The 1996 Fordham Rams football team was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

team that represented

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

during the

1996 NCAA Division I-AA football season The 1996 NCAA Division I-AA football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I-AA level, began in August 1996, and concluded with the 1996 NCAA Division I-AA ...

. Fordham finished second-to-last in the

Patriot League The Patriot League is a collegiate athletic conference comprising private institutions of higher education and two United States service academies based in the Northeastern United States. Outside the Ivy League, it is among the most selective gr ...

. In their third year under head coach

Nick Quartaro Nick Quartaro (born October 5, 1955) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the assistant head coach and tight ends coach for the football team at the University of North Texas. Quartaro served as the head football coac ...

, the Rams compiled a 2–8 record. Carl Barbera, Mark Bourke, Jim Ciarlante and Kevin Szocik were the team captains. The Rams were outscored 248 to 172. Their 1–3 conference record placed fifth in the six-team Patriot League standings. Though 11 games were scheduled, only 10 were played. Fordham's planned meeting with league opponent

Lafayette Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to: People * Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette * House of La Fayette, a French noble family ** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757� ...

on October 12 was canceled after a Fordham player collapsed and died during that day's pregame warmups. The teams were prepared to play the game November 27 if necessary to determine the league championship. Because neither team was in contention for first place at the scheduled end of the season, the makeup game was not played. Fordham played its home games at

Jack Coffey Field Jack Coffey Field is a 7,000-seat multi-purpose stadium in the Northeastern United States, northeast United States, located on the campus of Fordham University in The Bronx, New York (state), New York. It is the Fordham Rams' home for Fordha ...

on the university campus in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Schedule

Roster

References

{{Fordham Rams football navbox Fordham Fordham Rams football seasons

Fordham Rams football The Fordham Rams football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Fordham University, located in the borough of The Bronx in New York City. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and ar ...