1996 Lehigh Mountain Hawks football team

1996 Lehigh Mountain Hawks football
ConferencePatriot League
Record5–6 (3–2 Patriot)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorAndy Coen (1st season)
Captains
  • Brian Bartelle
  • Lance Eckenrode
  • Mark Miller
  • Doug Yates
Home stadiumGoodman Stadium
Seasons
← 1995
1997 →
1996 Patriot League football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Bucknell $   4 – 1     6 – 5  
Colgate   3 – 2     6 – 5  
Lehigh   3 – 2     5 – 6  
Lafayette   2 – 2     5 – 5  
Fordham   1 – 3     2 – 8  
Holy Cross   1 – 4     2 – 9  
  • $ – Conference champion

The 1996 Lehigh Mountain Hawks football team was an American football team that represented Lehigh University during the 1996 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Lehigh finished third in the Patriot League.

In their third year under head coach Kevin Higgins, the newly renamed Mountain Hawks compiled a 5–6 record.[1] Brian Bartelle, Lance Eckenrode, Mark Miller and Doug Yates were the team captains.[2]

The Mountain Hawks were outscored 264 to 208. Their 3–2 conference record, however, placed third in the six-team Patriot League standings.[3]

Lehigh's football team competed under a new name for the first time since 1914. The "Mountain Hawk" mascot had been introduced in November 1995,[4] but the football team completed that season under its longstanding "Engineers" name.

In the ensuing months, many fans and alumni were vocal about their attachment to the "Engineers" nickname and brown-and-white colors. As late as spring 1996, college administrators were reaffirming that Lehigh's teams were still officially known as "Engineers".[5] By the start of the 1996 football season, however, the new identity had taken hold.[6]

Lehigh played its home games at Goodman Stadium on the university's Goodman Campus in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

  1. ^ "Year-by-Year Results". Lehigh Football Record Book (PDF). Bethlehem, Pa.: Lehigh University. p. 22. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  2. ^ "Lehigh Football Captains". Lehigh Football Record Book (PDF). Bethlehem, Pa.: Lehigh University. p. 12. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  3. ^ "Football All-Time Year-by-Year Results". Patriot League Football Record Book (PDF). Center Valley, Pa.: Patriot League. 2020. p. 5. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  4. ^ Blockus, Gary R. (November 12, 1995). "Lehigh Clinches Share of League Title; Abdullah Sets Mark in Rout of Holy Cross". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Larimer, Terry (March 20, 1996). "Lehigh Alumni Find Changes for the Birds". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Tomashek, Tom (September 4, 1995). "Raymond Warns of Potential Upset Against Lehigh". The News Journal. Wilmington, Del. p. C3 – via Newspapers.com.