1996 Wisconsin Badgers football team

American college football season February 2026 August 2023 1996 Wisconsin Badgers football Wisconsin Badgers logo.svg 125 Big Ten Conference Big Ten 8–5 3–5 Barry Alvarez 7th Brad ChildressAugust 2025 5th SmashmouthAugust 2025 Kevin CosgroveAugust 2025 2nd 4–3August 2025 Pete Monty Daryl Carter Cayetano Castro Pete Monty Tarek Saleh Jamie Vanderveldt Jerry WunschAugust 2025 Camp Randall Stadium Copper Bowl champion Copper Bowl W 38–10 vs. Utah The 1996 Wisconsin Badgers football team was an American football team that represented the University of Wisconsin–Madison as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their seventh year under head coach Barry Alvarez, the Badgers compiled an 8–5 record (3–5 in conference games), finished in seventh place in the Big Ten, and outscored opponents by a total of 339 to 233. Against ranked opponents, they lost to No. 3 Penn State, No. 2 Ohio State, and No. 14 Northwestern. They concluded the season with a victory over Utah in the Copper Bowl.1996 Wisconsin Badgers Schedule and Results Sports Reference LLC SR/College Football August 25, 2025 https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/wisconsin/1996-schedule.html The Badgers were unranked in the final AP and Coaches polls. The team's statistical leaders for all games, including bowl game, were quarterback Mike Samuel (1,752 passing yards, 58.27% completion percentage), running back Ron Dayne (2,109 rushing yards, 6.5 yards per carry, 126 points scored), wide receiver Donald Hayes (44 receptions for 629 yards), and linebacker Pete Monty (85 solo tackles, 149 total tackles.1996 Wisconsin Cumulative Statistics UWBadgers.com August 25, 2025 https://uwbadgers.com/sports/football/stats/1996 Monty won the team's most valuable player award.MVP Monty pays tribute to teammates The Capital Times Mike Lucas December 6, 1996 1B, 4B https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-capital-times-mvp-monty-pays-tribute/179725700/ Newspapers.com Defensive lineman Tarek Saleh received first-team honors from the Football News on the 1996 All-America team. Four Badgers received first-team honors from the coaches or media on the 1996 All-Big Ten Conference football team: Dayne (Coaches-1, Media-1); Saleh (Coaches-1, Media-1); Monty (Coaches-1 [tie]; Media-2); and guard Jamie Vanderveldt (Media-1).1996 All-Big Ten Team Purdue University March 5, 2015 http://www.purduesports.com/sports/m-footbl/archive/pur-m-footbl-allbig10.html April 2, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150402151157/http://www.purduesports.com/sports/m-footbl/archive/pur-m-footbl-allbig10.html dead The team played its home games at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. Schedule 1996 AP Central September 7 11:30 a.m. w y Eastern Michigan Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI ESPN2 24–3 74,279 September 14 9:00 p.m. w y y UNLV Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NV 52–17 40,091 September 21 11:30 a.m. w y Stanford Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI ESPN2 14–0 77,894 September 28 2:30 p.m. l Penn State 3 Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI ABC 20–23 79,607 October 12 2:30 p.m. l y Ohio State 2 Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH ABC 14–17 94,215 October 19 11:30 a.m. l y Northwestern 14 Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI ESPN 30–34 79,576 October 26 11:30 a.m. l y Michigan State Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI ESPN2 13–30 69,217 November 2 11:30 a.m. w Purdue Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI ESPN 33–25 78,330 November 9 11:00 a.m. w Minnesota Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI rivalry ESPN Plus 45–28 78,006 November 16 11:30 a.m. l y Iowa Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA rivalry ESPN 0–31 66,570 November 23 1:00 p.m. w y Illinois Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL 35–15 37,814 November 30 11:00 p.m. w y y Hawaii Aloha Stadium Halawa, HI 59–10 26,819 December 27 8:00 p.m. w y y Utah Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ Copper Bowl ESPN 38–10 42,122 August 2025 Season summary Wisconsin started off quickly in 1996, winning their first three games against Eastern Michigan, UNLV, and Stanford. However, the Badgers then encountered far stiffer opposition against Penn State, Ohio State, Northwestern, and Michigan State. In the Northwestern game, Wisconsin RB Ron Dayne stunningly fumbled with just under a minute remaining. Northwestern recovered and scored the winning touchdown, sealing Wisconsin's third consecutive loss. The Badgers lost their fourth straight game the next week, falling 30–13 to Michigan State. The Badgers snapped their four-game losing streak with consecutive wins against Purdue and rival Minnesota, before suffering a humiliating 31–0 loss at the hands of Hayden Fry's Iowa Hawkeyes. After falling to 5–5, the Badgers would win the final games on their regular season slate by beating Illinois and Hawaii, earning a bid to the Copper Bowl. The Badgers defeated the Utah Utes 38–10 in the 1996 Copper Bowl. Wisconsin RB Ron Dayne ran for over 2,000 yards and 21 touchdowns in the 1996 season, earning Big Ten Freshman of the Year Honors in the process.August 2025 Personnel Roster 1996 Wisconsin Badgers f 17 Fr Willie Austin WR 88 Fr Demetrius Brown WR y 32 Jr Branden Cantrell FB 68 Sr Cayetano Castro G y C 64 Sr James Darby T y 33 Fr Ron Dayne RB y 69 Sr Derek Engler C y y 59 Sr Mike Galletti G y 79 So Aaron Gibson T y 89 So Eric Grams TE y 84 Jr Donald Hayes WR y 12 Fr Scott Kavanagh QB 9 Sr Kevin Lyles TE y 37 So Cecil Martin FB y y 13 Jr Carl McCullough RB y y 75 Fr Chris McIntosh T y y 1 Fr Ahmad Merritt WR y y 56 Sr Mike Rader C y 10 So Mike Samuel QB y 82 Jr Tony Simmons Tony Simmons (wide receiver) WR y y 49 So Ryan Sondrup TE y 18 Jr Dirk Stanger QB y 43 So Aaron Stecker RB y y 77 Sr Joe Steffen OL y 65 Sr Jamie Vanderveldt G y C 41 So John Waerig FB 22 Fr Charles Williams RB y 71 Sr Jerry Wunsch T y y C 29 So Bob Adamov S y 45 Sr Giscard Bernard S 3 Jr Onjai Bryant DB 74 So Tom Burke Tom Burke (American football) DT y 38 Jr Lamar Campbell Lamar Campbell (American football) CB y 25 Fr Marcus Carpenter DE y 19 Sr Daryl Carter LB y C 36 Sr Azree Commander DE y 99 So Dave Cruickshank DE y 96 Sr Pete Diatelevi LB y 55 Jr Brian Flanigan LB y 16 Fr Chris Ghidorzi LB 22 Jr Trent Gross DB y 6 Jr Kevin Huntley S 59 Jr Joe Innis DT y 58 Fr Chris Janek DT 85 Sr Bryan Jurewicz DE y y 57 Jr David Lysek LB y 94 Sr Neil Miklusak DT y 48 Sr Pete Monty LB y C 26 Fr Bobby Myers S y 15 Fr Tim Rosga S y 42 Sr Tarek Saleh DE y C 91 Sr Rod Spiller DT y 28 Jr Jason Suttle CB y y 34 So Leonard Taylor CB y 33 Jr Scott Wagner CB y 7 Sr Cyrill Weems CB y 92 So Brian Williams DT y 21 Fr Tony Williams S y 14 Sr John Hall John Hall (American football) K P y y 46 Fr Mike Schneck LS y y 23 Fr Eric Skrzypchak P y https://web.archive.org/web/19961225142519/http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/sfc/big10/sfcd11ra.htm *Barry Alvarez Brad Childress – Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks Kevin Cosgrove – Defensive coordinator/inside linebackers Mike Cassity – Defensive backs Jay Hayes – Outside linebackers/special teams Jim Hueber – Offensive line Henry Mason – Wide receivers John Palermo – Assistant Head Coach/defensive line Brian White – Running backs Bernie Wyatt – Tight ends/recruiting coordinator August 2025 Regular starters PositionPlayerQuarterbackMike SamuelRunning backRon DayneFullbackCecil Martin / Aaron GibsonWide receiverDonald HayesWide receiverTony SimmonsTight endKevin LylesLeft tackleChris McIntoshLeft guardJamie VanderveldtCenter Derek EnglerRight guardCayetano CastroRight tackleJerry Wunsch PositionPlayerDefensive endTarek SalehDefensive tackleNeil MiklusakDefensive tackleRod SpillerDefensive endBryan JurewiczOutside linebackerDaryl CarterInside linebackerPete MontyOutside linebackerDavid LysekCornerbackCyrill WeemsFree safetyKevin HuntleyStrong safetyBob AdamovCornerbackJason Suttle August 2025 Wisconsin players selected in the 1997 NFL draft Wisconsin Badgers Player Position Round Overall Selection NFL team Jerry Wunsch Guard 2 37 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Pete Monty Linebacker 4 103 New York Giants Tarek Saleh Linebacker 4 122Carolina Panthers https://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1997.htm 1984 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com Pro-Football-Reference.com 2016-12-07 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20090527000715/http://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1984.htm 2009-05-27 References Wisconsin Category:Wisconsin Badgers football seasons Category:Guaranteed Rate Bowl champion seasons Wisconsin Badgers football