1996 Florida A&M Rattlers football team

American college football season

1996 Florida A&M Rattlers football
MEAC champion
NCAA Division I-AA First Round, L 25–29 vs. Troy State
Conference	Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Record	9–3 (7–0 MEAC)
Head coach	Billy Joe (3rd season)
Home stadium	Bragg Memorial Stadium
Seasons← 19951997 →

1996 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 12 Florida A&M $^	7	–	0	9	–	3
No. 20 Howard	6	–	1	10	–	2
North Carolina A&T	4	–	3	8	–	3
South Carolina State	4	–	3	4	–	6
Hampton	3	–	4	5	–	6
Morgan State	2	–	5	4	–	7
Delaware State	2	–	5	3	–	8
Bethune–Cookman	0	–	7	2	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

The 1996 Florida A&M Rattlers football team represented Florida A&M University as a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) during the 1996 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by third-year head coach Billy Joe, the Rattlers compiled an overall record of 9–3, with a mark of 7–0 in conference play, and finished as MEAC champion. Florida A&M completed their season with a loss against Troy State in the NCAA Division I-AA First Round.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance
August 31	at Tennessee State*		Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN	W 35–20	31,782
September 7	Tuskegee*		Bragg Memorial Stadium Tallahassee, FL	W 56–0	24,726
September 21	at No. 6 Jackson State*	No. 22	Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Jackson, MS	L 9–16	38,500
September 28	Howard	No. 21	Bragg Memorial Stadium Tallahassee, FL	W 21–20	7,741
October 5	vs. Hampton	No. 21	RCA Dome Indianapolis, IN (Circle City Classic)	W 59–58	62,037
October 12	North Carolina A&T	No. 16	Bragg Memorial Stadium Tallahassee, FL	W 24–23
October 19	at Delaware State	No. 15	Alumni Stadium Dover, DE	W 47–26
November 3	Morgan State	No. 12	Bragg Memorial Stadium Tallahassee, FL	W 83–12
November 9	at Southern*	No. 13	A. W. Mumford Stadium Baton Rouge, LA	L 17–21	15,969
November 16	vs. South Carolina State	No. 16	Georgia Dome Atlanta, GA (Budweiser Super Showdown)	W 20–6	24,800
November 23	vs. Bethune–Cookman	No. 13	Houlihan's Stadium Tampa, FL (Florida Classic)	W 41–7
November 30	at No. 5 Troy State*	No. 12	Veterans Memorial Stadium Troy, AL (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)	L 29–25	10,200
*Non-conference game Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee Poll released prior to the game

References

"Showing strength of Sampson". Tallahassee Democrat. September 1, 1996. Retrieved August 12, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"FAMU rips imitator 56–0". St. Petersburg Times. September 8, 1996. Retrieved August 12, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Jackson State defeats turnover-prone FAMU". South Florida Sun Sentinel. September 22, 1996. Retrieved August 12, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Rattlers maintain dominance of Howard". Florida Today. September 29, 1996. Retrieved August 12, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Florida A&M wins one long affair". The Indianapolis Star. October 6, 1996. Retrieved August 12, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Errant kick gives FAMU tense win over Aggies". Greensboro News & Record. October 13, 1996. Retrieved August 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Florida A&M rattles Hornets". The News Journal. October 20, 1996. Retrieved August 12, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Fla. A&M hammers Morgan State, 83–12". The Baltimore Sun. November 3, 1996. Retrieved August 12, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"FAMU falls short st Southern, 21–17". The Orlando Sentinel. November 10, 1996. Retrieved August 12, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Sampson lifts Florida A&M". The Atlanta Journal & Constitution. November 17, 1996. Retrieved August 12, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"It was a Classic mismatch". St. Petersburg Times. November 24, 1996. Retrieved August 12, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Trojans avoid being bitten by Rattlers". The Dothan Eagle. December 1, 1996. Retrieved August 12, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

v t e Florida A&M Rattlers football
Venues	Sampson-Bragg Field (1942–1946) Bragg Stadium (1947–1956) Doak Campbell Stadium (1974–1980; entire 1980 season) Bragg Memorial Stadium (1957–1979, 1981–present)
Bowls & rivalries	2023 Celebration Bowl Bethune–Cookman: Florida Classic Jackson State: Orange Blossom Classic
Culture & lore	"Rattler Orange and Green" Marching 100
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1907 1908 1909 1910–1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold

v t e Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football champions
Morgan State (1971) North Carolina Central (1972) North Carolina Central (1973) South Carolina State (1974) South Carolina State & North Carolina A&T (1975) Morgan State & South Carolina State (1976) South Carolina State (1977) South Carolina State (1978) Morgan State (1979) South Carolina State (1980) South Carolina State (1981) South Carolina State (1982) South Carolina State (1983) Bethune–Cookman (1984) Delaware State (1985) North Carolina A&T (1986) Delaware State (1987) Bethune–Cookman, Delaware State, & Florida A&M (1988) Delaware State (1989) Florida A&M (1990) Delaware State & North Carolina A&T (1991) North Carolina A&T (1992) Howard (1993) South Carolina State (1994) Florida A&M (1995) Florida A&M (1996) Hampton (1997) Hampton & Florida A&M (1998) North Carolina A&T (1999) Florida A&M (2000) Florida A&M (2001) Bethune–Cookman (2002) North Carolina A&T (2003) Hampton & South Carolina State (2004) Hampton (2005) Hampton (2006) Delaware State (2007) South Carolina State (2008) South Carolina State (2009) Bethune–Cookman†, Florida A&M, & South Carolina State (2010) Norfolk State (vacated) (2011) Bethune–Cookman (2012) Bethune–Cookman†, South Carolina State (2013) Bethune–Cookman, Morgan State†, North Carolina Central, North Carolina A&T, & South Carolina State (2014) North Carolina A&T†, North Carolina Central, & Bethune–Cookman (2015) North Carolina Central (2016) North Carolina A&T (2017) North Carolina A&T (2018) North Carolina A&T† & South Carolina State (2019) No champion (2020) South Carolina State (2021) Howard & North Carolina Central† (2022) Howard (2023) South Carolina State (2024)
National championships in bold † Denotes postseason representative via conference tiebreaker

Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football champions

Morgan State (1971)
North Carolina Central (1972)
North Carolina Central (1973)
South Carolina State (1974)
South Carolina State & North Carolina A&T (1975)
Morgan State & South Carolina State (1976)
South Carolina State (1977)
South Carolina State (1978)
Morgan State (1979)
South Carolina State (1980)
South Carolina State (1981)
South Carolina State (1982)
South Carolina State (1983)
Bethune–Cookman (1984)
Delaware State (1985)
North Carolina A&T (1986)
Delaware State (1987)
Bethune–Cookman, Delaware State, & Florida A&M (1988)
Delaware State (1989)
Florida A&M (1990)
Delaware State & North Carolina A&T (1991)
North Carolina A&T (1992)
Howard (1993)
South Carolina State (1994)
Florida A&M (1995)
Florida A&M (1996)
Hampton (1997)
Hampton & Florida A&M (1998)
North Carolina A&T (1999)
Florida A&M (2000)
Florida A&M (2001)
Bethune–Cookman (2002)
North Carolina A&T (2003)
Hampton & South Carolina State (2004)
Hampton (2005)
Hampton (2006)
Delaware State (2007)
South Carolina State (2008)
South Carolina State (2009)
Bethune–Cookman†, Florida A&M, & South Carolina State (2010)
Norfolk State (vacated) (2011)
Bethune–Cookman (2012)
Bethune–Cookman†, South Carolina State (2013)
Bethune–Cookman, Morgan State†, North Carolina Central, North Carolina A&T, & South Carolina State (2014)
North Carolina A&T†, North Carolina Central, & Bethune–Cookman (2015)
North Carolina Central (2016)
North Carolina A&T (2017)
North Carolina A&T (2018)
North Carolina A&T† & South Carolina State (2019)
No champion (2020)
South Carolina State (2021)
Howard & North Carolina Central† (2022)
Howard (2023)
South Carolina State (2024)

National championships in bold
† Denotes postseason representative via conference tiebreaker

‹ The template below (1996 Division I-AA football playoff navbox) is being considered for deletion. See templates for discussion to help reach a consensus. ›

v t e 1996 NCAA Division I-AA football playoff participants
Delaware East Tennessee State Eastern Illinois Florida A&M Furman Jackson State Marshall Montana Murray State Nicholls State Northern Arizona Northern Iowa Troy State Villanova Western Illinois William & Mary
Champion – Marshall Thundering Herd

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