10-0-1, tied Lafayette 0-0; named sole national champion by the Billingsley Report, Helms Athletic Foundation, and Houlgate System, and co-national champion (with Lafayette) by the National Championship Foundation and Parke H. Davis.
Princeton’s 1896 schedule1896: 2 Champions, Zero Agreement
SPLITLafayette and Princeton both finished with one tie and no losses, and while the National Championship Foundation named them co-champions, the Helms Athletic Foundation picked Princeton alone.
The case for each side
Recognized byNCFRetroactive
11-0-1, tied Princeton 0-0; named co-national champion (with Princeton) only by the National Championship Foundation and Parke H. Davis, not by Helms.
Lafayette’s 1896 scheduleNo national title game was played after the 1896 season: before 1998 there was no mechanism to play one, which is why so many of these seasons were settled by vote instead.