1996 Army Cadets football
Independence Bowl, L 32–29 vs. Auburn
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 24
AP	No. 25
Record	10–2
Head coach	Bob Sutton (6th season)
Defensive coordinator	Denny Doornbos (6th season)
Captain	Ben Kotwica, Ron Leshinski
Home stadium	Michie Stadium
Seasons ← 1995 1997 →

1996 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 25 Army		–		10	–	2
Navy		–		9	–	3
No. 19 Notre Dame		–		8	–	3
East Carolina		–		8	–	3
Louisiana Tech		–		6	–	5
UAB		–		5	–	6
UCF		–		5	–	6
Southwestern Louisiana		–		5	–	6
Northeast Louisiana		–		5	–	6
Arkansas State		–		4	–	7
Northern Illinois		–		1	–	10

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1996 Army Cadets football team was an American football team that represented the United States Military Academy in the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their sixth season under head coach Bob Sutton, the Cadets compiled a 10–2 record and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 379 to 224.^[1] In the annual Army–Navy Game, the Cadets defeated Navy, 28–24. They also lost to Auburn, 32–29, in the 1996 Independence Bowl.^[2]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 14	1:30 p.m.	Ohio		Michie Stadium West Point, NY		W 37–20	30,500
September 21	12:00 p.m.	Duke		Michie Stadium West Point, NY	HTS	W 35–17	36,049	^[3]
September 28	2:00 p.m.	vs. North Texas		Texas Stadium Irving, TX		W 27–10	20,413
October 5	1:30 p.m.	Yale		Michie Stadium West Point, NY		W 39–13	40,776	^[4]
October 12	1:00 p.m.	at Rutgers		Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ		W 42–21	19,101
October 19	1:30 p.m.	Tulane		Michie Stadium West Point, NY		W 34–10	35,971	^[5]
October 26	1:00 p.m.	at Miami (OH)		Yager Stadium Oxford, OH		W 27–7	16,543
November 2	1:30 p.m.	Lafayette		Michie Stadium West Point, NY		W 41–21	39,269	^[6]
November 9	3:30 p.m.	Air Force		Michie Stadium West Point, NY (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)	ABC	W 23–7	41,251
November 16	6:00 p.m.	at No. 19 Syracuse	No. 22	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY	ESPN	L 17–42	49,257	^[7]
December 7	12:00 p.m.	vs. Navy	No. 23	Veterans Stadium Philadelphia, PA (Army–Navy Game)	CBS	W 28–24	69,238
December 31	3:30 p.m.	vs. Auburn	No. 24	Independence Stadium Shreveport, LA (Independence Bowl)	ESPN	L 29–32	41,366	^[8]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	22	—	24	23	24	25
Coaches	—		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	23	—	24	23	24	24

Game summaries

Ohio

Duke

At North Texas

Yale

Vs. Rutgers

Tulane

At Miami (OH)

Lafayette

Air Force

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (January 2023)

At Syracuse

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (January 2023)

Vs. Navy

Army Cadets vs. Navy Midshipmen

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Army	3	10	12	3	28
Navy	0	21	3	0	24

at Veterans Stadium • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Date: December 7
Game time: 12:00 p.m. EDT
Game weather: Rain
Game attendance: 69,238
TV announcers (CBS): Jim Nantz, Terry Donahue, and Michele Tafoya
^[9]

Game information

Army

McAda
5/10, 116 Yds
15 Rush, 134 Yds, TD
Williams
1 Rec, 43 Yds

Navy

McCoy
6/14, 107 Yds, TD, INT
Nelson
18 Rush, 74 Yds
Heaven
2 Rec, 67 Yds

President Bill Clinton became the first sitting U.S. president to attend game since 1974.

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	ARMY	NAVY
1	0:00				Army	22-yard field goal by Parker	3	0
2	9:33				Navy	McGrew 7-yard touchdown run, Vanderhorst kick good	3	7
2	5:54				Navy	Butts 7-yard touchdown reception from McCoy, Vanderhorst kick good	3	14
2	5:14				Navy	McCoy 7-yard touchdown run, Vanderhorst kick good	3	21
2	2:39				Army	McAda 44-yard touchdown run, Parker kick good	10	21
2	0:39				Army	35-yard field goal by Parker	13	21
3	14:03				Army	Williams 81-yard touchdown run, 2-point run failed	19	21
3	5:43				Army	Perry 3-yard touchdown run, 2-point run failed	25	21
3	0:02				Navy	31-yard field goal by Vanderhorst	25	24
4	6:35				Army	20-yard field goal by Parker	28	24
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							28	24

Vs. Auburn

	1	2	3	4	Total
#24 Cadets	0	7	0	22	29
Tigers	10	10	12	0	32

Personnel

1996 Army Cadets football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense 79 Ed Bloom OT 6-7 277 So. Shoreview, Minn. 52 Tim Booth OT 6-3 268 Sr 82 Craig Mikolajchak SE 5-9 163 Jr. Houston, Texas 5 Brad Miller SE 5-11 192 Jr

Pos.	#	Name	Class
QB	`7`	Ronnie McAda	Sr
RB	`49`	Bobby Williams	So

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DE	`92`	Anthony Bianchi	Sr
CB	`19`	Garland Gay	Sr
LB	`44`	Ben Kotwica	Sr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K	`8`	Joseph Parker	Sr

Head coach

Bob Sutton

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Roster

Radio

Flagship station	Play–by–play	Color commentator	Sideline reporter	Studio host
WABC–AM 770

Some games broadcast on WPLJ–FM 95.5 because of broadcast conflict with the New York Yankees

References

^ "Army Yearly Results (1995-1999)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on December 10, 2015. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
^ "1996 Army Black Knights Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
^ "Army QB carries Cadets past Duke". Poughkeepsie Journal. September 22, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Berlet, Bruce (October 6, 1996). "An Inspired Effort Falls Short for Yale". The Hartford Courant. Hartford, Conn. p. E10 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Army is now 6–0". Poughkeepsie Journal. October 20, 1996. Retrieved February 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Meixell, Ted (November 3, 1996). "Lafayette Doesn't Go Down Easily Against Army". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pa. p. C3 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "McNabb regrets salute". The Sentinel. Syracuse, New York. Associated Press. November 20, 1996. p. 20. Retrieved January 17, 2021 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Auburn pulls rank on Army". The Shreveport Times. January 1, 1997. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Gainesville Sun. 1996 Dec 08. Retrieved 2019-Jan-17.

v t e Army Black Knights football
Venues	The Plain (1890–1923) Michie Stadium (1924–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Air Force (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy) Navy: Army–Navy Game (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy) Notre Dame
Culture & lore	Army Mules Black Death Award "On, Brave Old Army Team" "The Army Goes Rolling Along" 1946 "Game of the Century" West Point Salute Touchdown, Army Code Breakers
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders NFL draftees
Seasons	1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold