennessee State	14
11	Villanova	29

6	East Tennessee State *	35
						1	Montana*	70

						4	Troy State	7
13	Florida A&M	25

4	Troy State *	29
			4	Troy State*	31

			5	Murray State	3
12	Western Illinois	6

5	Murray State *	34
									1	Montana	29

									2	Marshall	49
15	Delaware	14

2	Marshall *	59
			2	Marshall*	54

			10	Furman	0
10	Furman	42

7	Northern Arizona*	31
						2	Marshall*	31

						3	Northern Iowa	14
14	Eastern Illinois	14

3	Northern Iowa *	21
			3	Northern Iowa*	38

			8	William & Mary	35
9	Jackson State	6

8	William & Mary *	45

*Denotes host institution
Source:^[3]

Related Research Articles

The NCAA Division I Football Championship is an annual post-season college football game, played since 2006, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). From 1978 to 2005, the game was known as the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship.

The American West Conference (AWC) was a college athletic conference in the United States from 1993 to 1996. It consisted of schools in California and Utah. The charter members of the conference were California Polytechnic State University; California State University, Northridge; California State University, Sacramento; the University of California, Davis; and Southern Utah University.

The 1996 Marshall Thundering Herd football team represented Marshall University as a member of Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 1996 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by first-year head coach Bob Pruett, the Thundering Herd compiled an overall record of 15–0 with mark of 8–0 in conference play, winning the SoCon title. Marshall advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA National Championship playoffs, where they beat Delaware in the first round, Furman in the quarterfinals, Northern Iowa in the semifinals, and Montana in the NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game to win the program's second NCAA Division I-AA title. 1996 was Marshall's final season competing at the NCAA Division I-AA level as they moved to NCAA Division I-A competition and joined the Mid-American Conference (MAC) in 1997.

The 1993 NCAA Division I-AA football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I-AA level, began in August 1993, and concluded with the 1993 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 18, 1993, at Marshall University Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia. The Youngstown State Penguins won their second I-AA championship, defeating the Marshall Thundering Herd by a score of 17−5. It was the third consecutive year that Marshall and Youngstown State faced off in the I-AA title game.

The 1995 NCAA Division I-AA football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I-AA level, began in August 1995, and concluded with the 1995 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 16, 1995, at Marshall University Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia. The Montana Grizzlies won their first I-AA championship, defeating the Marshall Thundering Herd by a score of 22−20.

The 1994 NCAA Division I-AA football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I-AA level, began in August 1994, and concluded with the 1994 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 17, 1994, at Marshall University Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia. The defending champion Youngstown State Penguins won their third I-AA championship, defeating the Boise State Broncos by a score of 28−14. It was the fourth consecutive year that Youngstown State played in the I-AA title game.

The 1997 NCAA Division I-AA football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I-AA level, began in August 1997, and concluded with the 1997 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 20, 1997, at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Youngstown State Penguins won their fourth I-AA championship, defeating the McNeese State Cowboys by a score of 10−9.

The 1987 Northeast Louisiana Indians football team represented Northeast Louisiana University as a member of the Southland Conference (SLC) during the 1987 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Northeast Louisiana played their home games on-campus at Malone Stadium in Monroe, Louisiana. This Indians squad won the 1987 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game.

The 1995 Marshall Thundering Herd football team represented Marshall University as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 1995 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by sixth-year head coach Jim Donnan, the Thundering Herd compiled an overall record of 12–3 with a mark of 7–1 in conference play, placing second in the SoCon. Marshall advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA Championship playoffs for the fifth straight season, where they defeated Jackson State in the first round, Northern Iowa in the quarterfinals, and McNeese State in the semifinals, before losing to Montana in the NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game. Marshall played home games at Marshall University Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia.

The 2008 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Richmond Spiders and the Montana Grizzlies. It was played on December 19, 2008, at Finley Stadium, home field of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The culminating game of the 2008 NCAA Division I FCS football season, it was won by Richmond, 24–7.

The 2006 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the UMass Minutemen and the Appalachian State Mountaineers. The game was played on December 15, 2006, at Finley Stadium, home field of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. This was the first season that the NCAA football classification formerly known as Division I-AA operated as the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). The culminating game of the 2006 NCAA Division I FCS football season, it was won by Appalachian State, 28–17.

The 2004 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the James Madison Dukes and the Montana Grizzlies. The game was played on December 17, 2004, at Finley Stadium, home field of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The culminating game of the 2004 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by James Madison, 31–21.

The 2001 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Montana Grizzlies and the Furman Paladins. The game was played on December 21, 2001, at Finley Stadium, home field of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The culminating game of the 2001 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Montana, 13–6.

The 1996 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Marshall Thundering Herd and the Montana Grizzlies. The game was played on December 21, 1996, and was the last I-AA title game contested at Marshall University Stadium, now known as Joan C. Edwards Stadium, in Huntington, West Virginia. The culminating game of the 1996 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was a rematch of the prior season's final, and was won by Marshall, 49–29. It was also Marshall's final game in Division I-AA, now known as Division I FCS; the Herd would move to Division I-A the following July, joining the Mid-American Conference.

The 1995 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Marshall Thundering Herd and the Montana Grizzlies. The game was played on December 16, 1995, at Marshall University Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia. The culminating game of the 1995 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Montana, 22–20.

The 1994 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Youngstown State Penguins and the Boise State Broncos. The game was played on December 17, 1994, at Marshall University Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia. The culminating game of the 1994 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Youngstown State, 28–14.

The 1987 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Northeast Louisiana Indians and the Marshall Thundering Herd. The game was played on December 19, 1987, at the Minidome in Pocatello, Idaho. The culminating game of the 1987 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Northeast Louisiana, 43–42.

The 1984 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Montana State Bobcats and the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs. The game was played on December 15, 1984, at Johnson Hagood Stadium in Charleston, South Carolina. The culminating game of the 1984 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Montana State, 19–6.

The 1980 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Eastern Kentucky Colonels and the Boise State Broncos. The game was played on December 20, 1980, at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, California. The culminating game of the 1980 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Boise State, 31–29.

The 1991 Marshall Thundering Herd football team represented Marshall University as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 1991 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by second-year head coach Jim Donnan, the Thundering Herd compiled an overall record of 11–4 with a mark of 5–2 in conference play, tying for second place in the SoCon. Marshall advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA Championship playoffs, where they beat Western Illinois in the first round, Northern Iowa in the quarterfinals, and Eastern Kentucky in the semifinals before losing to Youngstown State in the NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game.

References

↑ "1996 NCAA Division I Football Championship" (PDF). NCAA.org. p. 15. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
↑ "Griz No. 2 in latest I-AA poll". Great Falls Tribune . Great Falls, Montana. November 12, 1996. p. 1C. Retrieved April 17, 2019– via newspapers.com.
↑ "Division I-AA tournament". The News Journal . Wilmington, Delaware. November 25, 1996. p. B7. Retrieved February 9, 2019– via newspapers.com.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] "1996 NCAA Division I Football Championship" (PDF). NCAA.org. p. 15. Retrieved December 29, 2013.

[2] "Griz No. 2 in latest I-AA poll". Great Falls Tribune . Great Falls, Montana. November 12, 1996. p. 1C. Retrieved April 17, 2019– via newspapers.com.

[3] "Division I-AA tournament". The News Journal . Wilmington, Delaware. November 25, 1996. p. B7. Retrieved February 9, 2019– via newspapers.com.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e NCAA football seasons
Pre-NCAA	1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905
NCAA pre-divisional	1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955
NCAA University Division	1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972
NCAA Division I	1973 1974 1975 1976 1977
NCAA Division I-A/FBS	1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
NCAA Division I-AA/FCS	1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
NCAA College Division	1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972
NCAA Division II	1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
NCAA Division III	1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023

v t e 1996 NCAA Division I-AA football playoff participants
Delaware East Tennessee State Eastern Illinois Florida A&M Furman Jackson State Marshall Montana Murray State Nicholls State Northern Arizona Northern Iowa Troy State Villanova Western Illinois William & Mary
Champion – Marshall Thundering Herd