2016 in American football

2015–16 NCAA bowl games

 * December 19, 2015 – January 11, 2016: 2015–16 NCAA football bowl games

2015–16 College Football Playoff Bowl Games

 * Note: Both Cotton Bowl Classic and Orange Bowl winners qualify to compete in the championship game.
 * December 31, 2015
 * 2015 Peach Bowl in Atlanta
 * The Houston Cougars defeated the Florida State Seminoles, with the score of 38–24.
 * 2015 Cotton Bowl Classic in Arlington
 * The Alabama Crimson Tide defeated the Michigan State Spartans, with the score of 38–0.
 * 2015 Orange Bowl in Miami Gardens
 * The Clemson Tigers defeated the Oklahoma Sooners, with the score of 37–17.
 * January 1, 2016
 * 2016 Fiesta Bowl in Glendale
 * The Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, with the score of 44–28.
 * 2016 Rose Bowl in Pasadena
 * The Stanford Cardinal defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes, with the score of 45–16.
 * 2016 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans
 * The Ole Miss Rebels defeated the Oklahoma State Cowboys, with the score of 48–20.

2016 College Football Playoff National Championship

 * January 11, 2016: 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship in Glendale
 * The Alabama Crimson Tide defeated the Clemson Tigers, with the score of 45–40.

2015–16 Non-CFP bowl games

 * December 19, 2015
 * 2015 Cure Bowl in Orlando (debut event)
 * The San Jose State Spartans defeated the Georgia State Panthers, with the score of 27–16.
 * 2015 New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque
 * The Arizona Wildcats defeated the New Mexico Lobos, with the score of 45–37.
 * 2015 Las Vegas Bowl in Whitney
 * The Utah Utes defeated the BYU Cougars, with the score of 35–28.
 * 2015 Camellia Bowl in Montgomery
 * The Appalachian State Mountaineers defeated the Ohio Bobcats, with the score of 31–29.
 * 2015 New Orleans Bowl in Louisiana
 * The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs defeated the Arkansas State Red Wolves, with the score of 47–28.
 * December 21, 2015
 * 2015 Miami Beach Bowl in Florida
 * The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers defeated the South Florida Bulls, with the score of 45–35.
 * December 22, 2015
 * 2015 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in Boise
 * The Akron Zips defeated the Utah State Aggies, with the score of 23–21.
 * 2015 Boca Raton Bowl in Florida
 * The Toledo Rockets defeated the Temple Owls, with the score of 32–17.
 * December 23, 2015
 * 2015 Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego
 * The Boise State Broncos defeated the Northern Illinois Huskies, with the score of 55–7.
 * 2015 GoDaddy Bowl in Mobile
 * The Georgia Southern Eagles defeated the Bowling Green Falcons, with the score of 58–27.
 * December 24, 2015
 * 2015 Bahamas Bowl in Nassau
 * The Western Michigan Broncos defeated the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders, with the score of 45–31.
 * 2015 Hawaii Bowl in Honolulu
 * The San Diego State Aztecs defeated the Cincinnati Bearcats, with the score of 42–7.
 * December 26, 2015
 * 2015 St. Petersburg Bowl in Florida
 * The Marshall Thundering Herd defeated the Connecticut Huskies, with the score of 16–10.
 * 2015 Sun Bowl in El Paso
 * The Washington State Cougars defeated the Miami Hurricanes, with the score of 20–14.
 * 2015 Heart of Dallas Bowl in Texas
 * The Washington Huskies defeated the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, with the score of 44–31.
 * 2015 Pinstripe Bowl in The Bronx (New York City)
 * The Duke Blue Devils defeated the Indiana Hoosiers, with the score of 44–41.
 * 2015 Independence Bowl in Shreveport
 * The Virginia Tech Hokies defeated the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, with the score of 55–52.
 * 2015 Foster Farms Bowl in Santa Clara
 * The Nebraska Cornhuskers defeated the UCLA Bruins, with the score of 37–29.
 * December 28, 2015
 * 2015 Military Bowl in Annapolis
 * The Navy Midshipmen defeated the Pittsburgh Panthers, with the score of 44–28.
 * 2015 Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit
 * The Minnesota Golden Gophers defeated the Central Michigan Chippewas, with the score of 21–14.
 * December 29, 2015
 * 2015 Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth
 * The California Golden Bears defeated the Air Force Falcons, with the score of 55–36.
 * 2015 Russell Athletic Bowl in Orlando
 * The Baylor Bears defeated the North Carolina Tar Heels, with the score of 49–38.
 * 2015 Arizona Bowl in Tucson (debut event)
 * The Nevada Wolf Pack defeated the Colorado State Rams, with the score of 28–23.
 * 2015 Texas Bowl in Houston
 * The LSU Tigers defeated the Texas Tech Red Raiders, with the score of 56–27.
 * December 30, 2015
 * 2015 Birmingham Bowl in Alabama
 * The Auburn Tigers defeated the Memphis Tigers, with the score of 31–10.
 * 2015 Belk Bowl in Charlotte
 * The Mississippi State Bulldogs defeated the NC State Wolfpack, with the score of 51–28.
 * 2015 Music City Bowl in Nashville
 * The Louisville Cardinals defeated the Texas A&M Aggies, with the score of 27–21.
 * 2015 Holiday Bowl in San Diego
 * The Wisconsin Badgers defeated the USC Trojans, with the score of 23–21.
 * January 1, 2016
 * 2016 Outback Bowl in Tampa
 * The Tennessee Volunteers defeated the Northwestern Wildcats, with the score of 45–6.
 * 2016 Citrus Bowl in Orlando
 * The Michigan Wolverines defeated the Florida Gators, with the score of 41–7.
 * January 2, 2016
 * 2016 TaxSlayer Bowl in Jacksonville
 * The Georgia Bulldogs defeated the Penn State Nittany Lions, with the score of 24–17.
 * 2016 Liberty Bowl in Memphis
 * The Arkansas Razorbacks defeated the Kansas State Wildcats, with the score of 45–23.
 * 2016 Alamo Bowl in San Antonio
 * The TCU Horned Frogs defeated the Oregon Ducks, with the score of 47–41.
 * 2016 Cactus Bowl in Phoenix
 * The West Virginia Mountaineers defeated the Arizona State Sun Devils, with the score of 36–32.

National Football League

 * January 31: 2016 Pro Bowl in Honolulu at Aloha Stadium
 * Team Irvin defeated Team Rice, with the score of 49–27.
 * Offensive MVP: Russell Wilson (Seattle Seahawks)
 * Defensive MVP: Michael Bennett (Seattle Seahawks)
 * February 7: Super Bowl 50 in Santa Clara, California at Levi's Stadium
 * The Denver Broncos defeated the Carolina Panthers, 24–10, to win their third Super Bowl title.
 * MVP: Von Miller (Denver Broncos)
 * April 28 – 30: 2016 NFL draft in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre
 * #1 pick: Jared Goff, from the California Golden Bears to the Los Angeles Rams
 * September 8 – January 1, 2017: 2016 NFL season
 * Regular season's AFC winner: New England Patriots
 * Regular season's NFC winner: Dallas Cowboys

FISU

 * June 1 – 11: 2016 World University American Football Championship in Monterrey
 * In the final, 🇲🇽 defeated 🇺🇸, 35–7, to win their second World University Championship. 🇯🇵 took third place.

IFAF

 * June 28 – July 10: 2016 IFAF U-19 World Championship in Harbin at the Harbin University of Commerce
 * defeated the, 24–6, to win their second IFAF U-19 World Championship title. took third place.
 * September 7 – 12: 2016 IFAF Flag Football World Championship in Miami
 * Men: The 🇺🇸 defeated, 33–32, to win their second consecutive and third overall IFAF Flag Football World Championship title.
 * 🇲🇽 took the bronze medal.
 * Women: 🇵🇦 defeated 🇦🇹, 35–22, to win their first IFAF Flag Football World Championship title.
 * 🇲🇽 took the bronze medal.

Pro Football Hall of Fame

 * Class of 2016:
 * Tony Dungy, player and coach
 * Brett Favre, player
 * Kevin Greene, player
 * Marvin Harrison, player
 * Orlando Pace, player
 * Ken Stabler, player
 * Dick Stanfel, player