1996 NCAA Division III football season

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.

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
NCAA Division III football seasons

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 Conf Overall 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 Conf Overall 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 Conf Overall 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 Conf Overall 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 Conf Overall 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 Conf Overall 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 Conf Overall 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 Conf Overall 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 Conf Overall 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 Conf Overall 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 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 Conf Overall 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 Conf Overall 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 Conf Overall 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 Conf Overall 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 Conf Overall 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 Conf Overall 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 Conf Overall 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 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 Conf Overall 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 Conf Overall 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 Conf Overall 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 Conf Overall 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 Conf Overall 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 Conf Overall 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.

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

See also

• 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season
• 1996 NCAA Division I-AA football season
• 1996 NCAA Division II football season
• 1996 NAIA Division I football season
• 1996 NAIA Division II football season