1996 Fresno State Bulldogs football team

The 1996 Fresno State Bulldogs football team represented California State University, Fresno[note 1] during the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). The team was led by head coach Jim Sweeney, in his nineteenth (and last) year, and played home games at Bulldog Stadium in Fresno, California. They finished the 1996 season with a record of five wins, seven losses (5–7, 2–6 WAC).

1996 Fresno State Bulldogs football
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
	Pacific Division
1996 record	4–7 (3–5 WAC)
Head coach	Jim Sweeney (19th season)
Home stadium	Bulldog Stadium (Capacity: 41,031)

1996 Western Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Mountain Division
No. 5 BYU x$		8	–	0					14	–	1
Utah		6	–	2					8	–	4
Rice		6	–	2					7	–	4
SMU		4	–	4					5	–	6
New Mexico		3	–	5					6	–	5
TCU		3	–	5					4	–	7
Tulsa		2	–	6					4	–	7
UTEP		0	–	8					2	–	9
Pacific Division
No. 22 Wyoming x		7	–	1					10	–	2
San Diego State		6	–	2					8	–	3
Colorado State		6	–	2					7	–	5
Air Force		5	–	3					6	–	5
Fresno State		3	–	5					4	–	7
San Jose State		3	–	5					3	–	9
Hawaii		1	–	7					2	–	10
UNLV		1	–	8					1	–	11
Championship: BYU 28, Wyoming 25 ^OT
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

Coach Sweeney finished his career with 201 college victories. 144 of these came at Fresno State, 26 at Washington State, and 21 at Montana State. The 169 wins in Division I-A (Fresno State & Washington State) place him in the top 40 of winningest Division I-A coaches of all time.[1]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
August 31	Oregon*	Bulldog Stadium Fresno, CA	L 27–30 ^OT	39,312
September 7	at No. 18 Auburn*	Jordan–Hare Stadium Auburn, AL	L 0–62	79,026
September 21	at Utah*	Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, UT	L 17–45	32,539
September 28	Hawaii	Bulldog Stadium Fresno, CA (rivalry)	W 20–0	36,428
October 12	San Jose State*	Bulldog Stadium Fresno, CA (rivalry)	W 28–18	38,276
October 19	at No. 23 Wyoming	War Memorial Stadium Laramie, WY	L 21–42	14,446
October 26	at UNLV	Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NV	W 34–23	11,319
November 2	Boise State	Bulldog Stadium Fresno, CA (rivalry)	W 41–7	36,099
November 9	Colorado State	Bulldog Stadium Fresno, CA	L 20–42	35,009
November 16	Air Force	Bulldog Stadium Fresno, CA	L 38–44 ^OT	39,112
November 23	at San Diego State	Jack Murphy Stadium San Diego, CA (rivalry)	L 21–31	32,107
*Non-conference game Rankings from no Poll released prior to the game

[2][3][4]

Roster

1996 Fresno State Bulldogs football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense 73 Donte Addision OG 6-4 265 So Seaside, Calif. 87 Chris Alex TE 6-3 250 Fr Pos. # Name Class QB 16 Jim Arellanes Sr T 78 Chris Conrad Jr QB 10 Richie Donati Sr WR 22 Corey Fields Jr FB 43 Grant Parnagian Jr TB 4 Michael Pittman Jr	Defense 47 Joe Barnes LB 5-10 180 Jr Duarte, Calif. 20 Chris Bayne LB 6-0 205 Sr Pos. # Name Class CB 7 Mustafah Muhammad Sr DE 54 Ryan Negrete Jr DT 93 Bryan Robinson Sr SS 5 Omar Stoutmire Sr CB 2 Rio Wells Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Jim Sweeney Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

Team players in the NFL

The following were selected in the 1997 NFL Draft.[5][6]

Player	Position	Round	Overall	NFL Team
Chris Bayne	Defensive Back	7	222	Atlanta Falcons
Omar Stoutmire	Defensive Back	7	224	Dallas Cowboys

The following finished their college career in 1996, were not drafted, but played in the NFL.

Player	Position	First NFL Team
Bryan Robinson	Defensive Tackle - Defensive End	1997 St. Louis Rams
Mustafah Muhammad	Defensive Back	1999 Indianapolis Colts

Notes

1. The official name of Fresno State has been California State University, Fresno since 1972. However, it is still commonly known as Fresno State.

References

1. "Career Leaders and Records for Wins". Retrieved 19 December 2016.
2. "Fresno State 1996 Schedule". Retrieved December 12, 2016.
3. "Fresno State 2016 Media Guide" (PDF). Retrieved December 8, 2016.
4. "Fresno State Yearly Results". Retrieved January 7, 2017.
5. "1997 NFL Draft". Archived from the original on October 5, 2009. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
6. "Fresno St. Players/Alumni". Retrieved December 12, 2016.