1976 New Hampshire Wildcats football team

{{Infobox college sports team season

| year = 1976

| team = New Hampshire Wildcats

| sport = football

| image =

| image_size =

| conference = Yankee Conference

| short_conf = Yankee

| record = 8–3

| conf_record = 4–1

| head_coach = Bill Bowes

| hc_year = 5th

| captain =

| stadium = Cowell Stadium

| champion = Yankee Conference champion

| bowl = NCAA Division II Quarterfinal

| bowl_result = L 16–17 at Montana State

}}

The 1976 New Hampshire Wildcats football team was an American football team that represented the University of New Hampshire as a member of the Yankee Conference during the 1976 NCAA Division II football season. In its fifth year under head coach Bill Bowes, the team compiled an 8–3 record (4–1 against conference opponents), won the Yankee Conference championship, and lost to eventual national champion Montana State in the quarterfinal of the NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs.{{cite web|title=2017 New Hampshire Media Guide|publisher=University of New Hampshire|year=2017|page=67|accessdate=September 20, 2021|url=https://issuu.com/unhathletics/docs/unh_football_media_guide_2017_web}}

Schedule

{{CFB schedule

| rankyear = 1976

| rankdivision = NCAA Division II

| poll = AP

| rank = y

| attend = y

| source = y

|September 11|at|Holy Cross||Fitton Field|Worcester, MA|W 17-3|12,551|{{cite news |title=UNH, Burnham Feast on Holy Cross Wishbone, 17-3 |first=Dan |last=Shaughnessy |date=September 12, 1976 |page=102 |newspaper=Boston Sunday Globe |location=Boston, Mass.|via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/71820190/1976-holy-cross-unh/ }}

|September 18||Boston University||Cowell Stadium|Durham, NH|W 13-0|11,570|

|September 25|at|Dartmouth|4|Memorial Field|Hanover, NH|L 14-24|13,650|{{cite news |title=Dartmouth Closets UNH, 24-13 |first=John |last=Powers |date=September 26, 1976 |page=99 |newspaper=Boston Sunday Globe |location=Boston, Mass.|via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/56221579/1976-dartmouth-unh}}

|October 2||Connecticut||Cowell Stadium|Durham, NH|W 24-21|10,450|

|October 9||Maine||Cowell Stadium|Durham, NH (Battle for the Brice–Cowell Musket)|L 0-10|8,200–8,250|{{cite web |author= |title=Final 1976 Cumulative Football Statistics Report |url=https://stats.ncaa.org/team/380/stats/13330 |publisher=National Collegiate Athletic Association |access-date=December 26, 2022 }}

|October 16|at|{{cfb link|year=1976|team=Central Connecticut Blue Devils|title=Central Connecticut}}|||New Britain, CT|W 34-21|5,300|

|October 23|at|{{cfb link|year=1976|team=Northeastern Huskies|title=Northeastern}}|||Brookline, MA|W 35-21|5,039|

|October 30|at|{{cfb link|year=1976|team=West Chester Golden Rams|title=West Chester}}|||West Chester, PA|W 27-10|4,000|

|November 6||Rhode Island||Cowell Stadium|Durham, NH|W 31-6|11,200–11,500|{{cite web |author= |title=Final 1976 Cumulative Football Statistics Report |url=https://stats.ncaa.org/team/572/stats/13330 |publisher=National Collegiate Athletic Association |access-date=December 29, 2022 }}

|November 13|at|UMass||Alumni Stadium|Hadley, MA (rivalry)|W 23-0|10,900|

|November 27|at|No. 1 Montana State|T–8|Reno H. Sales Stadium|Bozeman, MT (NCAA Division II Quarterfinal)|L 16-17|6,900|{{cite news|title=Bobcats nip UNH, 17-16|newspaper=The Billings Gazette|author=Warren Rogers|date=November 28, 1976|page=1E|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/85716197/bobcats-nip-unh-17-16/|via=Newspapers.com}}

}}

{{cite web |author= |title=Final 1976 Cumulative Football Statistics Report |url=https://stats.ncaa.org/team/469/stats/13330 |publisher=National Collegiate Athletic Association |access-date=December 26, 2022 }}