1996 NAIA Division I football season

The 1996 NAIA Division I football season was the NAIA, was the 27th (and final) season of play of the NAIA's top division for football. The NAIA reverted to a single division for its football championship in 1997.

1996 NAIA Division I football season
Regular season	August–November 1996
Postseason	November 23–December 7, 1996
National Championship	Milam Stadium Weatherford, OK
Champions	Southwestern Oklahoma State
← 1995 NAIA Division I football season 1997 →

The regular season was played from August to November 1996. The 1996 NAIA Division I Football Championship Series then concluded with the 1996 NAIA Champion Bowl, played that year on December 7, 1996 at Milam Stadium in Weatherford, Oklahoma.^[1][2]

Southwestern Oklahoma State defeated Montana Tech in the Champion Bowl, 33–31, to win their first NAIA national title.^[3]

Conference standings

1996 Frontier Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 2 Montana Tech $^   4 – 2     7 – 5   No. 4 Carroll (MT) ^   3 – 3     6 – 4   Rocky Mountain   3 – 3     6 – 4   Western Montana   2 – 4     3 – 6   $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division I poll	1996 Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 1 SW Oklahoma State +^   4 – 1     9 – 3   No. 3 NW Oklahoma State +^   4 – 1     8 – 3   Langston   3 – 2     6 – 4   No. 5 SE Oklahoma State   3 – 2     6 – 4   East Central   1 – 4     3 – 7   Panhandle State   0 – 5     0 – 10   Northeastern State *   0 – 0     3 – 8   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant * – ineligible for conference title Rankings from NAIA Division I poll	1996 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Glenville State +   6 – 1     6 – 4   Fairmont State +   6 – 1     6 – 4   Shepherd   5 – 2     7 – 3   West Virginia State   3 – 4     4 – 7   Concord   2 – 5     4 – 7   West Liberty State   2 – 5     2 – 8   West Virginia Wesleyan   2 – 5     2 – 8   West Virginia Tech   2 – 5     2 – 9   + – Conference co-champions West Virginia Wesleyan forfeited two victories including a conference win over West Virginia Tech.
1996 NAIA Division I independents football records v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Harding   –     6 – 4   Central State (OH)   –     4 – 4   Arkansas–Pine Bluff   –     5 – 5   Ouachita Baptist   –     3 – 7

Conference champions

Conference	Champion	Record
Frontier	Montana Tech	4–2

Rankings

Final NAIA Division I poll rankings:

Rank	Team (first place votes)	Record (thru Nov. 17)	Points
1	Southwestern Oklahoma State (2)	7–3	10
2	Montana Tech	6–4	8
3	Northwestern Oklahoma State	8–2	6
4	Carroll (MT)	6–3	4
5	SE Oklahoma State	6–4	2

^[4]

Postseason

1996 NAIA Division I Football Championship

1st 2nd 3rd 4th Total Montana Tech 10 7 7 7 31 Southwestern Oklahoma State 0 23 7 3 33
Stadium	Milam Stadium
City	Weatherford, Oklahoma
MOP (Offense)	Keith Kizzie, Southwestern Oklahoma State
MOP (Defense)	Mark Patterson, Southwestern Oklahoma State
NAIA Football National Championship < 1995 1997 >

Bracket

	Semifinals November 23					Championship Game December 7
	Carroll (MT)		28
	Montana Tech		49
						Montana Tech		31
						SW Oklahoma State		33
	NW Oklahoma State		7
	SW Oklahoma State		17

See also

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

References

1. . Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
2. (PDF). NAIA. pp. 4–11. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 15, 2015. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
3. "1996 Division I NAIA Football Playoffs". JonFMorse.com. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
4. "NAIA Division I poll". Billings Gazette. Billings, Montana. Associated Press. November 18, 1996. p. 3B. Retrieved May 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com  .