1996 Valley City State Vikings football team
| 1996 Valley City State Vikings football | |
|---|---|
NAIA First Round, L 7–14 vs. Northwestern (IA) | |
| Conference | North Dakota College Athletic Conference |
| Record | 9–2 (5-1 NDCAC) |
| Head coach |
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| Defensive coordinator | Dennis McCulloch (3rd season) |
| Home stadium | Lokken Stadium |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 16 Valley City State +^ | 5 | – | 1 | 9 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 20 Mary +^ | 5 | – | 1 | 7 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minot State | 4 | – | 2 | 6 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota–Crookston | 3 | – | 3 | 6 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dickinson State | 3 | – | 3 | 5 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jamestown | 1 | – | 5 | 1 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mayville State | 0 | – | 6 | 2 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1996 Valley City State Vikings football team represented Valley City State University in the 1996 NAIA football season. Led by head coach Steve LeGrand, the Vikings finished with a 9–1 regular season record and earned a berth in the NAIA National Playoffs. The team was later inducted into the VCSU Vikings Hall of Fame.
The Vikings defeated Jamestown College, Dakota State, Dakota Wesleyan, Minnesota–Crookston, Mayville State, Dickinson State, South Dakota Mines and Minot State during the regular season. Their only regular-season loss came on the road against the University of Mary. Valley City State advanced to the national playoffs, where they dropped a close 14–7 decision to Northwestern (IA).
Seven Vikings earned First-Team All-Conference honors: Gerald Urlaub, Mikah Boudreaux, Trevor Bakalar, Mark Pippin, Ray Reinhart, Sarge Truesdell, and George Perich.
The Vikings opened the 1996 season with eight straight victories, building one of the strongest starts in program history. Valley City State posted dominant defensive performances throughout the year, including shutouts against Minnesota–Crookston and Mayville State.
After a narrow road loss to the University of Mary late in the season, Valley City State earned an at-large berth to the NAIA National Playoffs. The Vikings traveled to Iowa in the first round, where they were narrowly defeated by Northwestern (IA), 14–7.