1996 McNeese State Cowboys football team

The 1996 McNeese State Cowboys football team was an American football team that represented McNeese State University as a member of the Southland Conference (Southland) during the 1996 NCAA Division I-AA football season. In their seventh year under head coach Bobby Keasler, the team compiled an overall record of 3–8, with a mark of 1–5 in conference play, and finished seventh in the Southland.

1996 McNeese State Cowboys football
Conference	Southland Conference
Record	3–8 (1–5 Southland)
Head coach	Bobby Keasler (7th season)
Offensive coordinator	Mike Santiago (7th season)
Defensive coordinator	Kirby Bruchhaus (7th season)
Home stadium	Cowboy Stadium
Seasons ← 1995 1997 →

1996 Southland Football League standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 5 Troy State $^		5	–	1					12	–	2
No. 19 Nicholls State ^		4	–	2					8	–	4
No. 22 Stephen F. Austin		3	–	3					7	–	4
Northwestern State		3	–	3					6	–	5
Sam Houston State		3	–	3					4	–	7
Southwest Texas State		2	–	4					5	–	6
McNeese State		1	–	5					3	–	8
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 7	No. 3 Southwest Missouri State*	No. 21	Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA	L 7–12	14,059	[1]
September 14	James Madison*		Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA	L 10–24	12,543	[2]
September 21	Angelo State*		Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA	W 37–23	8,679	[3]
September 28	at Northern Iowa*		UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, IA	L 10–43	14,692	[4]
October 5	Arkansas–Monticello*		Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA	W 49–3	6,866	[5]
October 12	at No. 8 Troy State		Veterans Memorial Stadium Troy, AL	L 12–16	9,500	[6]
October 26	at Sam Houston State		Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX	L 25–30		[7]
October 29	No. 11 Stephen F. Austin		Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA	L 37–38	7,901	[8]
November 9	Southwest Texas State		Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA	L 13–16		[9]
November 16	at No. 25 Northwestern State		Harry Turpin Stadium Natchitoches, LA (rivalry)	W 20–3	8,100	[10]
November 23	No. 22 Nicholls State		Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA	L 16–17	6,121	[11]
*Non-conference game Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game