1996 NCAA Division I-AA football season

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.

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»

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	Big Sky
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 Conf Overall 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 Conf Overall 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 Conf Overall 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 Conf Overall 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 Conf Overall 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 Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Robert Morris +   3 – 1     9 – 2   Monmouth +   3 – 1     7 – 3   Central Connecticut State   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 Conf Overall 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 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	1996 Pioneer Football League standings Conf Overall 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 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	1996 Southland Football League standings Conf Overall 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 Conf Overall 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 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	1996 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings Conf Overall 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

See also: List of NCAA Division I-AA/FCS football seasons

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.

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
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