1986 New Hampshire Wildcats football team

1986 New Hampshire Wildcats football
1986 New Hampshire Wildcats football
Conference	Yankee Conference
Record	7–4 (4–3 Yankee)
Head coach	Bill Bowes (15th season);
Home stadium	Cowell Stadium
	Seasons ← 1985 1987 →

The 1986 New Hampshire Wildcats football team was an American football team that represented the University of New Hampshire as a member of the Yankee Conference during the 1986 NCAA Division I-AA football season. In its 15th year under head coach Bill Bowes, the team compiled a 7–4 record (4–3 against conference opponents) and finished fourth out of eight teams in the Yankee Conference.^[1]

1986 Yankee Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 13 Delaware +^	5	–	2	–	0	9	–	4	–	0
No. 19 Connecticut +	5	–	2	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
UMass +	5	–	2	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
New Hampshire	4	–	3	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Maine	3	–	4	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Richmond	3	–	4	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Boston University	3	–	4	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Rhode Island	0	–	7	–	0	1	–	10	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 6	at No. T–9 Richmond		City Stadium Richmond, VA	L 12–38	15,117	^[2]
September 13	at No. 6 Delaware		Delaware Stadium Newark, DE	W 28–21 ^OT
September 20	Boston University		Cowell Stadium Durham, NH	W 26–9
September 27	at Dartmouth*		Memorial Field Hanover, NH (rivalry)	W 66–12	9,927	^[3]
October 4	No. 18 Connecticut		Cowell Stadium Durham, NH	W 42–19
October 11	at Lafayette*	No. 14	Fisher Field Easton, PA	W 20–16	12,500	^[4]
October 25	Northeastern*	No. 13	Cowell Stadium Durham, NH	W 24–21
November 1	Rhode Island	No. 11	Cowell Stadium Durham, NH	W 28–24	10,350
November 8	Maine	No. 11	Cowell Stadium Durham, NH (Battle for the Brice–Cowell Musket)	L 13–14
November 15	at UMass	No. 20	McGuirk Stadium Hadley, MA (rivalry)	L 31–38	8,117
November 22	Colgate*		Cowell Stadium Durham, NH	L 23–27	3,075	^[5]
*Non-conference game Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee Poll released prior to the game

^ "2017 New Hampshire Media Guide". University of New Hampshire. 2017. p. 67. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
^ "Bleier, UR roll over Wildcats". Daily Press. September 6, 1986. Retrieved November 2, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Reinert, Bob (September 28, 1986). "UNH Annihilates Dartmouth, 66-12". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 71 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Laubach, Ed (October 12, 1986). "UNH Rebuffs Lafayette". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 56 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Record-Setting Gamble Leads Colgate, 27-23". Press & Sun-Bulletin. Binghamton, N.Y. November 23, 1986. pp. 6D, 2D – via Newspapers.com.