1996 William & Mary Tribe football team

The 1996 William & Mary Tribe football team represented the College of William & Mary as member of the Mid-Atlantic Division of the Yankee Conference during the 1996 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by Jimmye Laycock in his 17th year as head coach, William & Mary finished the season with an overall record of 10–3 and a mark of 7–1 in conference play, winning the Yankee Conference and Mid-Atlantic Division titles. They were ranked No. 5 in the final Sports Network poll. The Tribe qualified for the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs, beating Jackson State in the first round before losing to Northern Iowa in the quarterfinals.[1]

1996 William & Mary Tribe football
Yankee champion
Yankee Mid-Atlantic Division champion
Lambert Cup winner
ConferenceYankee Conference
DivisionMid-Atlantic Division
Ranking
Sports NetworkNo. 7
Record10–3 (7–1 Yankee)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorZbig Kepa (4th season)
Defensive coordinatorRuss Huesman (1st season)
CaptainJosh Beyer, Stefon Moody, Mike McGowan
Home stadiumZable Stadium
Seasons
← 1995
1997 →
1996 Yankee Conference football standings
Conf Overall
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

Schedule

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DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
August 29at UCF*L 33–3918,013
September 7at No. 22 Rhode IslandW 23–162,131
September 14VMI*No. 23W 40–219,614[2]
September 21at Bucknell*No. 22W 47–04,429[3]
October 5No. 20 New HampshireNo. 17
  • Zable Stadium
  • Williamsburg, VA
W 31–77,256
October 12at No. 17 James MadisonNo. 15L 21–2610,500
October 19at No. 9 VillanovaNo. 19W 30–214,733[4]
October 26NortheasternNo. 16
  • Zable Stadium
  • Williamsburg, VA
W 21–1411,373
November 2No. 6 DelawareNo. 15
  • Zable Stadium
  • Williamsburg, VA (rivalry)
W 10–7 OT8,177
November 9UMassNo. 13
  • Zable Stadium
  • Williamsburg, VA
W 30–66,867
November 16at RichmondNo. 10W 28–1311,204[5]
November 30No. T–8 Jackson State*No. 7
W 45–64,057[6]
December 7at No. 3 Northern Iowa*No. 7
L 35–3810,796

References

edit
  1. ^ "William & Mary Football Record Book" (PDF). William & Mary Athletics. June 1, 2021. p. 28. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  2. ^ "Tribe recovers, stops VMI". Daily Press. September 15, 1996. Retrieved February 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Epler, Eric F. (September 22, 1996). "Dominant Tribe Smashes Bucknell". Daily Press. Newport News, Va. p. C9 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "W&M answers Villanova". Daily Press. October 20, 1996. Retrieved April 23, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Tribe wraps up Yankee Conference". Sunday News Leader. November 17, 1996. p. C2 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "W&M crushes Jackson State". The Daily News Leader. December 1, 1996. Retrieved April 15, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.