1996 Fordham Rams football team

1996 Fordham Rams football
Conference	Patriot League
Record	2–8 (1–3 Patriot)
Head coach	Nick Quartaro (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	Vince Sinagra (3rd season)
Captains	Carl Barbera Mark Bourke Jim Ciarlante Kevin Szocik
Home stadium	Coffey Field
Seasons ←  1995 1997  →

1996 Patriot League football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Bucknell $		4	–	1					6	–	5
Colgate		3	–	2					6	–	5
Lehigh		3	–	2					5	–	6
Lafayette		2	–	2					5	–	5
Fordham		1	–	3					2	–	8
Holy Cross		1	–	4					2	–	9
$ – Conference champion

The 1996 Fordham Rams football team was an American football team that represented Fordham University during the 1996 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Fordham finished second-to-last in the Patriot League.

In their third year under head coach Nick Quartaro, the Rams compiled a 2–8 record. Carl Barbera, Mark Bourke, Jim Ciarlante and Kevin Szocik were the team captains. ^[1]

The Rams were outscored 248 to 172. Their 1–3 conference record placed fifth in the six-team Patriot League standings. ^[2]

Though 11 games were scheduled, only 10 were played. Fordham's planned meeting with league opponent Lafayette 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. ^[3] 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 on the university campus in The Bronx, in New York City.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 7	Maine *	Coffey Field Bronx, NY	L 13–24	3,725	[4]
September 14	at Lehigh	Goodman Stadium Bethlehem, PA	L 14–20	6,527	[5]
September 21	at No. 18 Villanova *	Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA	L 10–49	12,357	[6]
September 28	Columbia *	Coffey Field Bronx, NY (rivalry)	L 10–17	5,713	[7]
October 5	at Dartmouth *	Memorial Field Hanover, NH	L 7–20	6,105	[8]
October 12	Lafayette	Coffey Field Bronx, NY	canceled		[9] [3]
October 19	at Brown *	Brown Stadium Providence, RI	L 14–27		[1]
October 26	Georgetown *	Coffey Field Bronx, NY	W 46–6		[1]
November 2	Holy Cross	Coffey Field Bronx, NY (rivalry)	W 28–0	2,217	[10]
November 9	Colgate	Coffey Field Bronx, NY	L 13–34		[1]
November 16	at Bucknell	Christy Mathewson–Memorial Stadium Lewisburg, PA	L 17–51	3,166	[11]
*Non-conference game Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game

^[12]

Roster

1996 Fordham Rams football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class	Defense Pos. # Name Class	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P 10 Barry Cantrell Jr	Head coach Nick Quartaro Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

References

1. "Year-by-Year". Fordham 2019 Football Media Guide (PDF). Bronx, N.Y.: Fordham University. p. 162. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
2. "Football All-Time Year-by-Year Results". Patriot League Football Record Book (PDF). Center Valley, Pa.: Patriot League. 2020. p. 5. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
3. "Fordham May Replay Game". The Record . Hackensack, N.J. October 23, 1996. p. S-9 – via Newspapers.com.
4. McEvoy, Pat (September 9, 1996). "Wright, Fein Spark UMaine". Bangor Daily News . Bangor, Maine. p. C4 – via Newspapers.com. Attendance figure in "Scoreboard: I-AA". The Miami Herald . Miami, Fla. September 8, 1996. p. 11D.
5. Blockus, Gary R. (September 15, 1996). "Defense Leads Lehigh to Win Over Fordham". The Morning Call . Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com. Attendance figure in "Scoreboard: Division I-AA". The Miami Herald (Florida ed.). Miami, Fla. September 8, 1996. p. 7C.
6. Tatum, Kevin (September 22, 1996). "Villanova Rolls Over Fordham". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Philadelphia, Pa. p. C17 – via Newspapers.com.
7. Cavanaugh, Jack (September 29, 1996). "Mistakes Abound, but Columbia Finds Itself at 2-0". The New York Times . New York, N.Y. p. S4.
8. "Dartmouth Still Unbeaten". The Burlington Free Press . Burllington, Vt. Associated Press. October 6, 1996. p. 4C – via Newspapers.com. Attendance figure in "Summaries". Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Mass. October 6, 1996. p. C17.
9. Olert, Chris (October 13, 1996). "Fordham Player Dies Before Game". The Morning Call . Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Madine Sparks Fordham". The Record . Hackensack, N.J. Associated Press. November 3, 1996. p. S-5 – via Newspapers.com. Attendance figure in "New England Football Summaries". Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Mass. November 3, 1996. p. F18.
11. Lentz, Charlie (November 17, 1996). "Lemon Rushes BU Past Fordham". The Daily Item . Sunbury, Pa. pp. C3, C10 – via Newspapers.com. Attendance figure in "College Football Scoreboard". The Sunday Record . Hackensack, N.J. November 17, 1996. p. S-6.
12. "1996 Football Schedule". Fordham University Athletics. Retrieved August 14, 2023.