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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»

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.

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 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 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 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
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

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

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