1896 college football season

The 1896 college football season had no clear-cut champion, with the Official NCAA Division I Football Records Book listing Lafayette and Princeton as having been selected national champions.[1] Lafayette finished with an 11-0-1 record while Princeton had a 10-0-1 record. In the second game of the season for both teams, Lafayette and Princeton played to a scoreless tie. Both teams had signature wins: Lafayette defeated Penn 6-4, giving the Quakers their only loss of the season, while Princeton defeated previously unbeaten Yale, 24-6, on Thanksgiving Day in the last game of the season. Princeton was retroactively named the 1896 national champions by the Billingsley Report, the Helms Athletic Foundation, the Houlgate System, and Lafayette and Princeton were named national co-champions by the National Championship Foundation and Parke Davis.

1896 college football season
Lafayette on defense in its 6–4 upset victory over Pennsylvania
Champion(s)Lafayette
Princeton
football seasons

Conference and program changes

Conference changes
  • The Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives, commonly known as the Western Conference and the precursor to the modern Big Ten Conference, began its first season of play in 1896 with seven founding members from across the Midwest.

Membership changes
School1895 Conference1896 Conference
Central Michigan Normal NormalitesProgram establishedIndependent
Chicago MaroonsIndependentWestern Conference
Clemson TigersProgram establishedSIAA
Cumberland BulldogsIndependentSIAA
Illinois IlliniIndependentWestern Conference
Indiana State SycamoresProgram EstablishedIndependent
Kansas State Agricultural AggiesProgram establishedIndependent
Kentucky State WildcatsIndependentSIAA
Louisiana State TigersIndependentSIAA
Mercer BaptistsIndependentSIAA
Michigan WolverinesIndependentWestern Conference
Minnesota Golden GophersIndependentWestern Conference
Mississippi RebelsIndependentSIAA
Mississippi A&M AggiesIndependentSIAA
Nashville ?IndependentSIAA
Nevada State SagebrushersProgram establishedIndependent
Northwestern WildcatsIndependentWestern Conference
Purdue BoilermakersIndependentWestern Conference
Southwestern Presbyterian LynxIndependentSIAA
Storrs Agricultural AggiesProgram establishedIndependent
Texas LonghornsIndependentSIAA
Texas Christian Horned FrogsProgram establishedIndependent
Tennessee VolunteersIndependentSIAA
Territorial Normal NormalsProgram establishedIndependent
Wisconsin BadgersIndependentWestern Conference

Conference standings

Major conference standings
1896 Colorado Football Association standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Colorado $ 2 –0 –0  5 –0 –0
Colorado Mines 1 –1 –0  1 –2 –0
Colorado College 0 –2 –0  3 –4 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
1896 Maryland Intercollegiate Football Association standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Maryland   –  –   6 –2 –2
  • $ – Conference champion
1896 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
LSU + 3 –0 –0  6 –0 –0
Georgia + 2 –0 –0  4 –0 –0
Vanderbilt 2 –0 –2  3 –2 –2
Auburn 3 –1 –0  3 –1 –0
Georgia Tech 1 –1 –1  1 –1 –1
Texas 1 –1 –0  4 –2 –1
Alabama 1 –1 –0  2 –1 –0
Kentucky State College 1 –1 –0  3 –6 –0
Sewanee 3 –3 –0  3 –3 –0
Tulane 1 –2 –0  3 –2 –0
SW Presbyterian 0 –1 –0  0 –1 –0
Nashville 0 –1 –1  0 –1 –1
Mercer 0 –2 –1  0 –2 –1
Central (KY) 0 –2 –1  0 –3 –1
Mississippi A&M 0 –2 –0  0 –4 –0
Cumberland (TN)   –      –  
  • + – Conference co-champions
1896 Triangular Football League standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Dartmouth $ 2 –0 –0  5 –2 –1
Amherst 1 –1 –0  3 –6 –1
Williams 0 –2 –0  6 –4 –1
  • $ – Conference champion
1896 Western Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Wisconsin $ 2 –0 –1  7 –1 –1
Michigan 2 –1 –0  9 –1 –0
Northwestern 2 –1 –1  6 –1 –2
Chicago 3 –2 –0  15 –2 –1
Minnesota 1 –2 –0  8 –2 –0
Illinois 0 –2 –1  4 –2 –1
Purdue 0 –2 –1  4 –2 –1
  • $ – Conference champion
1896 Western Interstate University Football Association standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Iowa $ 2 –0 –1  7 –1 –1
Kansas 2 –1 –0  7 –3 –0
Nebraska 1 –1 –1  6 –3 –1
Missouri 0 –3 –0  7 –5 –0
  • $ – Conference champion

Independents
1896 Eastern college football independents records
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Fordham   –    1 –0 –0
Lafayette   –    11 –0 –1
Princeton   –    10 –0 –1
Penn   –    14 –1 –0
Yale   –    13 –1 –0
Duquesne   –    11 –2 –0
Army   –    3 –2 –1
Boston College   –    5 –3 –0
Storrs   –    5 –3 –0
Syracuse   –    5 –3 –2
Cornell   –    5 –3 –1
Villanova   –    10 –4 –0
Harvard   –    7 –4 –0
Temple   –    3 –2 –0
Carlisle   –    5 –5 –0
Rutgers   –    6 –7 –0
Brown   –    4 –5 –1
Wesleyan   –    4 –5 –1
Frankin & Marshall   –    3 –4 –2
Geneva   –    3 –4 –0
Penn State   –    3 –4 –0
Colgate   –    3 –4 –1
Amherst   –    3 –6 –1
Holy Cross   –    1 –3 –2
Western Univ. Penn.   –    3 –6 –0
Lehigh   –    2 –5 –0
Tufts   –    2 –6 –1
New Hampshire   –    1 –4 –0
Massachusetts   –    0 –4 –0
Rhode Island   –    0 –4 –0
1896 Midwestern college football independents records
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Washburn   –    6 –1 –1
Iowa Agricultural   –    8 –2 –0
Central Michigan   –    3 –1 –0
Ohio Wesleyan   –    6 –2 –0
Detroit College   –    5 –2 –0
North Dakota Agricultural   –    3 –1 –1
Heidelberg   –    2 –1 –0
Indiana   –    6 –3 –0
Ohio   –    4 –2 –1
Missouri   –    7 –5 –0
Beloit   –    2 –1 –3
Butler   –    4 –3 –0
Notre Dame   –    4 –3 –0
Cincinnati   –    4 –3 –1
Wittenberg   –    5 –4 –0
Baldwin–Wallace   –    2 –2 –0
Kansas State   –    1 –1 –1
Ohio State   –    5 –5 –1
Lake Forest   –    3 –4 –1
Mount Union   –    3 –4 –1
Wabash   –    3 –4 –0
Drake   –    2 –3 –0
Michigan Agricultural   –    1 –2 –1
Indiana State   –    0 –1 –0
Buchtel   –    0 –1 –0
Washington University   –    0 –2 –0
Haskell   –    0 –4 –0
Doane   –    0 –5 –0
1896 Southern college football independents records
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Centre   –    6 –0 –1
Texas A&M   –    2 –0 –1
Oklahoma   –    2 –0 –0
North Carolina A&M   –    1 –0 –0
Virginia   –    7 –2 –2
VPI   –    5 –2 –1
Arkansas   –    2 –1 –0
Navy   –    5 –3 –0
Clemson   –    2 –1 –0
VMI   –    3 –4 –0
North Carolina   –    3 –4 –1
Furman   –    2 –3 –0
West Virginia   –    3 –7 –2
South Carolina   –    1 –3 –0
Erskine   –    0 –1 –0
William & Mary   –    0 –2 –0
Delaware   –    0 –6 –0
1896 Far West college football independents records
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Wyoming   –    2 –0 –0
Washington Agricultural   –    2 –0 –1
California   –    6 –2 –2
Stanford   –    2 –1 –1
Oregon   –    2 –1 –0
Utah   –    3 –2 –0
Washington   –    2 –3 –0
Nevada State   –    1 –2 –0
Oregon Agricultural   –    1 –2 –0
Utah Agricultural   –    0 –1 –0
New Mexico A&M   –    0 –2 –0
USC   –    0 –3 –0

Minor conferences
Conference Champion(s) Record
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Michigan State Normal 2–0

See also

References
  1. Official 2009 NCAA Division I Football Records Book (PDF). Indianapolis, IN: The National Collegiate Athletic Association. August 2009. p. 70. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
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