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1996 NCAA Division III football season
1996 NCAA Division III football season
Regular season	August – November 1996
Playoffs	November – December 1996
National; championship	Salem Football Stadium; Salem, VA
Champion	Mount Union (2)
Gagliardi Trophy	Lon Erickson (QB), Illinois Wesleyan

The 1996 NCAA Division III football season, part of the college football season organized by the NCAA at the Division III level in the United States, began in August 1996, and concluded with the NCAA Division III Football Championship, also known as the Stagg Bowl, in December 1996 at Salem Football Stadium in Salem, Virginia. The Mount Union Purple Raiders won their second Division III championship by defeating the Rowan Profs, 56−24. The Gagliardi Trophy, given to the most outstanding player in Division III football, was awarded to Lon Erickson, quarterback from Illinois Wesleyan.^[1]

Conference and program changes

Conference changes

The American Southwest Conference began its first season of play in 1996.
The Northwest Conference transitioned its entire membership from the NAIA to Division III prior to the season.
The Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association dissolved after the 1996 season when most of members joined the American Southwest.

School	1995 Conference	1996 Conference
Austin College	TIAA	American Southwest
Hardin–Simmons	TIAA	American Southwest
Howard Payne	TIAA	American Southwest
McMurry	TIAA	American Southwest
Mississippi College	Independent	American Southwest
Sul Ross	TIAA	American Southwest
Thomas More	AMC	Independent

Program changes

After Trenton State College changed its name to The College of New Jersey in 1996, the Trenton State Lions became the College of New Jersey (TCNJ) Lions at the start of the 1996 season.

Conference standings

1996 Centennial Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Ursinus $^	7	–	0	9	–	2
Franklin & Marshall	6	–	1	9	–	2
Johns Hopkins	5	–	2	7	–	3
Dickinson	3	–	4	5	–	5
Western Maryland	3	–	4	4	–	6
Gettysburg	3	–	4	3	–	7
Muhlenberg	1	–	6	1	–	9
Swarthmore	0	–	7	0	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1996 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Illinois Wesleyan $^	7	–	0	10	–	1
Wheaton (IL)	6	–	1	8	–	1
Augustana (IL)	4	–	3	5	–	4
North Central (IL)	4	–	3	5	–	4
Millikin	3	–	4	3	–	6
Carthage	3	–	4	3	–	6
Elmhurst	1	–	6	2	–	7
North Park	0	–	7	0	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1996 Eastern Collegiate Football Conference standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Salve Regina $	8	–	0	9	–	0
Bentley	7	–	1	7	–	3
Stonehill	7	–	2	8	–	2
Sacred Heart	4	–	3	4	–	6
Merrimack	5	–	4	5	–	4
UMass Lowell	4	–	4	6	–	4
MIT	3	–	5	4	–	5
Nichols	2	–	5	2	–	8
Western New England	2	–	6	2	–	7
Curry	1	–	7	3	–	7
Assumption	1	–	8	1	–	9

$ – Conference champion

1996 Freedom Football Conference standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Coast Guard +^	5	–	1	8	–	3
Springfield (MA) +	5	–	1	6	–	4
Merchant Marine	4	–	2	6	–	3
Western Connecticut	3	–	3	6	–	4
Plymouth State	3	–	3	5	–	4
Norwich	1	–	5	2	–	8
WPI	0	–	6	2	–	8

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1996 Illini–Badger Football Conference standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Lakeland $	5	–	0	8	–	2
Concordia (WI)	4	–	1	5	–	4
MacMurray	3	–	2	7	–	3
Eureka	2	–	3	5	–	4
Greenville	1	–	4	2	–	7
Concordia (IL)	0	–	5	1	–	8

$ – Conference champion

1997 Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
DePauw $	6	–	0	9	–	1
Wabash	4	–	2	7	–	3
Anderson (IN)	3	–	3	7	–	3
Hanover	3	–	3	6	–	4
Rose–Hulman	3	–	3	3	–	7
Manchester	2	–	4	4	–	6
Franklin (IN)	0	–	6	3	–	7

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1996 Iowa Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Simpson (IA) $^	8	–	0	10	–	1
Central (IA)	7	–	1	7	–	3
Loras	5	–	3	7	–	3
Wartburg	5	–	3	7	–	3
Buena Vista	4	–	4	5	–	5
Upper Iowa	3	–	5	3	–	7
Luther	2	–	6	3	–	7
William Penn *	2	–	6	1	–	9
Dubuque	0	–	8	1	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant * – William Penn was awarded a conference forfeit win over Buena Vista, but the NCAA did not award an overall win.

1996 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Albion $^	5	–	0	9	–	1
Hope	3	–	2	4	–	5
Alma	2	–	3	4	–	5
Kalamazoo	2	–	3	3	–	6
Olivet	2	–	3	2	–	7
Adrian	1	–	4	3	–	6

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1996 Middle Atlantic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Commonwealth
Albright x^	5	–	0	10	–	2
Widener	4	–	1	7	–	3
Susquehanna	3	–	2	5	–	5
Moravian	2	–	3	6	–	4
Juniata	1	–	4	5	–	5
Lebanon Valley	0	–	5	1	–	9
Freedom
Lycoming x^	4	–	0	11	–	1
Wilkes	3	–	1	8	–	3
Fairleigh Dickinson–Florham	1	–	3	2	–	8
King's (PA)	1	–	3	2	–	8
Delaware Valley	1	–	3	1	–	8

x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1996 Midwest Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
North Division
Ripon xy$	5	–	0	9	–	1
St. Norbert	4	–	1	5	–	4
Carroll (WI)	3	–	2	6	–	3
Lake Forest	2	–	3	2	–	7
Lawrence	1	–	4	2	–	7
Beloit	0	–	5	0	–	9
South Division
Cornell (IA) xy	4	–	1	8	–	2
Coe	4	–	1	6	–	3
Knox	3	–	2	6	–	3
Grinnell	2	–	3	4	–	5
Illinois College	1	–	4	3	–	6
Monmouth (IL)	0	–	5	2	–	7
Championship: Ripon 26, Cornell (IA) 8
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant

1996 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Saint John's (MN) $^	9	–	0	–	0	11	–	1	–	0
Bethel (MN)	8	–	1	–	0	9	–	1	–	0
St. Thomas (MN)	7	–	2	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Concordia–Moorhead	6	–	3	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Carleton	4	–	5	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Hamline	4	–	5	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Augsburg	2	–	7	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Macalester	2	–	7	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Gustavus Adolphus	2	–	7	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
St. Olaf	1	–	8	–	0	2	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1996 New England Football Conference standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Worcester State $	8	–	0	10	–	1
UMass Dartmouth	7	–	1	8	–	2
Massachusetts Maritime	5	–	3	6	–	4
Maine Maritime	5	–	3	5	–	5
Bridgewater State	4	–	4	5	–	5
Westfield State	4	–	4	4	–	6
UMass–Boston	2	–	6	2	–	7
Framingham State	1	–	7	1	–	8
Fitchburg State	0	–	8	0	–	9

$ – Conference champion

1996 New England Small College Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Amherst	7	–	1	7	–	1
Trinity (CT)	7	–	1	7	–	1
Williams	6	–	2	6	–	2
Hamilton	5	–	3	5	–	3
Middlebury	5	–	3	5	–	3
Bowdoin	3	–	5	3	–	5
Colby	3	–	5	3	–	5
Wesleyan	3	–	5	3	–	5
Tufts	1	–	7	1	–	7
Bates	0	–	8	0	–	8

No conference champion recognized

1996 New Jersey Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
TCNJ $^	5	–	0	8	–	3
Rowan ^	4	–	1	10	–	3
Jersey City State	3	–	2	5	–	5
Montclair State	2	–	3	4	–	6
Kean	1	–	4	2	–	7
William Paterson	0	–	5	1	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1996 North Coast Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Allegheny $^	8	–	0	10	–	1
Wittenberg	7	–	1	9	–	1
Wooster	6	–	2	7	–	3
Denison	3	–	4	4	–	6
Ohio Wesleyan	3	–	4	4	–	6
Kenyon	3	–	5	4	–	6
Case Western Reserve	2	–	4	5	–	5
Earlham	2	–	6	3	–	7
Oberlin	0	–	8	0	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1996 Northwest Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 7 Willamette $^	5	–	0	9	–	2
No. 15 Pacific Lutheran ^	4	–	1	7	–	3
Linfield	3	–	2	5	–	4
Lewis & Clark	2	–	3	4	–	6
Whitworth	1	–	4	1	–	8
Puget Sound	0	–	5	0	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll

1996 Ohio Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Mount Union $^	9	–	0	14	–	0
John Carroll	8	–	1	9	–	1
Marietta	6	–	3	7	–	3
Ohio Northern	6	–	3	7	–	3
Baldwin–Wallace	6	–	3	6	–	4
Muskingum	4	–	5	5	–	5
Heidelberg	2	–	7	3	–	7
Hiram	2	–	7	3	–	7
Otterbein	2	–	7	2	–	8
Capital	0	–	9	1	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1996 Old Dominion Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Emory & Henry $	4	–	1	8	–	2
Randolph–Macon	3	–	2	7	–	3
Bridgewater	3	–	2	5	–	5
Washington and Lee	2	–	3	5	–	5
Guilford	2	–	3	3	–	6
Hampden–Sydney	1	–	4	3	–	7

$ – Conference champion

1996 Presidents' Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Washington & Jefferson $^	5	–	0	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Alfred	4	–	1	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Bethany (WV)	3	–	2	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Waynesburg	2	–	3	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
Grove City	1	–	4	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
Thiel	0	–	5	–	0	1	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1996 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Redlands $	5	–	0	6	–	3
La Verne	4	–	1	7	–	2
Cal Lutheran	2	–	3	3	–	6
Claremont-Mudd	2	–	3	2	–	7
Occidental	1	–	4	1	–	8
Whittier	1	–	4	1	–	8

$ – Conference champion

1996 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Trinity (TX) +	3	–	1	9	–	1
Millsaps +	3	–	1	8	–	2
Sewanee	2	–	2	4	–	4
Centre	1	–	3	5	–	5
Rhodes	1	–	3	3	–	7

+ – Conference co-champions

1996 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
MacMurray +	3	–	1	7	–	3
Westminster (MO) +	3	–	1	5	–	4
Blackburn +	3	–	1	3	–	6
Greenville	1	–	3	2	–	7
Principia	0	–	4	0	–	8

+ – Conference co-champions

1996 Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Union (NY) $	4	–	0	9	–	1
Hobart	3	–	1	5	–	5
RPI	2	–	2	5	–	4
St. Lawrence	1	–	3	2	–	7
Rochester (NY)	0	–	4	0	–	9

$ – Conference champion

1996 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings

Team	W		L	W		L
Wisconsin–La Crosse $^	7	–	0	11	–	2
Wisconsin–River Falls ^	6	–	1	9	–	2
Wisconsin–Whitewater	5	–	2	8	–	2
Wisconsin–Stevens Point	4	–	3	6	–	3
Wisconsin–Eau Claire	3	–	4	5	–	5
Wisconsin–Oshkosh	2	–	5	4	–	6
Wisconsin–Stout	1	–	6	4	–	6
Wisconsin–Platteville	0	–	7	1	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1996 NCAA Division III independents football records
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Frostburg State		–		9	–	2
Buffalo State ^		–		8	–	2
Catholic University		–		7	–	2
Chapman		–		7	–	2
Wesley		–		7	–	2
Pomona-Pitzer		–		6	–	2
Ithaca		–		6	–	3
Brockport		–		6	–	4
Cortland		–		6	–	4
Hartwick		–		6	–	4
Methodist		–		6	–	4
Stony Brook		–		6	–	4
Thomas More		–		6	–	4
Aurora		–		5	–	4
Menlo		–		5	–	4
Wilmington (OH)		–		5	–	5
Salisbury State		–		4	–	5
Colorado College		–		3	–	6
Defiance		–		3	–	6
Maryville (TN)		–		3	–	6
Chowan		–		3	–	7
Bluffton		–		2	–	8
Ferrum		–		1	–	8

^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

Conference champions

Conference champions
American Southwest Conference – Hardin–Simmons and Sul Ross Centennial Conference – Ursinus College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin – Illinois Wesleyan Freedom Football Conference – Coast Guard and Springfield (MA) Illini-Badger Football Conference – Lakeland Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference – DePauw Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Simpson Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Albion Middle Atlantic Conference – Lycoming Midwest Conference – Ripon Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Saint John's (MN) New England Football Conference – Worcester State New Jersey Athletic Conference – TCNJ North Coast Athletic Conference – Allegheny Northwest Conference – Willamette Ohio Athletic Conference – Mount Union Old Dominion Athletic Conference – Emory & Henry Presidents' Athletic Conference – Washington & Jefferson Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Redlands Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference – Millsaps and Trinity (TX) University Athletic Association – Carnegie Mellon, Case Western, and Washington–Saint Louis Upper Midwest Athletic Conference – Maranatha Baptist and Martin Luther Upstate Collegiate Athletic Conference – Union (NY) Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Wisconsin–La Crosse

Postseason

The 1996 NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs were the 24th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division III college football. The championship Stagg Bowl game was held at Salem Football Stadium in Salem, Virginia for the second time. As of 2014, Salem has remained the yearly host of the Stagg Bowl. Like the previous eleven tournaments, this year's bracket featured sixteen teams.^[2]

Playoff bracket

Regionals Campus Sites		Quarterfinals Campus Sites		Semifinals Campus Sites		National Championship Game Salem Football Stadium Salem, Virginia

Mount Union	31

Allegheny	26
		Mount Union	49

		Illinois Wesleyan	14
Illinois Wesleyan	23

Albion	20
				Mount Union	39

				Wisconsin–La Crosse	21
Wisconsin–La Crosse	44

Wisconsin–River Falls	0
		Wisconsin–La Crosse	37

		Saint John's (MN)	30
Saint John's (MN)	21

Simpson	18
						Mount Union	56

						Rowan	24
Lycoming	31

Ursinus	24
		Lycoming	31

		Albright	13
Albright	31

Washington & Jefferson	17
				Lycoming	14

				Rowan	33
Rowan	21

Buffalo State	20
		Rowan	7

		TCNJ	3
TCNJ	17

Coast Guard	16