1996 William & Mary Tribe football team

1996 William & Mary Tribe football
Yankee champion Yankee Mid-Atlantic Division champion Lambert Cup winner
NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal, L 35–38 at Northern Iowa
Conference	Yankee Conference
Division	Mid-Atlantic Division
Ranking
Sports Network	No. 7
Record	10–3 (7–1 Yankee)
Head coach	Jimmye Laycock (17th season)
Offensive coordinator	Zbig Kepa (4th season)
Defensive coordinator	Russ Huesman (1st season)
Captains	Josh Beyer Stefon Moody Mike McGowan
Home stadium	Zable Stadium
Seasons ←  1995 1997  →

1996 Yankee Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
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

The 1996 William & Mary Tribe football team represented the College of William & Mary as member of the Mid-Atlantic Division of the Yankee Conference during the 1996 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by Jimmye Laycock in his 17th year as head coach, William & Mary finished the season with an overall record of 10–3 and a mark of 7–1 in conference play, winning the Yankee Conference and Mid-Atlantic Division titles. They were ranked No. 5 in the final Sports Network poll. The Tribe qualified for the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs, beating Jackson State in the first round before losing to Northern Iowa in the quarterfinals. ^[1]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
August 29	at UCF *		Florida Citrus Bowl Orlando, FL	L 33–39	18,013
September 7	at No. 22 Rhode Island		Meade Stadium Kingston, RI	W 23–16	2,131
September 14	VMI *	No. 23	Zable Stadium Williamsburg, VA (rivalry)	W 40–21	9,614	[2]
September 21	at Bucknell *	No. 22	Christy Mathewson–Memorial Stadium Lewisburg, PA	W 47–0	4,429	[3]
October 5	No. 20 New Hampshire	No. 17	Zable Stadium Williamsburg, VA	W 31–7	7,256
October 12	at No. 17 James Madison	No. 15	Bridgeforth Stadium Harrisonburg, VA (rivalry)	L 21–26	10,500
October 19	at No. 9 Villanova	No. 19	Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA	W 30–21	4,733	[4]
October 26	Northeastern	No. 16	Zable Stadium Williamsburg, VA	W 21–14	11,373
November 2	No. 6 Delaware	No. 15	Zable Stadium Williamsburg, VA (rivalry)	W 10–7 OT	8,177
November 9	UMass	No. 13	Zable Stadium Williamsburg, VA	W 30–6	6,867
November 16	at Richmond	No. 10	University of Richmond Stadium Richmond, VA (I-64 Bowl)	W 28–13	11,204	[5]
November 30	No. T–8 Jackson State *	No. 7	Zable Stadium Williamsburg, VA (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)	W 45–6	4,057	[6]
December 7	at No. 3 Northern Iowa *	No. 7	UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, IA (NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal)	L 35–38	10,796
*Non-conference game Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game

References

1. "William & Mary Football Record Book" (PDF). William & Mary Athletics. June 1, 2021. p. 28. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
2. "Tribe recovers, stops VMI". Daily Press. September 15, 1996. Retrieved February 6, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
3. Epler, Eric F. (September 22, 1996). "Dominant Tribe Smashes Bucknell". Daily Press . Newport News, Va. p. C9 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "W&M answers Villanova". Daily Press. October 20, 1996. Retrieved April 23, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Tribe wraps up Yankee Conference". Sunday News Leader. November 17, 1996. p. C2 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "W&M crushes Jackson State". The Daily News Leader. December 1, 1996. Retrieved April 15, 2023– via Newspapers.com.