1996 New Hampshire Wildcats football team

American college football season

1996 New Hampshire Wildcats football
Yankee New England Division champion
Conference	Yankee Conference
Division	New England Division
Ranking
Sports Network	No. 18
Record	8–3 (6–2 Yankee)
Head coach	Bill Bowes (25th season)
Offensive coordinator	Sean McDonnell (3rd season)
Home stadium	Cowell Stadium
Seasons← 1995 1997 →

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

The 1996 New Hampshire Wildcats football team was an American football team that represented the University of New Hampshire as a member of the New England Division of the Yankee Conference during the 1996 NCAA Division I-AA football season. In its 25th year under head coach Bill Bowes, the team compiled an 8–3 record (6–2 against conference opponents) and finished in first place in the New England Division.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance
September 14	at Rhode Island		Meade Stadium Kingston, RI	W 35–26	3,719
September 21	No. 8 Connecticut		Cowell Stadium Durham, NH	W 21–13
September 28	at James Madison	No. 25	Bridgeforth Stadium Harrisonburg, VA	W 39–22
October 5	at No. 17 William & Mary	No. 20	Zable Stadium Williamsburg, VA	L 7–31	7,256
October 12	Lehigh*	No. 24	Cowell Stadium Durham, NH	W 42–27	7,335
October 19	at Maine	No. 18	Alumni Stadium Orono, ME (Battle for the Brice–Cowell Musket)	L 20–34
October 26	UMass	No. 24	Cowell Stadium Durham, NH (rivalry)	W 40–7	5,317
November 2	Richmond	No. 20	Cowell Stadium Durham, NH	W 14–13	2,837
November 9	No. 16 Villanova	No. 18	Cowell Stadium Durham, NH	W 34–0	1,231
November 16	at Boston University	No. 15	Nickerson Field Boston, MA	W 31–10
November 23	at Northeastern	No. 12	Parsons Field Brookline, MA	L 28–30
*Non-conference game Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game

1996 New Hampshire Wildcats football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
QB	`14`	Mike Apple	Fr
RB	`25`	Jerry Azumah	So
WR	`18`	Alister Barrow	Sr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DE	`91`	Matt Champion	Fr
DE	`90`	Steve Charbonneau	Jr
LB	`59`	Peter Christopher	Sr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class

"2017 New Hampshire Media Guide". University of New Hampshire. 2017. p. 67. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
"New Hampshire Holds Off Lehigh". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pa. October 13, 1996. p. C3 – via Newspapers.com.
"A Swett win for New Hampshire". The Boston Globe. November 10, 1996. Retrieved April 23, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.

v t e New Hampshire Wildcats football
Venues	College Oval ( –1920) Memorial Field (1921–1935) Lewis Field / Cowell Stadium / Wildcat Stadium (1936–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Dartmouth UMass: Colonial Clash Bill Knight Trophy Maine: Battle for the Brice–Cowell Musket
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024