The 1986 Tennessee State Tigers football team represented

Tennessee State University Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tenness ...

as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

during the 1986 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by third-year head coach

William A. Thomas William A. Thomas (October 21, 1948 – January 18, 2019) was an American football coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football at Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tennessee from 1984 to 1988 and Texas Southe ...

, the Tigers compiled an overall record of 10–2–1. Tennessee State advanced to the Division I-AA post season and defeated

Jackson State Jackson State University (Jackson State or JSU) is a public historically black research university in Jackson, Mississippi. It is one of the largest HBCUs in the United States and the fourth largest university in Mississippi in terms of studen ...

in the first round and lost to

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

in the quarterfinals.

Schedule

References

Tennessee State Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tennes ...

Tennessee State Tigers football seasons

Tennessee State Tigers football The Tennessee State Tigers football program represents Tennessee State University in the sport of American football. The Tigers compete in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) as member of the Ohio Valley Conference. Hist ...

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