1996 NAIA Division II football season

1996 Columbia Football Association standings
	$ – Conference champion; ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant;

1996 American Southwest Conference football standings
	+ – Conference co-champions; ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant; * – Ineligible for conference title;

1996 NAIA Division II football season
Regular season	August–November 1996
Postseason	November–December 1996
National Championship	Jim Carroll Stadium; Savannah, Tennessee
Champions	Sioux Falls

The 1996 NAIA Division II football season, as part of the 1996 college football season in the United States and the 41st season of college football sponsored by the NAIA, was the 27th (and final) season of play of the NAIA's lower division for football.

The season was played from August to November 1996 and culminated in the 1996 NAIA Division II Football National Championship, played at Jim Carroll Stadium in Savannah, Tennessee.[1]

Sioux Falls defeated Western Washington in the championship game, 47–25, to win their first NAIA national title.

Conference standings

1996 Heart of America Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
Evangel $^		9	–	0		10	–	1
Benedictine (KS) ^		7	–	2		8	–	3
Graceland		7	–	2		7	–	3
Baker		7	–	2		7	–	4
Culver–Stockton		4	–	5		5	–	5
MidAmerica Nazarene		4	–	5		5	–	5
Lindenwood		3	–	6		4	–	6
William Jewell		2	–	7		3	–	7
Central Methodist		1	–	8		2	–	8
Missouri Valley		1	–	8		1	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant

1996 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
Bethany (KS) $^		8	–	0		8	–	2
Bethel (KS)		7	–	1		7	–	3
Southwestern (KS)		6	–	2		7	–	3
Friends		5	–	3		5	–	5
McPherson		4	–	4		5	–	5
Kansas Wesleyan		3	–	5		3	–	7
Sterling		2	–	6		2	–	8
Ottawa		1	–	7		1	–	8
Tabor		0	–	8		0	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant

1996 Mid-South Conference football standings
	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
Lambuth ^		7	–	0		9	–	2
Cumberland (TN)		6	–	1		8	–	2
Campbellsville		4	–	3		6	–	4
North Greenville		3	–	4		6	–	4
Georgetown (KY)		3	–	4		4	–	5
Union (KY)		3	–	4		4	–	6
Cumberland (KY)		1	–	6		2	–	7
Bethel (TN)		1	–	6		2	–	9

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NAIA playoff participant

1996 Nebraska-Iowa Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
Northwestern (IA) $^		5	–	1		10	–	2
Doane		4	–	2		6	–	3
Hastings		4	–	2		6	–	4
Midland		4	–	2		5	–	5
Dana		3	–	3		4	–	5
Nebraska Wesleyan		1	–	5		2	–	8
Concordia (NE)		0	–	6		2	–	7

$ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant

1996 North Dakota College Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
Valley City State +^		5	–	1		9	–	2
Mary +^		5	–	1		7	–	4
Minot State		4	–	2		6	–	3
Minnesota–Crookston		3	–	3		6	–	4
Dickinson State		3	–	3		5	–	4
Jamestown		1	–	5		1	–	8
Mayville State		0	–	6		2	–	8

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant

1996 Northwest Conference football standings
	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
Willamette $^		5	–	0		9	–	2
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

1996 South Dakota-Iowa Intercollegiate Conference football standings
	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
Sioux Falls $^		6	–	0		14	–	0
Westmar		5	–	1		7	–	3
Dakota Wesleyan		3	–	3		5	–	5
Black Hills State		3	–	3		4	–	6
Huron		2	–	4		5	–	5
Dakota State		1	–	5		2	–	7
South Dakota Tech		1	–	5		1	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant

Conference champions

Conference	Champion	Record
Columbia	Western Washington	4–1
Heart of America	Evangel	9–0
Kansas	Bethany	8–0
Mid-South	Lambuth	7–0
Mid-States	Mideast Division: Geneva, Malone, and Westminster (PA) Midwest Division: Findlay	5–1 6–0
Nebraska-Iowa	Northwestern (IA)	5–1
North Dakota	Valley City State Mary	5–1
Northwest	Willamette	5–0
South Dakota-Iowa	Sioux Falls	6–0

Postseason

1996 Division II NAIA Football Championship

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
Western Washington	15	0	10	0	25
Sioux Falls (SD)	17	10	10	10	47

Date

December 21, 1996

Stadium

Jim Carroll Stadium

City

Savannah, Tennessee

MOP (Offense)

Kurtis Riggs, Sioux Falls

MOP (Defense)

Travis Dumke, Sioux Falls

NAIA Football National Championship
< 1995	1997 >

The 1996 NAIA Division II Football Championship Series concluded on December 21, 1996, with the championship game played at Jim Carroll Stadium in Savannah, Tennessee. The game was won by the Sioux Falls Cougars over the Western Washington Vikings by a score of 47–25.[2]

Bracket

1st Round		Quarterfinals		Semifinals		Championship


Bethany (KS)	35

Willamette (OR)	56
		Willamette (OR)	12

		Western Washington	13
Pacific Lutheran (WA)	20

Western Washington	21*
				Western Washington	28

				Findlay (OH)	21
Westminster (PA)	27

Clinch Valley (VA)	20
		Westminster (PA)	9

		Findlay (OH)	28
Geneva (PA)	13

Findlay (OH)	38
						Western Washington	25

						Sioux Falls (SD)	47
Valley City State (ND)	7

Northwestern (IA)	14
		Sioux Falls (SD)	52

		Northwestern (IA)	21
Sioux Falls (SD)	56

Mary (ND)	19
				Sioux Falls (SD)	28

				Evangel (MO)	21
Hardin-Simmons (TX)	23

Evangel (MO)	45
		Evangel (MO)	28

		Lambuth (TN)	27
Benedictine (KS)	20

Lambuth (TN)	34

* denotes OT.

References

"NAIA Championship History" (PDF). NAIA. pp. 4–11. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 15, 2015. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
NAIA OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE - National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics

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[1] "NAIA Championship History" (PDF). NAIA. pp. 4–11. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 15, 2015. Retrieved December 6, 2015.

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