# 1896 college football season

The 1896 college football season had no clear-cut champion, with the Official NCAA Division I Football Records Book listing Lafayette and Princeton as having been selected national champions. Lafayette finished with an 11–0–1 record while Princeton had a 10–0–1 record. In the second game of the season for both teams, Lafayette and Princeton played to a scoreless tie. Both teams had signature wins: Lafayette defeated Penn 6–4, giving the Quakers their only loss of the season, while Princeton defeated previously unbeaten Yale, 24–6, on Thanksgiving Day in the last game of the season. Princeton was retroactively named the 1896 national champions by the Billingsley Report, the Helms Athletic Foundation, the Houlgate System, and Lafayette and Princeton were named national co-champions by the National Championship Foundation and Parke Davis.

## Conference and program changes
### Conference changes

* The Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives, commonly known as the Western Conference and the precursor to the modern Big Ten Conference, began its first season of play in 1896 with seven founding members from across the Midwest.

### Membership changes

| School | 1895 Conference | 1896 Conference |
| Central Michigan Normal Normalites | Program established | Independent |
| Chicago Maroons | Independent | Western Conference |
| Clemson Tigers | Program established | SIAA |
| Cumberland Bulldogs | Independent | SIAA |
| Illinois Illini | Independent | Western Conference |
| Indiana State Sycamores | Program Established | Independent |
| Kansas State Agricultural Aggies | Program established | Independent |
| Kentucky State Wildcats | Independent | SIAA |
| Louisiana State Tigers | Independent | SIAA |
| Mercer Baptists | Independent | SIAA |
| Michigan Wolverines | Independent | Western Conference |
| Minnesota Golden Gophers | Independent | Western Conference |
| Mississippi Rebels | Independent | SIAA |
| Mississippi A&M Aggies | Independent | SIAA |
| Nashville ? | Independent | SIAA |
| Nevada State Sagebrushers | Program established | Independent |
| Northwestern Wildcats | Independent | Western Conference |
| Purdue Boilermakers | Independent | Western Conference |
| Southwestern Presbyterian Lynx | Independent | SIAA |
| Storrs Agricultural Aggies | Program established | Independent |
| Texas Longhorns | Independent | SIAA |
| Texas Christian Horned Frogs | Program established | Independent |
| Tennessee Volunteers | Independent | SIAA |
| Territorial Normal Normals | Program established | Independent |
| Wisconsin Badgers | Independent | Western Conference |

## Conference standings
### Major conference standings

1896 Colorado Football Association standings :
| 1896 Colorado Football Association standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T Colorado $ 2 –0 –05 –0 –0 Colorado Mines 1 –1 –01 –2 –0 Colorado College 0 –2 –03 –4 –0 $ – Conference champion | 1896 Maryland Intercollegiate Football Association standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T Maryland   –  – 6 –2 –2 $ – Conference champion | 1896 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T LSU + 3 –0 –06 –0 –0 Georgia + 2 –0 –04 –0 –0 Vanderbilt 2 –0 –23 –2 –2 Auburn 3 –1 –03 –1 –0 Texas 1 –1 –04 –2 –1 Alabama 1 –1 –02 –1 –0 Kentucky State College 1 –1 –03 –6 –0 Sewanee 3 –3 –03 –3 –0 Tennessee 0 –0 –04 –0 –0 Tulane 1 –2 –03 –2 –0 Nashville 0 –1 –10 –1 –1 Mercer 0 –2 –10 –2 –1 Central (KY) 0 –2 –10 –3 –1 Mississippi A&M 0 –2 –00 –4 –0 SW Presbyterian 0 –2 –00 –3 –0 Cumberland (TN)   –   –   + – Conference co-champions |
| 1896 Triangular Football League standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T Dartmouth $ 2 –0 –05 –2 –1 Amherst 1 –1 –03 –6 –1 Williams 0 –2 –06 –4 –1 $ – Conference champion | 1896 Western Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T Wisconsin $ 2 –0 –17 –1 –1 Michigan 2 –1 –09 –1 –0 Northwestern 2 –1 –16 –1 –2 Chicago 3 –2 –015 –2 –1 Minnesota 1 –2 –08 –2 –0 Illinois 0 –2 –14 –2 –1 Purdue 0 –2 –14 –2 –1 $ – Conference champion | 1896 Western Interstate University Football Association standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T Iowa $ 2 –0 –17 –1 –1 Kansas 2 –1 –07 –3 –0 Nebraska 1 –1 –16 –3 –1 Missouri 0 –3 –07 –5 –0 $ – Conference champion |

### Independents

1896 Eastern college football independents records :
| 1896 Eastern college football independents records vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T Fordham   –  1 –0 –0 Lafayette   –  11 –0 –1 Princeton   –  10 –0 –1 Washington & Jefferson   –  8 –0 –1 Penn   –  14 –1 –0 Yale   –  13 –1 –0 Pittsburgh College   –  11 –2 –0 Buffalo   –  9 –1 –2 Villanova   –  10 –4 –0 Bucknell   –  5 –2 –1 Harvard   –  7 –4 –0 Boston College   –  5 –3 –0 Storrs   –  5 –3 –0 Cornell   –  5 –3 –1 Syracuse   –  5 –3 –2 Temple   –  3 –2 –0 Army   –  3 –2 –1 Rutgers   –  6 –6 –0 Carlisle   –  5 –5 –0 Holy Cross   –  2 –2 –2 Brown   –  4 –5 –1 Wesleyan   –  4 –5 –1 Frankin & Marshall   –  3 –4 –2 Geneva   –  3 –4 –0 Penn State   –  3 –4 –0 Colgate   –  3 –4 –1 Amherst   –  3 –6 –1 Western Univ. Penn.   –  3 –6 –0 Lehigh   –  2 –5 –0 Tufts   –  2 –6 –1 Swarthmore   –  2 –6 –0 New Hampshire   –  1 –4 –0 Drexel   –  1 –5 –0 Massachusetts   –  0 –4 –0 Rhode Island   –  0 –4 –0 | 1896 Midwestern college football independents records vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T Carthage   –  4 –0 –0 St. Ignatius College Chicago   –  1 –0 –0 Washburn   –  6 –1 –1 Iowa Agricultural   –  8 –2 –0 Central Michigan   –  3 –1 –0 Miami (OH)   –  3 –1 –0 Ohio Wesleyan   –  6 –2 –0 Detroit College   –  5 –2 –0 North Dakota Agricultural   –  3 –1 –1 Heidelberg   –  2 –1 –0 Ohio   –  4 –2 –1 Indiana   –  5 –3 –0 Beloit   –  2 –1 –3 Missouri   –  7 –5 –0 Butler   –  4 –3 –0 Iowa State Normal   –  4 –3 –0 Notre Dame   –  4 –3 –0 Cincinnati   –  4 –3 –1 Wittenberg   –  5 –4 –0 Baldwin–Wallace   –  2 –2 –0 College of Emporia   –  2 –3 –0 Ohio State   –  5 –5 –1 Lake Forest   –  3 –4 –1 Mount Union   –  3 –4 –1 Wabash   –  3 –4 –0 Drake   –  2 –3 –0 Chicago P&S   –  2 –4 –2 Michigan Agricultural   –  1 –2 –1 Kansas State   –  0 –1 –1 Indiana State Normal   –  0 –1 –0 Buchtel   –  0 –1 –0 Washington University   –  0 –2 –0 Doane   –  0 –5 –0 Haskell   –  0 –5 –0 | 1896 Southern college football independents records vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T Centre   –  6 –0 –1 Texas A&M   –  2 –0 –1 Oklahoma   –  2 –0 –0 North Carolina A&M   –  1 –0 –0 Virginia   –  7 –2 –2 VPI   –  5 –2 –1 Navy   –  5 –3 –0 Arkansas   –  2 –1 –0 Clemson   –  2 –1 –0 Columbian   –  2 –1 –0 Georgia Tech   –  2 –2 –1 Add-Ran   –  1 –1 –1 Centenary   –  1 –1 –0 VMI   –  3 –4 –0 North Carolina   –  3 –4 –1 Furman   –  2 –3 –0 Ole Miss   –  1 –2 –0 West Virginia   –  3 –7 –2 South Carolina   –  1 –3 –0 Erskine   –  0 –1 –0 William & Mary   –  0 –2 –0 Davidson   –  0 –1 –0 Delaware   –  0 –6 –0 |
| 1896 Far West college football independents records vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T Gonzaga   –  2 –0 –0 Wyoming   –  2 –0 –0 Washington Agricultural   –  2 –0 –1 California   –  6 –2 –2 Stanford   –  2 –1 –1 Oregon   –  2 –1 –0 Utah   –  3 –2 –0 Saint Mary's   –  1 –1 –0 Washington   –  2 –3 –0 Nevada State   –  1 –2 –0 Oregon Agricultural   –  1 –2 –0 Utah Agricultural   –  0 –1 –0 New Mexico A&M   –  0 –2 –0 USC   –  0 –3 –0 |

### Minor conferences

| Conference | Champion(s) | Record |
| Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association | Michigan State Normal | 2–0 |