# 2016 Fort Hays State Tigers football team

The 2016 Fort Hays State Tigers football team represented Fort Hays State University in the 2016 NCAA Division II football season. The Tigers played their home games at Lewis Field Stadium in Hays, Kansas, as they have done since 1936. 2016 was the 111th season in school history. The Tigers were led by sixth-year head coach, Chris Brown. Fort Hays State has been a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association since 2006.

## Preseason

The Tigers entered the 2016 season after finishing 8–4 overall, 8–3 in conference play last season under Brown. On August 2, 2016 at the MIAA Football Media Day, the Tigers were chosen to finish in sixth place in the Coaches Poll, and fifth in the Media Poll.

## Personnel
### Coaching staff

Along with Brown, there were 10 assistants.
| Name | Position | Seasons at FHSU | Alma Mater |
| Chris Brown | Head coach | 6 | Pittsburg State (1996) |
| Al McCray | Assistant head coach – Wide Receivers | 8 | Clinch Valley |
| Cooper Harris | Assistant head coach – Defensive Coordinator | 4 | Pittsburg State (1995) |
| Jeff Bryant | Assistant head coach – Offensive Coordinator | 1 | Tulsa (2007) |
| Philip Vigil | Assistant head coach – Passing Game/Recruiting Coord. | 1 | Colorado Mesa (2009) |
| Ike Eguae | Assistant head coach – Defensive Line | 2 | Pittsburg State (2007) |
| Steven Dudley | Assistant head coach – Special Teams & Defensive Backs | 3 | Washburn (2013) |
| Mike Hepp | Assistant head coach – Defensive Line | 2 | Ripon College (2012) |
| Jared Haferbier | Assistant head coach – Running Backs | 1 | Truman State (2015) |
| Zach Burkhart | Assistant head coach – Tight Ends | 1 | Pittsburg State (2015) |
| Doug Boucher | Strength & conditioning Coach | 2 | Kansas State (1984) |
| Reference: ||||

### Roster
## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 1 | 7:00 pm | Missouri Southern | Lewis Field StadiumHays, KS | | W 22–10 | 4,134 |
| September 8 | 7:00 pm | at No. 16 Central Missouri | Audrey J. Walton StadiumWarrensburg, MO | | L 17–34 | 7,279 |
| September 17 | 7:00 pm | Central Oklahoma | Lewis Field StadiumHays, KS | | W 34–20 | 3,520 |
| September 24 | 1:00 pm | at Northeastern State | Doc Wadley StadiumTahlequah, OK | | W 34–7 | 2,526 |
| October 1 | 2:00 pm | Lindenwood | Lewis Field StadiumHays, KS | | W 37–6 | 4,266 |
| October 8 | 2:00 pm | at Pittsburg State | Carnie Smith StadiumPittsburg, KS | | W 54–41 | 10,238 |
| October 15 | 1:00 pm | at Washburn | Yager StadiumTopeka, KS | | L 24–30 | 5,350 |
| October 22 | 2:00 pm | Missouri Western | Lewis Field StadiumHays, KS | | W 35–27 | 3,250 |
| October 29 | 2:00 pm | at No. 10 Emporia State | Francis G. Welch StadiumEmporia, KS | | L 16–24 | 6,103 |
| November 5 | 1:00 pm | No. 1 Northwest Missouri State | Lewis Field StadiumHays, KS | | L 7–28 | 3,325 |
| November 12 | 1:00 pm | at Nebraska–Kearney | Ron & Carol Cope StadiumKearney, NE | | W 27–17 | 2,100 |
| December 3 | 6:00 p.m. | vs. Eastern New Mexico* | Bulldawg StadiumCopperas Cove, TX (Heart of Texas Bowl) | ESPN 3 | W 45–12 | 750 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time |||||||
Source:

### Game notes, regular season
#### Missouri Southern

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Missouri Southern | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| • Fort Hays State | 7 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 22 |

#### Central Missouri

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Fort Hays State | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 17 |
| • #16 Central Missouri | 14 | 3 | 14 | 3 | 34 |

#### Central Oklahoma

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Central Oklahoma | 0 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 20 |
| • Fort Hays State | 21 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 34 |

#### Northeastern State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Fort Hays State | 0 | 17 | 7 | 10 | 34 |
| Northeastern State | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |

#### Lindenwood

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Lindenwood | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| • Fort Hays State | 21 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 37 |

#### Pittsburg State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Fort Hays State | 10 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 54 |
| Pittsburg State | 14 | 6 | 7 | 14 | 41 |

#### Washburn

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Fort Hays State | 0 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 24 |
| • Washburn | 13 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 30 |

#### Missouri Western

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Missouri Western | 12 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 27 |
| • Fort Hays State | 7 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 35 |

#### Emporia State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Fort Hays State | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 16 |
| • #10 Emporia State | 7 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 24 |

#### Northwest Missouri State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • #1 Northwest Missouri State | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 28 |
| Fort Hays State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |

#### Nebraska–Kearney

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Fort Hays State | 7 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 27 |
| Nebraska–Kearney | 3 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 17 |

### Game notes, post-season
#### Eastern New Mexico

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Eastern New Mexico | 0 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 12 |
| • Fort Hays State | 14 | 21 | 0 | 10 | 45 |