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 WKU 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, Mexico defeated United States, 35–7, to win their second World University Championship. Japan took third place.

IFAF

June 28 – July 10: 2016 IFAF U-19 World Championship in Harbin at the Harbin University of Commerce^[1]^[2]
- Canada defeated the United States, 24–6, to win their second IFAF U-19 World Championship title. Mexico took third place.^[3]
September 7 – 12: 2016 IFAF Flag Football World Championship in Miami
- Men: The United States defeated Denmark, 33–32, to win their second consecutive and third overall IFAF Flag Football World Championship title.
- Mexico took the bronze medal.
- Women: Panama defeated Austria, 35–22, to win their first IFAF Flag Football World Championship title.
- Mexico took the bronze medal.