The 1996 NAIA Division II football season, as part of the 1996 college football season in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and the 41st season of

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

sponsored by the NAIA, was the 27th (and final) season of play of the NAIA division II 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 Jim Carroll Stadium is a stadium in Savannah, Tennessee. It is primarily used for American football as the home of the Hardin County High School Tigers and hosted the NAIA Football National Championship title game from 1996 to 2007.Associated P ...

Savannah, Tennessee Savannah is a city in and the county seat of Hardin County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 7,213 at the 2020 census. Savannah is located along the east side of the Tennessee River. Savannah hosted the National Association of Interco ...

Sioux Falls Sioux Falls ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 117th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into northern Lincoln County. The population was 192 ...

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

Conference changes

* This is the final season the NAIA officially recognizes a football champion from the

Northwest Conference The Northwest Conference (NWC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Member teams are located in the states of Oregon and Washington. It was known as the Pacific Northwest Conference from 1926 t ...

. The NWC, and its six members from

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

and

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, would subsequently join the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

as a Division III conference. * The South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference was renamed as the South Dakota-Iowa Intercollegiate Conference after the addition of two football programs from

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, Westmar University and Dordt College. This was the first time since the founding of the SDIC in

1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's ...

that it admitted members outside of

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

Membership changes

Conference standings

Conference champions

Postseason

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 The Sioux Falls Cougars are the athletic teams that represent the University of Sioux Falls, located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division II ranks, primarily competing the Northern Sun Intercol ...

over the Western Washington Vikings by a score of 47–25.

Bracket

* * denotes OT.

References

{{NAIA football NAIA football national championship

Conference changes