1996 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game

This article is about the Division I-AA (now FCS) championship game. For the Division I-A (now FBS) championship game, see 1996 Fiesta Bowl.

1996 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship
I-AA National Championship Game
Montana Grizzlies Marshall Thundering Herd
(14–0) (14–0)
Big Sky SoCon
29 49
Head coach: 
Mick Dennehy		 Head coach: 
Bob Pruett
TSNSeed
21
TSNSeed
12
1234 Total
Montana 06023 29
Marshall 1491610 49
DateDecember 21, 1996
Season1996
StadiumMarshall University Stadium
LocationHuntington, West Virginia
FavoriteMarshall by 6.5[1]
RefereeChuck Feevey[2]
Attendance30,052[3]
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPN
AnnouncersBrad Nessler (play-by-play) and Gary Danielson (analyst)
NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship
 < 1995 1997 > 

The 1996 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Marshall Thundering Herd and the Montana Grizzlies. The game was played on December 21, 1996, and was the last I-AA title game contested at Marshall University Stadium, now known as Joan C. Edwards Stadium, in Huntington, West Virginia. The culminating game of the 1996 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was a rematch of the prior season's final, and was won by Marshall, 49–29.[4] It was also Marshall's final game in Division I-AA, now known as Division I FCS; the Herd would move to Division I-A (now Division I FBS) the following July, joining the Mid-American Conference.

  1. ^ "Latest Line". Sun-Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale, Florida. December 21, 1996. p. 9C. Retrieved April 13, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  2. ^ Briggeman, Kim (December 22, 1996). "UM falls 49-29 to Marshall". Billings Gazette. p. 1B. Retrieved March 6, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference GrizBox was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Rothschild, Richard (December 22, 1996). "Marshall Routs Montana to Capture NCAA I-AA Title". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 5, 2019.