Conference Pacific-10 Conference Head coach Dick Tomey (10th year) Home stadium Arizona Stadium | 1996 record 5–6 (3–5 Pac-10) Offensive coordinator Homer Smith (1st year) | |
Defensive coordinator Larry Mac Duff (10th year) | ||
The 1996 Arizona Wildcats football team represented the University of Arizona in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their tenth season under head coach Dick Tomey, the Wildcats compiled a 5–6 record (3–5 against Pac-10 opponents), finished in a tie for fifth place in the Pac-10, and outscored their opponents, 310 to 280.
The team played its home games in Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Arizona. On November 23, 1996, the team drew a record crowd of 59,920 to Arizona Stadium to watch a 56-14 loss to Arizona State. As of September 2016, this remains the Arizona Stadium attendance record. The Wildcats allowed 450 rushing yards in the loss to the Sun Devils. The highlight of the Arizona State game for the Wildcats was a 98-yard interception return, the second longest in program history, by Mikal Smith.
Team records set during the 1996 season included: three interception returns for touchdown in a game (vs. Illinois); eight touchdowns allowed in a game (vs. California); 16 touchdowns scored in a Pac-10 game (vs. UCLA); 659 yards of total offense allowed in a Pac-10 game (vs. California); and 450 rushing yards allowed in a Pac-10 game (vs. Arizona State).
The team's statistical leaders included Keith Smith with 1,450 passing yards, Gary Taylor with 564 rushing yards, and Jeremy McDaniel with 607 receiving yards. Linebacker Chester Burnett led the team with 124 tackles.