The 1996 Brigham Young Cougars football team represented the

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

in the

1996 NCAA Division I-A football season The 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with the Florida Gators being crowned National Champions after defeating rival Florida State in the Sugar Bowl, which was the season's designated Bowl Alliance national championship game. Florida ha ...

. They were the first team during the so-called "Modern era" (post 1937) to play 15 games in a season, and the only one to do it when Division I-A teams normally played 11 regular season games. Firstly, a team was able to play a designated "kickoff" opening game and not have it count against the allowed game total, then they played at which didn't count against the allowed total. That allowed BYU to play 13 regular season games. They then played a conference championship game and a bowl game in the

Cotton Bowl Classic The Cotton Bowl Classic (also known as the Cotton Bowl) is an American college football bowl game that has been held annually in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex since January 1, 1937. The game was originally played at its namesake stadium i ...

bringing the total to 15 games. During the 2002 and 2003 seasons teams were allowed to schedule 12 games as well as a "kickoff" game. As a result, the 2003 Kansas State Wildcats became only the second team to play a 15-game season, finishing with an 11-4 record. The kickoff game exemption was eliminated in 2005, but the Hawaii exemption remains in place. Since 2014, it has again been possible for teams to play a 15-game schedule without playing in Hawaii because of the 4 team playoff system. The next team to do this without the aid of the playoff would be the 2019 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors.

Schedule

Roster

References

BYU Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...

BYU Cougars football seasons Western Athletic Conference football champion seasons Cotton Bowl Classic champion seasons

BYU Cougars football The BYU Cougars football team is the college football program representing Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. The Cougars began collegiate football competition in 1922, and have won 23 conference championships and one national champion ...

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