2016 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament
The eight regional winners met in the Elite Eight for the quarterfinal, semifinal, and championship rounds. For the first time, the final rounds were held at Dr. Pepper Arena in Frisco, Texas.


2016 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament
Augustana (SD) defeated Lincoln Memorial, 90-81, to win the first national championship in the school's history. Lubbock Christian, Saginaw Valley State and St. Thomas Aquinas all made their first Division II tournament appearance. All won their first tournament game, and Saginaw Valley advanced to the Elite Eight. At the same time, Kentucky Wesleyan made its 38th appearance, Philadelphia its 35th, and Seattle Pacific its 26th, but all lost their opening round game.


2016 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament, Elite Eight - Frisco, Texas
Beginning this year, the eight regional champions were re-seeded into the Elite Eight.


2016 NCAA Division II Men's Lacrosse Championship
The 2016 NCAA Division II Men's Lacrosse Championship is the 32nd annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champions of NCAA Division II men's college lacrosse in the United States. The championship game will be played at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 29, 2016. All other matches will be played at campus sites, always at the home field of the higher-seeded team, from May 14 to 22.


2016 NCAA Division II Men's Lacrosse Championship
LeMoyne defeated defending-champions Limestone in the final, 8−4, to win their fifth national title.


2016 NCAA Division II Men's Lacrosse Championship, Qualification
All Division II men's lacrosse programs were eligible for this championship. A total of eight teams were invited: the top four teams from the Division II lacrosse's North and South Regions.


2016 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship
The 2016 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship was the 45th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA Division II men's collegiate soccer in the United States. The semifinals and championship game were played at Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City, Missouri from December 1–3, 2016 while the preceding rounds were played at various sites across the country during November 2016.


2016 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship, Qualification
All Division II men's soccer programs were eligible to qualify for the 38-team tournament field. No teams received automatic bids; at-large bids are based on the teams' regular season records and the Quality of Winning Percentage Index. Teams were placed into one of four unbalanced super-regional brackets, consisting of eight or ten teams, based on geographic location.


2016 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament
The 2016 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament involved 64 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the NCAA Division II women's college basketball national champion. It began on March 10, 2016, and concluded with the championship game on April 4, 2016.


2016 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament
The first three rounds were hosted by top-seeded teams in regional play. The eight regional winners met for the quarterfinal and semifinals, better known as the "Elite Eight" and "Final Four" respectively, championship rounds for the second-consecutive year at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The championship game, along with the championship game of the Division I and Division III tournaments, were held at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana.


2016 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament
In their first season of NCAA postseason eligibility after transitioning from the NAIA, the Lubbock Christian Lady Chaps completed an undefeated season by defeating the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves 78–73. The only blemish in the Lady Chaps' season was a 95–39 exhibition loss to eventual Division I champion Connecticut that did not count toward either team's official record.


2016 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament, Participants, Automatic qualifiers
Twenty-four teams qualified for the tournament by winning their conference's automatic bid.


2016 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament, Participants, At-large
The remaining 40 bids to the tournament were given to teams at-large.


2016 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament, Brackets, Atlantic Regional
Hosted by Virginia Union University at Arthur Ashe Athletic Center in Richmond, Virginia


2016 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament, Brackets, Central Regional
Hosted by Pittsburg State University at John Lance Arena in Pittsburg, Kansas


2016 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament, Brackets, East Regional
Hosted by Bentley University at Dana Center in Waltham, Massachusetts


2016 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament, Brackets, Midwest Regional
Hosted by Ashland University at Kates Gymnasium in Ashland, Ohio


2016 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament, Brackets, South Regional
Hosted by Union University at Fred DeLay Gymnasium in Jackson, Tennessee


2016 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament, Brackets, Southeast Regional
Hosted by Limestone College at Timken Center in Gaffney, South Carolina


2016 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament, Brackets, South Central Regional
Hosted by Lubbock Christian University at Rip Griffin Center in Lubbock, Texas


2016 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament, Brackets, West Regional
Hosted by Azusa Pacific University at Felix Event Center in Azusa, California


2016 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament, Brackets, Finals
Quarterfinals and semifinals were hosted at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and the championship game, along with the Division I and Division III championship games, were held at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana.


2016 NCAA Division II football rankings
The 2016 NCAA Division II football rankings are from the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). This is for the 2016 season.


2016 NCAA Division II football season
The 2016 NCAA Division II football season, part of college football in the United States  organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, began on September 1, 2016 and ended with the NCAA Division II Football Championship on December 17, 2016 at Children's Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas. Northwest Missouri State successfully defended their national title from the previous season, winning their sixth overall championship, by defeating North Alabama.


2016 NCAA Division II football season, Conference changes and new programs, Membership changes
Mississippi College completed their transition to Division II and became eligible for the postseason.


2016 NCAA Division II football season, NCAA Division II Tournament
The 2016 NCAA Division II Football Championship Postseason involved 28 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college football.


2016 NCAA Division II football season, NCAA Division II Tournament
The tournament began on November 19, 2016 and concluded on December 17, 2016 with the 2016 NCAA Division II National Football Championship game at Children's Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas.


2016 NCAA Division II football season, NCAA Division II Tournament, Format
The top seven teams per super regional made up the field of 28 teams.


2016 NCAA Division II football season, NCAA Division II Tournament, Format
Twelve first-round games were conducted on the campus of one of highest seed of that matchup. In addition, one team per super regional earned first-round byes. Second-round winners met in the quarterfinals at the campus site of the highest seed. Quarterfinal winners advanced to play in the semifinals on the campus of the highest seed. The championship took place at Children's Mercy Park.


2016 NCAA Division II football season, NCAA Division II Tournament, Qualifiers
The following teams were qualifiers for the 2016 NCAA Division II Football Tournament.


2016 NCAA Division II football season, NCAA Division II Tournament, Final Four
Teams that make it to the Final Four are re-seeded for the semifinal matches. The semifinal matchups are hosted by the team with the highest seed.


2016 NCAA Division II football season, Attendances
2016 NCAA Division II football teams with an average home attendance of at least 10,000:


2016 NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament
The 2016 NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament was played at the end of the 2016 NCAA Division III baseball season to determine the 41st national champion of college baseball at the NCAA Division III level. The tournament concluded with eight teams competing at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute, Wisconsin for the championship. Eight regional tournaments were held to determine the participants in the World Series. Regional tournaments were contested in double-elimination format, with four regions consisting of six teams, and four consisting of eight, for a total of 56 teams participating in the tournament. The tournament champion was Trinity (TX), who defeated Keystone in the championship series in two games.


2016 NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament, Regionals, New York Regional
Leo Pinckney Field at Falcon Park-Auburn, NY (Host: State University of New York at Cortland)


2016 NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament, World Series
Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium-Grand Chute, WI (Host: University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh/Lawrence University/Fox Cities Convention and Visitors Bureau)


2016 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2016 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament was a single-elimination tournament involving 62 teams to determine the men's collegiate basketball national champion of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III. The tournament took place during March 2016, with the national semifinal and championship rounds taking place at the Salem Civic Center in Salem, Virginia.


2016 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament
St. Thomas (MN) defeated Benedictine University, 82–76, to win their second Division III national championship.


2016 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament, All-Tournament Team
Taylor Montero - St. Thomas (MN) (Most Outstanding Player) Ryan Saarela - St. Thomas (MN)Grant Schafer - St. Thomas (MN)Luke Johnson - BenedictineConnor Green - Amherst


2016 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
The 2016 NCAA Division Men's III Ice Hockey Tournament was the culmination of the 2015–16 season, the 33rd such tournament in NCAA history. It concluded with Wisconsin–Stevens Point defeating St. Norbert in the championship game 5-1. All First Round and Quarterfinal matchups were held at home team venues, while all succeeding games were played at the Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, New York.


2016 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Qualifying teams
The following teams qualified for the tournament. Automatic bids were offered to the conference tournament champion of seven different conferences. Four at-large bids were available for the highest-ranked non-automatic qualifiers (overall seed in parentheses).


2016 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format
The tournament featured four rounds of play. All rounds were Single-game elimination. The top four overall seeds were arranged so that the first- and fourth-seeded teams would be in the same semifinal bracket while the second- and third-seeded teams would play in the other.


2016 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format
Because the third western seed had a higher overall ranking than the second eastern seed the western team was given a bye into quarterfinal round. Because both teams that received byes in one bracket were from the west both were placed in the same quarterfinal bracket to cut down on travel. To further cut down on travel the remaining western team received the final bye and would play the second western seed in the quarterfinals.


2016 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format
The top eastern team received a bye into the second round and would play the winner of the match between the fourth- and fifth-seeded eastern teams. For the remaining quarterfinal bracket the second- and seventh-seeded eastern teams would play with the winner advancing to play the victor of the game between the third- and sixth-seeded eastern teams.


2016 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format
With the fourth overall seed being placed in the same quarterfinal as the first overall seed, the remaining bracket contained the second eastern seed as the top-ranked team.


2016 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format
In the First Round and Quarterfinals the higher-seeded team served as host.


2016 NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship
The 2016 NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship was the 37th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA Division III men's college lacrosse in the United States. The championship was played at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 29, 2016. All other rounds were played at campus sites, at the home field of the higher-seeded team, from May 11 to May 22.


2016 NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship, Qualification
All Division III men's lacrosse programs were eligible for this championship. A total of 32 teams were invited, with programs receiving bids through one of three methods (or "Pools").


2016 NCAA Division III football season
The 2016 NCAA Division III football season, part of the college football season organized by the NCAA at the Division III level in the United States, began on September 5, 2016 and ended with the NCAA Division III Football Championship, also known as the Stagg Bowl, on December 16, 2016 at Salem Football Stadium in Salem, Virginia.


2016 NCAA Division III football season, Conference changes and new programs
A full list of Division III teams can be viewed on the D3football website.


2016 NCAA Division III football season, Conference changes and new programs
This was also the final season of competition for two Division III conferences. The New England Football Conference will be absorbed by the Commonwealth Coast Conference, and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, which had lost most of its membership in 2012 when seven schools left to form the Southern Athletic Association, will end its sponsorship of football and continue as a non-football conference.


2016 NCAA Division III football season, Postseason
Twenty-five conferences met the requirements for an automatic ("Pool A") bid to the playoffs. Besides the NESCAC, which does not participate in the playoffs, two conferences had no Pool A bid. The American Southwest, which had fallen below the required seven members in 2013 and lost its Pool A bid after the two-year grace period, was in the first year of the two-year waiting period, having now attained seven members; the SCAC had only four members.


2016 NCAA Division III football season, Postseason
Schools not in Pool A conferences were eligible for Pool B. The number of Pool B bids was determined by calculating the ratio of Pool A conferences to schools in those conferences and applying that ratio to the number of Pool B schools. The 25 Pool A conferences contained 222 schools, an average of 8.9 teams per conference. Twelve schools were in Pool B, enough for one bid.


2016 NCAA Division III football season, Postseason
The remaining six playoff spots were at-large ("Pool C") teams.


2016 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans
An All-American team is an honorary sports team composed of the best amateur players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply "All-Americans". Although the honorees generally do not compete together as a unit, the term is used in U.S. team sports to refer to players who are selected by members of the national media. Walter Camp selected the first All-America team in the early days of American football in 1889.


2016 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans
The 2016 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans are honorary lists that include All-American selections from the Associated Press (AP), the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), the Sporting News (TSN), and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) for the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. All selectors choose at least a first and second 5-man team. The NABC, TSN and AP choose third teams, while AP also lists honorable mention selections.


2016 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans
The Consensus 2016 College Basketball All-American team is determined by aggregating the results of the four major All-American teams as determined by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since United Press International was replaced by TSN in 1997, the four major selectors have been the aforementioned ones. AP has been a selector since 1948, NABC since 1957 and USBWA since 1960. To earn "consensus" status, a player must win honors based on a point system computed from the four different all-America teams.


2016 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans
The point system consists of three points for first team, two points for second team and one point for third team. No honorable mention or fourth team or lower are used in the computation. The top five totals plus ties are first team and the next five plus ties are second team.


2016 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans
Although the aforementioned lists are used to determine consensus honors, there are numerous other All-American lists. The ten finalists for the John Wooden Award are described as Wooden All-Americans. The ten finalists for the Senior CLASS Award are described as Senior All-Americans. Other All-American lists include those determined by USA Today, Fox Sports, Yahoo! Sports and many others. The scholar-athletes selected by College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) are termed Academic All-Americans.


2016 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans, Academic All-Americans
On March 3, 2016, CoSIDA and Capital One announced the 2016 Academic All-America team, with Jarrod Uthoff headlining the University Division as the men's college basketball Academic All-American of the Year. The following is the 2015–16 Academic All-America Men’s Basketball Team (University Division) as selected by CoSIDA:


2016 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans, Senior All-Americans
The ten finalists for the Senior CLASS Award are called Senior All-Americans. The 10 honorees are as follows:


2016 NCAA Men's National Collegiate Volleyball Tournament
The 2016 NCAA Men's National Collegiate Volleyball Tournament was the 47th annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA Division I and Division II men's collegiate indoor volleyball. The single elimination tournament was played at Rec Hall in University Park, Pennsylvania from May 3–7, 2016.


2016 NCAA Men's National Collegiate Volleyball Tournament, Qualification
With the creation of the separate NCAA Men's Division III Volleyball Championship in 2012, combined with the completion of the transition of the last Division III institution competing at the National Collegiate level, Rutgers–Newark, to Division III volleyball after the 2014 season, only NCAA men's volleyball programs from Division I and Division II were eligible for this tournament.


2016 NCAA Men's National Collegiate Volleyball Tournament, Qualification
For the third straight year, a total of 6 teams were invited:


2016 NCAA Men's National Collegiate Volleyball Tournament, Broadcasts
Penn State's website carried the first round matches with video and no commentary. NCAA.com carried both national semifinals. ESPN2 carried the national championship. BYU Radio provided national radio coverage of one semifinal and the national championship.


2016 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
The 2016 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was the 48th annual NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship to determine the national champion of NCAA men's collegiate water polo. Tournament matches were played at the Spieker Aquatics Complex at the University of California in Berkeley, California from December 3–4, 2016. The five conferences receiving automatic qualification were: the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA), Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC), Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) and the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA). California defeated USC 11-8 to win the national title in double overtime.


2016 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship, Qualification
Since there has only ever been one single national championship for water polo, all NCAA men's water polo programs (whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III) were eligible. Under the new format, seven teams are invited to contest this single-elimination tournament. The championship was held December 3 and 4, hosted by California.


2016 NCAA National Collegiate Women's Ice Hockey Tournament
The 2016 NCAA National Collegiate Women's Ice Hockey Tournament involved eight schools in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of women's NCAA Division I college ice hockey. The quarterfinals were contested at the campuses of the seeded teams on March 12, 2016. The Frozen Four was played on March 18 and 20, 2016 at Whittemore Center Arena in Durham, New Hampshire with the University of New Hampshire as the host.


2016 NCAA National Collegiate Women's Ice Hockey Tournament, Qualifying teams
In the second year under this qualification format, the winners of all four Division I conference tournaments received automatic berths to the NCAA tournament. The other four teams were selected at-large. The top four teams were then seeded and received home ice for the quarterfinals.


2016 NCAA Rifle Championships
The 2016 NCAA Rifle Championships were contested at the 37th annual NCAA-sanctioned competition to determine the team and individual national champions of co-ed collegiate rifle shooting in the United States.


2016 NCAA Rifle Championships
The championships were held at the Stile Athletics Field House at the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio.


2016 NCAA Rifle Championships
Three-time defending champions West Virginia again won the team championship, the Mountaineers' eighteenth NCAA national title in rifle.


2016 NCAA Rifle Championships
West Virginia's Ginny Thrasher became the fifth person to win both individual championships and the first since 2013.


2016 NCAA Rifle Championships, Qualification
With only one national collegiate championship for rifle shooting, all NCAA rifle programs (whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III) were eligible. A total of eight teams contested this championship.


2016 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship
The 2016 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships were held April 15–16, 2016, at the Fort Worth Convention Center in Fort Worth, Texas. The 2016 edition marks the second consecutive time the Championship has been held in Fort Worth; this only the second time it has been held in the state of Texas. The team competition was won by Oklahoma with a score 197.675.


2016 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship, Qualification and selection process, Selection process
The championship provides for a field of 36 teams determined based on their regional qualifying score and seeded by the NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Committee. Additionally, 24 all-around competitors and 48 individual event specialists (12 on each piece) are eligible to advance to Regionals – as long as they're on a non-qualifying team.


2016 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship, Qualification and selection process, Regionals
As a result, six NCAA Regional competitions – all of which contain 6 teams, 4 all-around competitors and 2 individual event specialists per event (8 in total) – took place on April 2, 2016. The selection show to announce the placements for teams and individuals will take place during the weekend of March 25–27, 2016.


2016 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship, Regional Championships, Tuscaloosa Regional
The Tuscalooa Regional was held at the Coleman Coliseum, on the campus of the University of Alabama; it was hosted by the Alabama Crimson Tide gymnastics team. 1st - Alabama (197.125), 2nd - California (195.925), Boise State (195.750), Kentucky (195.725), West Virginia (194.250) and Bowling Green (193.850).


2016 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship, Regional Championships, Minneapolis Regional
The Minneapolis Regional was held at the University of Minnesota Sports Pavilion. The Minnesota Golden Gophers women's gymnastics team hosted the Florida Gators, Denver Pioneers, Missouri Tigers, BYU Cougars and Ohio State Buckeyes. 1st - Florida (196.725), 2nd - Minnesota (196.175), Missouri (195.85), Denver (195.70), Ohio State (194.775) and Brigham Young (194.075).


2016 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship, Regional Championships, Ann Arbor Regional
The Ann Arbor Regional was held at the University of Michigan's Crisler Center. The Michigan Wolverines women's gymnastics team hosted Eastern Michigan, Penn State, New Hampshire, Auburn, and Stanford. 1st - Auburn (196.525), 2nd - Stanford (196.525), Michigan (196.475), Eastern Michigan (196.250), Penn State (195.125), New Hampshire (193.900).


2016 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship, Regional Championships, Athens Regional
The Athens Regional was held at Stegeman Coliseum at the University of Georgia. The Georgia Gym Dogs hosted LSU, Oregon State, Arizona, George Washington, and Michigan State. 1st - LSU (197.300), 2nd - Georgia (196.850), Oregon State (196.000), Arizona (195.900), George Washington (195.550) and Michigan State (195.350).


2016 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship, Regional Championships, Salt Lake City Regional
The Salt Lake City Regional was held at the University of Utah's Jon M. Huntsman Center. The Utah Red Rocks hosted Utah State, Southern Utah, Illinois, UCLA, and Washington. 1st - Utah (197.125), 2nd - UCLA  (196.375), Washington (195.825), Illinois (195.350), Utah State (195.025), Southern Utah (194.950)


2016 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship, Regional Championships, Iowa City Regional
The Iowa City Regional will be held at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Iowa Hawkeyes women's gymnastics team will host Oklahoma, Nebraska, Arkansas, Kent State, and Central Michigan. 1st - Oklahoma (197.575), 2nd - Nebraska (196.550), Arkansas (195.500), Iowa (195.450), Central Michigan (194.675) and Kent State (194.525).


2016 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship, NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship
On April 15, 2016 top two finishers from the six regions competed to advance to the national team title meet on April 16, 2016. The top three finishers of each session form the Super Six Team.


2016 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship, NCAA Championship (Super Six Finals)
Super Six finals was held on April 16, 2016, at 8 p.m. CT and broadcast live on ESPNU.


2016 NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship
The 2016 NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship was the 16th annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA women's collegiate water polo. Tournament matches were played at the UCLA Spieker Aquatics Center in Los Angeles, California from May 13–15, 2016. The USC Trojans defeated the 2015 champions, the Stanford Cardinal, 8-7 to win their fifth national title, while finishing the season 26-0.


2016 NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship, Qualification
Since there is only one NCAA championship for women's water polo, all women's water polo programs, whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III, are eligible. For the first time, ten teams participated in the tournament. The automatic qualifiers came from the following conferences: Big West Conference, Collegiate Water Polo Association, Golden Coast Conference, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, and Western Water Polo Association. Three additional teams were selected at large without geographical restrictions by the selection committee. The four lowest seeded teams played in the two play-in games on Tuesday, May 10.


2016 NCHC Tournament
The 2016 NCHC Tournament was the third tournament in league history. It was played between March 11 and March 19, 2016. Quarterfinal games were played at home team campus sites, while the final four games were played at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. By winning the tournament, St. Cloud State received the NCHC's automatic bid to the 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.


2016 NCHC Tournament, Format
The first round of the postseason tournament features a best-of-three games format. All eight conference teams participate in the tournament. Teams are seeded No. 1 through No. 8 according to their final conference standing, with a tiebreaker system used to seed teams with an identical number of points accumulated. The top four seeded teams each earn home ice and host one of the lower seeded teams.


2016 NCHC Tournament, Format
The winners of the first round series advance to the Target Center for the NCHC Frozen Faceoff. The Frozen Faceoff uses a single-elimination format. Teams are re-seeded No. 1 through No. 4 according to the final regular season conference standings.


2016 NCHC Tournament, Format, Conference Standings
Note: GP = Games Played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; PTS = Points; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against


2016 NEAFL season
The 2016 NEAFL season was the sixth season of the North East Australian Football League (NEAFL). The season began on Saturday, 2 April and concluded on Sunday, 11 September with the NEAFL Grand Final. The premiership was won by the WSU Giants.


2016 NEAFL season, Participating clubs
Two teams changed their names prior to the 2016 season. Eastlake's NEAFL side started to play as the Canberra Demons in an attempt to be seen as Canberra's representative team in the NEAFL competition. The club wishes to provide a clear AFL pathway for local talent and to get rid of the baggage between other clubs in the ACT. As part of this decision the team also adopted a blue and gold guernsey for home games, reflecting the territory's traditional colours. The team will still wear Eastlake's red and black colours in away matches. The Greater Western Sydney reserves team became known as the Western Sydney University Giants to reflect the re-branding of the university from University of Western Sydney.


2016 NEAFL season, Win/Loss table
Bold – Home gameX – ByeOpponent for round listed above marginThis table can be sorted by margin


2016 NEAFL season, Awards, Rising Star nominations
The NEAFL Rising Star is awarded to the most promising young talent in the NEAFL competition. Players are nominated each week and must be under the age of 21 and have played less than 20 NEAFL games.


2016 NECBL season
The 2016 NECBL Season was the 23rd season of the New England Collegiate Baseball League. a wood bat collegiate summer baseball league. The league returned to 13 teams after the addition of the Upper Valley Nighthawks. Each division remained the same with the exception that the Nighthawks were added as the 7th team in the North Division.


2016 NECBL season
Each team played was scheduled to play a 46-game regular season, however due to weather, teams played anywhere from a 43 to 46 game regular season. The top 4 teams in each division advanced to the playoffs, which were 3 rounds of best 2 of 3 series. The Mystic Schooners claimed their 2nd championship and first since 1994 by defeating the Sanford Mainers 2 games to 0.


2016 NECBL season, Playoffs
The top 4 teams in each division advanced to the playoffs. Each round consisted of a best 2 of 3 series with the No. 1 seed in each division playing the No. 4 seed in their division and the No. 2 playing the No. 3 . The two division winners then played for the NECBL Championship.


2016 NFL Draft
The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft began on Thursday, April 28 with the first round, and ended on Saturday, April 30.


2016 NFL Draft
The Tennessee Titans, the team with the fewest wins in the NFL for the 2015 season, traded the right to the top pick in the draft to the Los Angeles Rams, the first time the top pick was traded before the draft since 2001 when the San Diego Chargers traded their first pick to the Atlanta Falcons. Ohio State became the second school to have three players drafted in the top ten and to have five players drafted in the first round.


2016 NFL Draft, Early entrants
Ninety-six underclassmen announced their intention to enter the 2016 NFL Draft as underclassmen, which primarily include juniors and redshirt sophomores who are forgoing future years of college eligibility. In order to be eligible to enter the draft, players must be at least 3 years removed from high school. The deadline for underclassmen to declare for the draft was January 18, 2016.


2016 NFL Draft, Overview
The following is the breakdown of the 253 players selected by position:


2016 NFL Draft, Trades
In the explanations below, (PD) indicates trades completed prior to the start of the draft (i.e. Pre-Draft), while (D) denotes trades that took place during the 2016 draft.


2016 NFL Draft, Supplemental draft
The 2016 supplemental draft was held on July 14, 2016. For each player selected in the supplemental draft, the team forfeits its pick in that round in the draft of the following season. This year, six players were eligible for selection:


2016 NFL season
The 2016 NFL season was the 97th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL) and the 51st of the Super Bowl era. The season began on September 8, 2016, with the defending Super Bowl 50 champion Denver Broncos defeating the Carolina Panthers 21–20 in the NFL Kickoff Game in a rematch of the Super Bowl. The season concluded with Super Bowl LI, the league's championship game on February 5, 2017, at NRG Stadium in Houston with the New England Patriots defeating the Atlanta Falcons 34–28 in overtime.


2016 NFL season
For the first time since the Houston Oilers relocated to Tennessee in 1997, an NFL team relocated to another state, as the former St. Louis Rams moved out of St. Louis, Missouri and returned to Los Angeles, its home from 1946 to 1979 (Anaheim 1980–1994). For the first time since the 2003 NFL season, neither of the previous season's Super Bowl participants made the playoffs.


2016 NFL season
The 2016 season also was the last season for the San Diego Chargers after playing in San Diego for 56 years before their return to the city of Los Angeles for 2017, where the franchise was based in for their first season in 1960.


2016 NFL season, Player movements and retirements
The 2016 NFL league year began on March 9, 2016 at 4:00 p.m. ET. On March 7 clubs started to contact and enter into contract negotiations with the certified agents of players who became unrestricted free agents upon the expiration of their 2015 contracts two days later.


2016 NFL season, Player movements and retirements
On March 9, clubs exercised options for 2016 on players who have option clauses in their 2015 contracts, submitted qualifying offers to their restricted free agents with expiring contracts and to whom desire to retain a Right of Refusal/Compensation, submitted a Minimum Salary Tender to retain exclusive negotiating rights to their players with expiring 2015 contracts and who have fewer than three accrued season of free agent credit, and teams were required to be under the salary cap, using the "Top-51" definition (in which the 51 highest-paid players on the team's payroll must have a collective salary cap hit below the actual cap). All 2015 players contracts expired and trading period for 2016 begin.


2016 NFL season, Player movements and retirements, Free agency
A total of 496 players were eligible for some form of free agency at the beginning of the free agency period. In addition, a number of highly paid players were released after the start of the league year to allow their teams to regain space under the salary cap. Among the notable players who changed teams via free agency were:


2016 NFL season, Player movements and retirements, Draft
The 2016 NFL Draft was held between April 28 − April 30, 2016 in Chicago. By way of a trade with the Tennessee Titans, the Los Angeles Rams held the first overall pick and selected QB Jared Goff.


2016 NFL season, Rule changes
The following rule changes were approved for the 2016 NFL season at the owners' meeting on March 22:


2016 NFL season, Rule changes
The following changes were approved for only the 2016 NFL season at the owners' meeting on March 23. Both are subject to become permanent rules or scrapped for the 2017.


2016 NFL season, Rule changes
The following changes to instant replay rules were approved for the 2016 NFL season at the owners' meeting on May 24:


2016 NFL season, 2016 deaths
The following people associated with the NFL (or AFL) died in 2016.


2016 NFL season, 2016 deaths
Dennis Green died July 21. Green was named the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings in 1992, becoming the second full-time black head coach in NFL history (Art Shell, who had been hired for the Los Angeles Raiders three years prior, was the first). Green spent ten years coaching the Vikings, eight of them being playoff seasons, but never made it to the Super Bowl. He then took over the Arizona Cardinals from 2004 to 2006, to much less success, most infamously in the Monday Night Meltdown, in which he let off a tirade after losing a game. Green had also spent time as an assistant coach with the San Francisco 49ers and as a broadcast commentator. Green was 67.


2016 NFL season, 2016 deaths
James "Buddy" Ryan died June 28. Ryan, a head coach and defensive coordinator who served with six NFL teams over the course of his career, was credited with inventing the 46 defense. His contributions to the game were considered crucial to helping the New York Jets secure an upset win in Super Bowl III and played a key role in the Chicago Bears' rout in Super Bowl XX. His sons, Rex and Rob, were both coaches with the Buffalo Bills at the time (a team the elder Ryan turned down a coaching offer from in the early years of his career). Ryan was 85.


2016 NFL season, Regular season
The 2016 regular season featured 256 games which were played out over a seventeen-week schedule beginning on Thursday, September 8, 2016. Each of the league's 32 teams played a 16-game schedule, with one bye week for each team scheduled between weeks 4–13. The slate also featured games on Monday night. There were games played on Thursday, including the National Football League Kickoff game in prime time on September 8 and games on Thanksgiving Day. The regular season concluded with a full slate of 16 games on Sunday, January 1, 2017, all of which were intra-divisional matchups, as it has been since 2010.


2016 NFL season, Regular season
Under the NFL's current scheduling formula, each team played each of the other three teams in its own division twice. In addition, a team played against all four teams in one other division from each conference.


2016 NFL season, Regular season
The final two games on a team's schedule were against the two teams in the team's own conference in the two divisions the team was not set to play which finished the previous season in the same rank in their division (e.g. the team which finished first in its division the previous season played each other team in its conference that also finished first in its respective division). The pre-set division pairings for 2016 were:


2016 NFL season, Regular season
Intra-conferenceAFC North vs. AFC EastAFC South vs. AFC WestNFC North vs. NFC EastNFC South vs. NFC West


2016 NFL season, Regular season
Inter-conferenceAFC East vs. NFC WestAFC North vs. NFC EastAFC South vs. NFC NorthAFC West vs. NFC South


2016 NFL season, Regular season
The complete 2016 schedule was released on April 14, 2016. Highlights of the 2016 schedule included:


2016 NFL season, Postseason
The 2016 playoffs began on the weekend of January 7–8, 2017 with the Wild Card playoff round. The four winners of these playoff games visited the top two seeded teams in each conference in the Divisional round games, which were played on the weekend of January 14–15, 2017. The winners of those games advanced to the Conference championship games, which will be held on January 22, 2017. The 2017 Pro Bowl was held at the recently renovated Camping World Stadium (the former Citrus Bowl stadium) in Orlando, Florida on January 29, 2017 and aired on ESPN. Super Bowl LI was held on February 5, 2017 at NRG Stadium in Houston on Fox.


2016 NFL season, Notable events, Deflategate
On April 25, 2016, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated New England Patriots' quarterback Tom Brady's four-game suspension for the 2016 regular season related to Deflategate; Brady dropped his appeal shortly thereafter and declined to take his case to the Supreme Court.


2016 NFL season, Notable events, National anthem protests
In 2016, several professional athletes have protested the United States national anthem. The protests began in the NFL after San Francisco 49ers' quarterback Colin Kaepernick sat during the anthem, as opposed to the tradition of standing, before a preseason game.


2016 NFL season, Awards, Individual season awards
The 6th Annual NFL Honors, saluting the best players and plays from 2016 season, was held at the Wortham Theater Center in Houston, Texas on February 4, 2017.


2016 NFL season, Awards, All-Pro team
The following players were named First Team All-Pro by the Associated Press:


2016 NFL season, Awards, Players of the week/month
The following were named the top performers during the 2016 season:


2016 NFL season, Head coach/front office personnel changes, Head coach, Offseason
On January 13, the Browns hired Jackson as their head coach. Jackson spent most of the past two seasons as the offensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals and had previously served as head coach for the Oakland Raiders.


2016 NFL season, Head coach/front office personnel changes, Head coach, Offseason
On January 9, the Dolphins hired Gase as their head coach. Gase had spent the past season as the offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears; at age 37, Gase became the youngest active head coach in the NFL.


2016 NFL season, Head coach/front office personnel changes, Head coach, Offseason
On January 18, the Eagles hired Pederson as their head coach. Pederson had spent the previous three season as offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs, and also was a former QB for the Eagles.


2016 NFL season, Head coach/front office personnel changes, Head coach, Offseason
On January 14, the 49ers hired Kelly as their head coach. Kelly had spent the previous three seasons as head coach for the Philadelphia Eagles.


2016 NFL season, Head coach/front office personnel changes, Head coach, Offseason
On January 14, Koetter was promoted to head coach after serving as offensive coordinator with the team since 2015.


2016 NFL season, Head coach/front office personnel changes, Head coach, Offseason
On January 16, Mularkey shed the interim tag and was hired as the full-time head coach.


2016 NFL season, Head coach/front office personnel changes, Front office, Offseason
As of April 2016, the Browns had not named a general manager; the duties are being filled in the interim by executive vice president of football operations Sashi Brown, an attorney by trade who has served in the Browns front office since 2013.


2016 NFL season, Head coach/front office personnel changes, Front office, Offseason
On January 8, the Lions hired Quinn as their GM. Quinn had spent the previous 16 seasons in various positions in the front office of the New England Patriots.


2016 NFL season, Head coach/front office personnel changes, Front office, Offseason
On January 14, the Titans hired Robinson as GM. Robinson had spent the previous three seasons as Director of Player Personnel for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.


2016 NFL season, Stadiums, Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons played their 25th and final season at the Georgia Dome, with the team's new home field, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, opened in 2017.


2016 NFL season, Stadiums, Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings played their first season at U.S. Bank Stadium in downtown Minneapolis. Construction on the team's new home field in downtown Minneapolis wrapped up at the start of the 2016 season. The new stadium was built on the site of the Vikings' former home, the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, which was demolished after the 2013 season.


2016 NFL season, Stadiums, Relocation of the Rams from St. Louis to Los Angeles
The league scheduled a vote on whether to relocate one or two of its existing franchises to the Los Angeles metropolitan area on January 12, 2016. The league set a relocation fee of $550 million for any team that was approved to relocate. On January 4, three teams filed to relocate to Los Angeles: the Oakland Raiders, San Diego Chargers, and the St. Louis Rams, all three of which had previously resided in the city at various points in their history.


2016 NFL season, Stadiums, Relocation of the Rams from St. Louis to Los Angeles
Despite the Committee on Los Angeles Opportunities recommending the Raiders' and Chargers' joint proposal for a stadium in Carson, California, on January 12, the league approved the Rams' proposal to relocate to Inglewood after three ballots and gave the Chargers the option to share the Rams' stadium if they so chose. In the first two rounds of voting, Inglewood led Carson 21–11 and 20–12 respectively; by the third ballot, the Rams proposal had received effectively unanimous support from the other owners, with the final vote reaching 30–2 (the Raiders and Chargers themselves casting the lone opposing votes). The Rams played the first four seasons at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, while their new stadium was built in Inglewood. The Rams had previously played at the Coliseum during their first stint in Los Angeles from 1946 to 1979.


2016 NFL season, Stadiums, Relocation of the Rams from St. Louis to Los Angeles, Rams bid for Los Angeles
The Rams and the St. Louis CVC (Convention & Visitors Commission) began negotiating deals to get the Rams' home stadium, The Dome at America's Center (then known as Edward Jones Dome), into the top 25 percent of stadiums in the league (i.e., top eight teams of the thirty-two NFL teams in reference to luxury boxes, amenities and overall fan experience). Under the terms of the lease agreement, the St. Louis CVC was required to make modifications to the Edward Jones Dome in 2005.


2016 NFL season, Stadiums, Relocation of the Rams from St. Louis to Los Angeles, Rams bid for Los Angeles
However, then-owner, Georgia Frontiere, waived the provision in exchange for cash that served as a penalty for the city's noncompliance. The City of St. Louis, in subsequent years, made changes to the score board and increased the natural lighting by replacing panels with windows, although the overall feel remained dark. The minor renovations which totaled about $70 million did not bring the stadium within the specifications required under the lease agreement.


2016 NFL season, Stadiums, Relocation of the Rams from St. Louis to Los Angeles, Rams bid for Los Angeles
On February 1, 2013, a three-person arbitral tribunal selected to preside over the arbitration process found that the Edward Jones Dome was not in the top 25% of all NFL venues as required under the terms of the lease agreement between the Rams and the CVC. The tribunal further found that the estimated $700 million in proposed renovations by the Rams was not unreasonable given the terms of the lease agreement. Finally, the city of St. Louis was ordered to pay the Rams attorneys' fees which totaled a reported $2 million.


2016 NFL season, Stadiums, Relocation of the Rams from St. Louis to Los Angeles, Rams bid for Los Angeles
Publicly, city, county and state officials expressed no interest in providing further funding to the Edward Jones Dome in light of those entities, as well as taxpayers, continuing to owe approximately $300 million more on that facility. As such, if a resolution was not reached by the end of the 2014–2015 NFL season and the City of St. Louis remained non-compliant in its obligations under the lease agreement, the Rams were free to nullify their lease and relocate.


2016 NFL season, Stadiums, Relocation of the Rams from St. Louis to Los Angeles, Rams bid for Los Angeles
On January 31, 2014, both the Los Angeles Times and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Rams owner Stan Kroenke had purchased 60 acres of land adjacent to the Forum in Inglewood, California. It was, by the most conservative estimates, sufficient land on which an NFL-sized stadium may be constructed. The purchase price was rumored to have been between US$90–100 million. Commissioner Roger Goodell represented that Kroenke informed the league of the purchase. As an NFL owner, any purchase of land in which a potential stadium could be built must be disclosed to the league.


2016 NFL season, Stadiums, Relocation of the Rams from St. Louis to Los Angeles, Rams bid for Los Angeles
This development further fueled rumors that the Rams intended to return its management and football operations to Southern California. The land was initially targeted for a Walmart Supercenter but Walmart could not get the necessary permits to build the center. Kroenke is married to Ann Walton Kroenke who is a member of the Walton family and many of Kroenke's real estate deals have involved Walmart properties. On January 5, 2015, The Los Angeles Times reported that Kroenke Sports & Entertainment and Stockbridge Capital Group were partnering up to develop a new NFL stadium on property owned by Kroenke.


2016 NFL season, Stadiums, Relocation of the Rams from St. Louis to Los Angeles, Rams bid for Los Angeles
The project included a stadium of up to 80,000 seats and a performance venue of 6,000 seats while reconfiguring the previously approved Hollywood Park plan for up to 890,000 square feet of retail, 780,000 square feet of office space, 2,500 new residential units, a 300-room hotel and 25 acres of public parks, playgrounds, open space and pedestrian and bicycle access.


2016 NFL season, Stadiums, Relocation of the Rams from St. Louis to Los Angeles, Rams bid for Los Angeles
In lieu of this the city of St. Louis responded on January 9, 2015, by unveiling an outdoor, open air, riverfront stadium that could have accommodated the Rams and an MLS team with the hope that the NFL bylaws would force them to stay. On February 24, 2015, the Inglewood City Council approved the stadium and the initiative with construction on the stadium planned to begin in December 2015. On December 21, 2015, Construction was officially underway at the Hollywood Park site for the stadium. On January 4, 2016, after St. Louis finished last in per-game attendance for the 2015 season, the team filed a relocation application to relocate to Los Angeles and released a statement on their website.


2016 NFL season, Stadiums, Relocation of the Rams from St. Louis to Los Angeles, Rams bid for Los Angeles
On January 12, 2016, the NFL owners approved the Inglewood proposal and the Rams' relocation by a 30–2 vote; the Rams relocated almost immediately thereafter.


2016 NFL season, Stadiums, Relocation of the Rams from St. Louis to Los Angeles, Raiders and Chargers failed stadium bid
On February 19, 2015, the Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers announced plans for a privately financed $1.7 billion stadium that the two teams would build in Carson, California if they were to move to the Los Angeles market. Such a move would have marked a return to the nation's second-largest market for both teams; the Raiders played in Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994 while the Chargers called Los Angeles home for their inaugural season in the American Football League.


2016 NFL season, Stadiums, Relocation of the Rams from St. Louis to Los Angeles, Raiders and Chargers failed stadium bid
The Chargers were the only NFL team to play in Southern California at the time (until the Rams moved to Los Angeles in 2016), with San Diego being a 125-mile (201 km) distance from Los Angeles, and the Chargers counted Los Angeles as a secondary market. The Chargers had been looking to replace Qualcomm Stadium (which, like the Oakland Coliseum opened in the late 1960s) since at least 2003, and had an annual out clause in which it could move in exchange for paying a fine to the city of San Diego for its remaining years on its lease. The Raiders, meanwhile, had been operating on year-to-year leases with Oakland Coliseum, the stadium it has shared with the Oakland Athletics for most of its time in Oakland, California, since the last long-term lease on that stadium ended in 2013.


2016 NFL season, Stadiums, Relocation of the Rams from St. Louis to Los Angeles, Raiders and Chargers failed stadium bid
Due to both television contracts and NFL bylaws, had both of the longstanding division rivals moved to Los Angeles, one of the teams would have been required to move to the NFC West, something that Mark Davis volunteered the Raiders to be willing to do. The Raiders moving to the National Football Conference would have been considered ironic seeing that Davis's father Al Davis was a staunch opponent of the NFL during its rivalry and eventual merger with the AFL.


2016 NFL season, Stadiums, Relocation of the Rams from St. Louis to Los Angeles, Raiders and Chargers failed stadium bid
If such a scenario had happened, a NFC West team would have had to take their spot in the AFC West. The early rumor was that the Seattle Seahawks, who played in the AFC West from 1977 to 2001, would have been the favorite to have switched conferences with the Raiders. However, that team's then growing rivalry with the San Francisco 49ers had pointed to either the Arizona Cardinals or the then-St. Louis Rams switching conferences to take the Raiders' spot in the AFC West.


2016 NFL season, Stadiums, Relocation of the Rams from St. Louis to Los Angeles, Raiders and Chargers failed stadium bid
Had the Rams stayed in St. Louis, switching them to the AFC would have allowed for a yearly home-and-home with the cross-state Kansas City Chiefs. As a portion of the Rams' 2016 schedule was already set because of their International Series appearance, the league could not realign until at least 2017.


2016 NFL season, Stadiums, Relocation of the Rams from St. Louis to Los Angeles, Raiders and Chargers failed stadium bid
On October 23, 2015, Mark Fabiani, Chargers spokesperson confirmed that the team planned to officially notify the NFL about its intentions to relocate to Los Angeles in January during the timetable when teams can request to relocate. On January 4, 2016, both teams filed relocation applications for relocation to Los Angeles. On January 12, 2016, the NFL voted to allow the Rams move to Los Angeles and the Inglewood proposal, effectively rejecting and killing the Carson proposal.


2016 NFL season, Stadiums, Relocation of the Rams from St. Louis to Los Angeles, Raiders and Chargers failed stadium bid
The Chargers were then given the option to join the Rams in Inglewood in 2017, with the Raiders having the option in 2018 if the Chargers declined; the Chargers announced on January 29 that they would remain in San Diego for the 2016 season as negotiations continued, but that if negotiations ultimately failed, they had reached an agreement in principle with the Rams to join them in Los Angeles once the Inglewood stadium was complete. The Raiders reached an agreement on another one-year lease extension with Oakland Coliseum on February 11, 2016, keeping the team in Oakland for one more season.


2016 NFL season, Stadiums, Relocation of the Rams from St. Louis to Los Angeles, Raiders and Chargers failed stadium bid
The Raiders, having previously explored San Antonio, Texas as a potential relocation site in 2014, moved on to other potential relocation sites after the rejection of the Carson proposal, focusing on a stadium plan in the vicinity of Las Vegas, Nevada. On August 25, 2016, the Raiders applied for a trademark for the "Las Vegas Raiders" and unveiled artist renditions of the proposed Las Vegas stadium, given the tentative title "Raiders Stadium."


2016 NFL season, Stadiums, Naming rights agreements, Buffalo Bills
On August 13, the Buffalo Bills and Pegula Sports and Entertainment reached an agreement to sell the naming rights to their stadium to the locally based New Era Cap Company, a major headwear supplier to all of the major North American sports leagues. The stadium had previously been known as Rich Stadium from its opening in 1973, then as Ralph Wilson Stadium since 1998. The sale of naming rights came as somewhat of a surprise, as previous owner Ralph Wilson was firmly against selling the naming rights to the stadium and there were few companies in Western New York believed to have the money to pay the naming rights fee for an NFL stadium.


2016 NFL season, Stadiums, Naming rights agreements, Miami Dolphins
Canadian-based financial services company Sun Life Financial had held the naming rights to the Miami Dolphins' stadium since 2010, a deal which expired in the offseason. The team already announced that it was not going to renew the license. On August 16, 2016, it was reported that Hard Rock Cafe purchased the naming rights to the stadium, with the venue to be renamed Hard Rock Stadium.


2016 NFL season, Stadiums, Naming rights agreements, Oakland Raiders
On April 2, the O.co Coliseum, home of the Oakland Raiders, reverted to its previous identity as the Oakland Alameda Coliseum. Online retailer Overstock.com held the naming rights to the Raiders' home field since 2011, but opted out of the naming rights agreement, though it will continue to maintain its corporate sponsorship with the Athletics. The Raiders' home field has undergone numerous name changes in its history, including Network Associates Coliseum (1998–2004) and McAfee Coliseum (2004–2008).


2016 NFL season, Stadiums, Field surface changes, Baltimore Ravens
On December 2, 2015, the Baltimore Ravens announced a change in the surface at M&T Bank Stadium from their previous Shaw Sportexe Momentum 51 artificial turf to natural Bermuda grass for the first time since the 2001 season, by player preference for a natural surface. The field was replaced beginning on February 4, 2016, timed to be installed by the start of the Johns Hopkins lacrosse season.


2016 NFL season, New uniforms and patches
After a trial run in 2015, the NFL Color Rush program returned for 2016 with all 32 NFL teams required to participate. To prevent issues with color blindness from the previous season, the NFL is scheduled match-ups and where color blindness would not be an issue. The Color Rush games were during the Thursday Night Football contests.


2016 NFL season, Media, Broadcast rights
This was the third season under broadcast contracts with ESPN, CBS, Fox, and NBC. This includes "cross-flexing" (switching) Sunday afternoon games between CBS and Fox before or during the season (regardless of the conference of the visiting team). NBC will continue to air Sunday Night Football, the annual Kickoff game, and the primetime Thanksgiving game. ESPN will continue airing Monday Night Football and the Pro Bowl. Fox will serve as the broadcaster of Super Bowl LI.


2016 NFL season, Media, Flexible scheduling
A change to the flexible scheduling rule takes effect for the 2016 season: in week 17, any game can be flexed into Sunday Night Football, regardless of how many times a team had been featured on a primetime game that season. This change can, theoretically, allow a game with playoff implications in the final week of the season to be moved to primetime for greater prominence.


2016 NFL season, Media, Flexible scheduling
As in 2015, the NFL will continue the "suspension" of its blackout policy, meaning that all games will be broadcast in their home markets regardless of ticket sales; Goodell stated that the league needed to continue investigating the impact of removing the blackout rules before such a change is made permanent.


2016 NFL season, Media, Thursday Night Football
The league's contract with CBS for Thursday Night Football expired after the 2015 season and was placed back up for bids. On February 1, 2016, the NFL announced that Thursday Night Football would be shared between CBS, NBC, and NFL Network for the 2016 season. CBS and NBC will each air five games, which will be simulcast by NFL Network, along with an additional eight games exclusively on NFL Network, the production of which will be split between the two networks.


2016 NFL season, Media, Thursday Night Football
Commissioner Roger Goodell that the league was "thrilled to add NBC to the Thursday Night Football mix, a trusted partner with a proven track record of success broadcasting NFL football in primetime, and look forward to expanding with a digital partner for what will be a unique tri-cast on broadcast, cable and digital platforms."


2016 NFL season, Media, Thursday Night Football
On April 5, 2016, it was announced that Twitter had acquired non-exclusive worldwide digital streaming rights to the 10 broadcast television TNF games, including to mobile devices (this is the first time any NFL games have been made available to mobile devices not subscribed to Verizon Wireless, whose NFL Mobile app holds exclusive rights to all other games). This partnership will also include content for Twitter's live streaming service Periscope, such as behind-the-scenes access.


2016 NFL season, Media, Internet streaming for International Series
After 2015's Bills–Jaguars International Series contest was a modest success, the league was initially expected to make all three of the 2016 London games exclusive to the Internet. Yahoo! Screen, which carried the 2015 contest, shut down in January 2016; the bidders on the three games (which may or may not go to the same broadcaster) included YouTube and Apple TV, both of which bid on the 2015 game but were passed up in favor of Yahoo! 's bid. Ultimately, the league decided not to make the International Series games Web-exclusive, instead focusing its efforts on the Thursday Night Football partnership with Twitter.


2016 NFL season, Media, Personnel changes
Mike Tirico, the lead play-by-play announcer for Monday Night Football, announced his departure from ESPN on May 9, 2016; he joins NBC, where he was originally designated to lead the network's broadcast team for Thursday Night Football telecasts. Replacing Tirico on MNF is Sean McDonough. The move was initially reported in April but not confirmed until the next month.


2016 NFL season, Media, Personnel changes
However, shortly before the start of the regular season, the league exercised a clause in its television contract with NBC demanding that any broadcast team that calls Sunday Night Football also call Thursday Night Football as well, effectively forcing Al Michaels to call both packages unless he and Tirico also split Sundays (this was the scenario that was ultimately chosen; on most weeks when Michaels calls a Thursday game, Tirico will call Sundays). Tirico eventually got his chance the next season, when NBC announced he would replace Michaels after the NFL waived its broadcast team clause.


2016 NFL season, Media, Personnel changes
Tirico’s colleague at ESPN, Heather Cox, was also hired by NBC as their sideline reporter for Thursday Night Football, after Michele Tafoya opted out to spend more time with family, and to focus on SNF.


2016 NFL season, Media, Personnel changes
This is also the final season Chris Berman serves as a studio analyst for ESPN's NFL programming; Berman has been with ESPN since the network's inception in 1979.


2016 NFL season, Media, Personnel changes
This would also end up being Phil Simms' last season as lead color commentator for the NFL on CBS. Tony Romo, who would retire at the end of this season, would replace Simms as lead color commentator on CBS. Simms will join The NFL Today next season.


2016 NFL season, Media, Personnel changes
This would also lead to Tony Gonzalez and Bart Scott, leaving The NFL Today. Gonzalez will now be on Fox NFL Kickoff. Replacing Gonzalez and Scott will be Simms and Nate Burleson, who comes over from NFL Network's football morning talk show, Good Morning Football, although he will remain with the show.


2016 NFL season, Media, Personnel changes
This would also be the last season for Solomon Wilcots at CBS. James Lofton from Westwood One, will replace Wilcots next season.


2016 NFL season, Media, Personnel changes
Meanwhile, at Fox, this would be the last season for John Lynch, who would leave to be the next general manager of the San Francisco 49ers. Replacing Lynch next season, would be Charles Davis who would move up from the #4 team at Fox to join Kevin Burkhardt.


2016 NFL season, Television viewers and ratings, Most watched regular season games
*Note — Late DH matchups listed in table are the matchups that were shown to the largest percentage of the market.


2016 NHK Trophy
The 2016 NHK Trophy was the final event of six in the 2016–17 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Makomanai Sekisuiheim Ice Arena in Sapporo on November 25–27. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. Skaters earned points toward qualifying for the 2016–17 Grand Prix Final.


2016 NHK Trophy, Entries
The ISU published the preliminary assignments on June 30, 2016.


2016 NHK Trophy, Results, Ice dancing
Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir set a new world record for the short dance (79.47 points) and for the combined total (195.84 points).


2016 NHL Entry Draft
The 2016 NHL Entry Draft was the 54th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 24–25, 2016 at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York. The first three selections were Auston Matthews going to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Patrik Laine going to the Winnipeg Jets, and Pierre-Luc Dubois going to the Columbus Blue Jackets.


2016 NHL Entry Draft, Eligibility
Ice hockey players born between January 1, 1996, and September 15, 1998, were eligible for selection in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. Additionally, un-drafted, non-North American players born in 1995 were eligible for the draft; and those players who were drafted in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, but not signed by an NHL team and who were born after June 30, 1996, were also eligible to re-enter the draft.


2016 NHL Entry Draft, Draft lottery
Since the 2012–13 NHL season all fourteen teams not qualifying for the Stanley Cup playoffs have a "weighted" chance at winning the first overall selection. Beginning with the 2014–15 NHL season the NHL changed the weighting system that was used in previous years. Under the new system the odds of winning the draft lottery for the four lowest finishing teams in the league decreased, while the odds for the other non-playoff teams increased. Starting with this draft the first three picks overall will be awarded by lottery.


2016 NHL Entry Draft, Draft lottery
The odds of winning the second and third draws increased on a proportional basis depending on which team won the previous draw. The Toronto Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets and Columbus Blue Jackets won the draft lotteries that took place on April 30, 2016, giving them the first, second and third picks overall. Toronto retained the top pick, while Winnipeg and Columbus moved up from the sixth and fourth spots, respectively. In the process, the Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks were each knocked down two places from second and third to fourth and fifth overall, respectively, while the Calgary Flames dropped from fifth to sixth overall.


2016 NHL Entry Draft, Selections by round
The order of the 2016 Entry Draft is listed below.


2016 NHL Stadium Series
The 2016 NHL Stadium Series (branded as the 2016 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series for sponsorship reasons) was a series of two outdoor regular season National Hockey League (NHL) games played during the 2015–16 NHL season. The 2016 Stadium Series consisted of the Minnesota Wild versus the Chicago Blackhawks at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on February 21, 2016, and the Colorado Avalanche versus the Detroit Red Wings at Coors Field in Denver on February 27, 2016.


2016 NHL Stadium Series
NBC aired both games in the United States, with the first game at TCF Bank Stadium being part of its Hockey Day in America coverage. The second game at Coors Field aired on NBC in primetime, the fourth regular season game (and the third outdoor game) to air on NBC's broadcast network in primetime (after the 2011 NHL Winter Classic, the 2014 NHL Stadium Series Game in Chicago, and a game on February 28, 2015 between the New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers) since NBC won the broadcast contract for the NHL in 2004. In Canada, the game at TCF Bank Stadium was the first game of a tripleheader on Sportsnet (simulcast from the NBC feed), while the game at Coors Field aired as part of the Hockey Night in Canada coverage on Sportsnet.


2016 NHL Stadium Series, TCF Bank Stadium (February 21)
The Minnesota Wild defeated the Chicago Blackhawks, 6–1 in the first 2016 Stadium Series game. Jason Pominville and Erik Haula each recorded a goal and two assists for the Wild. Minnesota goalie Devan Dubnyk made 31 saves, only allowing one goal by Patrick Kane with 7:55 left in the game. Also scoring for Minnesota was Thomas Vanek, Nino Niederreiter, Matt Dumba, and Ryan Carter.


2016 NHL Stadium Series, Coors Field (February 27)
In the second Stadium Series game, Brad Richards scored with 1:00 left in the game to break a 3–3 tie, and Darren Helm added an empty net goal, to give the Detroit Red Wings a 5–3 victory over the Colorado Avalanche.


2016 NHL Winter Classic
The 2016 NHL Winter Classic (officially the 2016 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic) was an outdoor regular season National Hockey League (NHL) game, part of the Winter Classic series, played on January 1, 2016. The game, the eighth Winter Classic, saw the Montreal Canadiens defeat the Boston Bruins, 5–1, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, a significant event in one of the NHL's best-known rivalries. A Bruins and Canadiens alumni game was also played on December 31, 2015. The Boston Pride women's professional hockey team played before the alumni game against Les Canadiennes of the Canadian Women's Hockey League to a 1–1 tie in the first ever 2016 Outdoor Women's Classic (officially the Outdoor Women's Classic presented by Scotiabank).


2016 NHL Winter Classic, Teams
The Bruins made their second appearance in the Winter Classic, as they played against the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2010 NHL Winter Classic held in Boston's Fenway Park; Massachusetts became the first market to serve as repeat host of the Winter Classic. Early reports dating back to December 2014 by TSN's Bob McKenzie indicated that Boston was the league's first choice in hosting the game.


2016 NHL Winter Classic, Teams
To accommodate the event, Gillette Stadium's primary tenant, the New England Patriots, played the last two games of their 2015 season on the road. The Bruins introduced a new third jersey for the game and it featured the team's original logo, as virtually a re-creation of their inaugural 1924–25 NHL season brown/gold sweaters worn while playing their home games in Matthews Arena, which opened in 1910, now on the campus of Northeastern University. (Matthews also was the first arena for the Boston Celtics and the WHA New England Whalers, who are now the Carolina Hurricanes.)


2016 NHL Winter Classic, Teams
This was the first Winter Classic appearance and third outdoor game for the Canadiens; the team previously played 2003 NHL Heritage Classic against the hosting Edmonton Oilers and the 2011 NHL Heritage Classic against the hosting Calgary Flames. The team also played in a new third jersey and used a logo from the 1920s.


2016 NHL Winter Classic, Teams
The two teams are long-time rivals. As of the end of the 2014–15 NHL season, the two teams have played each other 729 times during the regular season, 177 times during the playoffs, including nine game sevens. The two teams also held a special alumni game between the two teams, on December 31 at Gillette Stadium.


2016 NHL Winter Classic, Game summary
In the most lopsided score in the Winter Classic, four Montreal players combined to score five goals en route to a 5–1 victory against Boston. In his first game since suffering a hand injury on November 22, Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher recorded a goal and an assist. Goalie Mike Condon made 27 saves for Montreal. Matt Beleskey scored the Bruins' only goal.


2016 NHL Winter Classic, Alumni Game
In the Alumni Game on New Year's Eve, the Bruins defeated the Canadiens 5-4 in a shootout. The Canadiens alumni included Guy Carbonneau, Larry Robinson and Jose Theodore with the coaches including Guy Lafleur and Jacques Demers, while the Bruins alumni included Cam Neely, Terry O'Reilly, Mark Recchi and Ray Bourque with the coaches including Derek Sanderson, Lyndon Byers, Mike Milbury and Don "Grapes" Cherry.


2016 NHL Winter Classic, Alumni Game
Bruins' former anthem singer Rene Rancourt performed O Canada and The Star-Spangled Banner at the alumni game.


2016 NHL Winter Classic, Television
The game was televised in the United States on NBC, with commentators Mike Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, and Pierre McGuire.


2016 NHL Winter Classic, Television
In Canada, it was the second consecutive Winter Classic to be televised under the Rogers Media contract, but for the first time the English-language broadcast was shown on Sportsnet instead of on CBC Television and the Hockey Night in Canada banner. Commentary was provided by Jim Hughson, Craig Simpson, and Glenn Healy. For the second consecutive time, the game was broadcast in French on TVA Sports (with commentators Félix Séguin and Patrick Lalime, and reporter Renaud Lavoie) as part of TVA's sub-licensing agreement with Rogers.


2016 NHL Winter Classic, Television ratings
The 2016 NHL Winter Classic had the lowest ratings of any Winter Classic in the United States to date, with an average of less than 3 million American viewers watching the game.


2016 NHL Winter Classic, Television ratings, Pregame/Anthems/Entertainment
The Boston Pops performed Duel Of The Fates during the team introductions


2016 NHL Winter Classic, Television ratings, Pregame/Anthems/Entertainment
The national anthems were performed by Simple Plan (O Canada) and The Voice season 9 winner Jordan Smith accompanied by the Boston Pops (The Star-Spangled Banner)


2016 NHL Winter Classic, Television ratings, Pregame/Anthems/Entertainment
Nate Ruess performed during the first intermission while Simple Plan performed during the second intermission


2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series
The 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Season was announced on September 5, 2015.


2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series
There were 24 Top Fuel, Funny Car, and Pro Stock car events, and 16 Pro Stock Motorcycle events scheduled.


2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, Schedule
1 The rules for the 4-Wide Nationals differ from other races:


2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, Schedule
2 Races at Pacific Raceway abandoned after semifinals because of rain and could not be finished because of ordinances in county. There were two Top Fuel and Funny Car finals at Brainerd, and two Pro Stock finals at the U. S. Nationals (the NHRA and the two finalists agreed to conduct it at Clermont). The first winner listed is the Saturday race, while the second winner is the Sunday (Brainerd) or Monday (U. S. Nationals) race.


2016 NIT Srinagar Student Protests
The 2016 NIT Srinagar Student Protests were a series of protests and rallies at the National Institute of Technology, Srinagar, which erupted in April 2016 after a T20 cricket match between India and West Indies on 31 March.


2016 NL56
2016 NL56 (also written 2016 NL56) is a near-Earth object (NEO) and a potentially hazardous object (PHA), meaning that it has an orbit that can make close approaches to the Earth and large enough to cause significant regional damage in the event of impact. It is an Apollo asteroid, meaning that it is an Earth-crossing asteroid that has an orbit larger than the orbit of the Earth. It was first observed on 12 July 2016, when the asteroid was more than 1 AU from Earth and had a solar elongation of 163 degrees.


2016 NL56
This asteroid had been a lost asteroid until its rediscovery as, and identification with 2021 NL2, in July 2021. With additional observations recovered dating back as far as August 2001, the object's previously short observation arc of 2.8 days has been extended to almost 20 years, and its roughly calculated orbit has become secure with an uncertainty parameter of 1. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 0.6–2.2 AU once every 20 months (609 days; semi-major axis of 1.41 AU). Its orbit has a high eccentricity of 0.54 and an inclination of 5° with respect to the ecliptic. Based on a generic magnitude-to-diameter conversion, 2016 NL56 measures approximately 230 meters (750 ft) in diameter, for an absolute magnitude of 20.9 and an albedo of 0.14.


2016 NL56
This asteroid has been in both the Risk List of the European Space Agency (ESA) - Space Situational Awareness (SSA) and in the Sentry List of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) - Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS). On 21 July 2021, this object was removed from the Sentry List, where it was previously listed with the highest Palermo Technical Impact Hazard Scale value due to a possible close encounter with Earth on 5 September 2024.


2016 NL56
On 28 February 2122, 2016 NL56 will make its closest encounter with Earth at a nominal distance of 1,710,000 kilometers (0.01144 AU). Two hours later, it will pass the Moon at a nominal distance of 1,320,000 kilometers (0.00885 AU). On 11 May 2148, the asteroid will also approach Mars at a nominal distance of 3,460,000 kilometers (0.02316 AU).


2016 NLL season
The 2016 National Lacrosse League season, the 30th in the history of the NLL,  began on January 1, 2016, and ended with the Champion's Cup Finals series on June 4, 2016. The Saskatchewan Rush won their 2nd straight title; their first while located in Saskatchewan.


2016 NLL season, Standings
x: Clinched playoff berth; c: Clinched playoff berth by crossing over to another division; y: Clinched division; z: Clinched best regular season record; GP: Games PlayedW: Wins; L: Losses; GB: Games back; PCT: Win percentage; Home: Record at Home; Road: Record on the Road; GF: Goals scored; GA: Goals allowedDifferential: Difference between goals scored and allowed; GF/GP: Average number of goals scored per game; GA/GP: Average number of goals allowed per game


2016 NLL season, Awards, Monthly awards
Awards are presented monthly for the best overall player and best rookie.


2016 NPF Draft
National Pro Fastpitch held two drafts before the 2016 season:


2016 NPF Draft
First, the 2016 NPF Expansion Draft was held for the expansion Scrap Yard Dawgs to acquire players for their inaugural roster from existing  NPF teams.


2016 NPF Draft
With the arrival of the expansion Dallas Charge, NPF created a process for expansion teams to acquire talent: choosing either one player via a 'Market Choice Selection' (a college player either who is from the expansion team's state or who played for a college in the expansion team's state)  or five players from an Expansion Draft. The Dawgs opted for the expansion draft.


2016 NPF Draft
Secondly, the 2016 NPF College Draft was the 13th annual collegiate draft for NPF.


2016 NPF Draft, Expansion Draft
On November 30, 2015, it was announced that the  following players were selected by the Scrap Yard Dawgs in the 2015 NPF Expansion Draft: (Only Koerner and Washington actually played for the Dawgs; Low and Freeman retired before the season, and Garcia was released.)


2016 NPF Draft, College Draft
The 2016 NPF College Draft was the 13th annual collegiate draft for NPF, and was held on Thursday, April 14, 2016, 7:00 pm CST at the CMA Theater in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee. Draft order was determined by regular season standings from 2015, but subsequent trades and transactions altered the overall draft order. The draft was broadcast live on CBS Sports Network. The first selection was catcher Lexie Elkins from Louisiana–Lafayette, picked by the Pennsylvania Rebellion.


2016 NPF Draft, College Draft
Drafting an athlete gives an NPF affiliate team the rights to that athlete for two full seasons.


2016 NPF Draft, College Draft, Draft Selections
NPF announced the draft order With the addition of the Scrap Yard Dawgs, a league expansion team for the 2016 season, the added four additional bonus selections for the Dawgs.


2016 NPF Draft, College Draft, Draft Selections
Following are the 40 selections from the 2016 NPF draft:


2016 NPF Draft, College Draft, Draft Selections
Position key: C = catcher; INF = infielder; SS = shortstop; OF = outfielder; UT = Utility infielder; P = pitcher; RHP = right-handed pitcher; LHP = left-handed pitcherPositions will be listed as combined for those who can play multiple positions.


2016 NPF transactions
The following is a list 2016 NPF transactions that have occurred in the National Pro Fastpitch softball league since the completion of the 2015 season and during the 2016 season. It lists which team each player has been traded to, signed by, or claimed by, and for which player(s) or draft pick (s), if applicable. Players who have retired are also listed. Per Commissioner Cheri Kempf's tweet, NPF contracts expire in February, therefore the extension of a contract "through 2018" means the player is only contracted to play through the 2017 season, with the contract expiring the following February. "Thru 2018 season" therefore would mean a contract that expires in February 2019, covering only games played in 2018.


2016 NPF transactions
For selections in drafts impacting the 2016 season (the Scrap Yard Dawgs expansion draft and the college draft), see 2016 NPF Draft.


2016 NPF transactions
As of August 1, 5:00 pm EST, all team rosters were made fixed and constant through the conclusion of the 2016 NPF Championship Series.


2016 NPF transactions, Transactions
Source:Any transactions listed below without a reference were originally announced on


2016 NPSL season
The 2016 National Premier Soccer League season was the 104th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 14th season of the NPSL.


2016 NPSL season, Playoffs, South Atlantic Conference Playoffs
Bold = winner* = after extra time, ( ) = penalty shootout score


2016 NPSL season, Playoffs, South Central Conference Playoffs
Bold = winner* = after extra time, ( ) = penalty shootout score


2016 NPSL season, Playoffs, Southeast Conference Playoffs
Bold = winner* = after extra time, ( ) = penalty shootout score


2016 NPSL season, Playoffs, Regional and National Playoffs
Bold = winner* = after extra time, ( ) = penalty shootout score


2016 NPSL season, Attendances
Teams with an average home attendance of at least 1,000:


2016 NRJ Music Awards
The 2016 NRJ Music Awards was the 18th edition of the NRJ Music Awards, which took place on November 12, 2016, at the Palais des Festivals, in Cannes, France. The ceremony was broadcast live, but with a 5 to 15-minute delay due to terrorist threats, on TF1 and NRJ, and hosted by Nikos Aliagas.


2016 NRL Auckland Nines
The 2016 NRL Auckland Nines was the third NRL Auckland Nines competition. It was held on 6–7 February 2016 at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand. As with previous tournaments, it was contested by all sixteen National Rugby League teams. The prize money was NZ$2.6 million. The draw was released on 18 November 2015. The same pool names were used as the 2015 tournament's. The pool names were: Hunua, Waiheke, Rangitoto and Piha. The event included two international women's teams, the Kiwiferns and the Jillaroos, who competed in a three-game series. Originally to be sponsored by Dick Smith, the tournament was instead sponsored by Downer Group after Dick Smith went into receivership. The Parramatta Eels who won the tournament were later stripped of the title due to salary cap breaches.


2016 NRL Auckland Nines, Team of the tournament
Corey Norman was named the player of the tournament. The team of the tournament was;


2016 NRL Grand Final
The 2016 NRL Grand Final was a rugby league match between the Melbourne Storm and the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks to determine the premiers of the National Rugby League for the 2016 season. The match was held at Sydney's ANZ Stadium on Sunday 2 October. The Sharks won the match 14–12 in a tight contest before 83,625 spectators, earning the club its first premiership title in their 49-year history. They also became the last of nine Sydney-based teams to win a premiership. Cronulla forward Luke Lewis was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal as the best player on ground.


2016 NRL Grand Final
The match was preceded by the 2016 National Youth Competition Grand Final and the 2016 NRL State Championship. Pre -match entertainment was headlined by Keith Urban and former Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora with Orianthi. The match was broadcast live throughout in Australia by the Nine Network.


2016 NRL Grand Final, Background
The Melbourne Storm qualified for their sixth grand final in ten years after appearing in the 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2012 deciders, although their only recognised premiership was in 2012 after their 2007 and 2009 titles were withheld due to systemic salary cap breaches. Only coach Craig Bellamy and halfback Cooper Cronk have been involved on each occasion.


2016 NRL Grand Final, Background
The Cronulla Sutherland Sharks had never won a grand final in the club's preceding 50 seasons, with their last grand final appearance in a unified competition being in 1978 when they lost to the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles through a grand final replay. The Sharks had also appeared in the 1997 Super League grand final, losing to the Brisbane Broncos. The last time Melbourne and Cronulla had faced each other in a finals series was in 2008 when the Storm denied the Sharks with a decisive 28–0 win to claim a spot against the Sea Eagles in the grand final.


2016 NRL Grand Final, Background, 2016 season
The Melbourne Storm and the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks met twice during the regular NRL season; in round 4 and round 26. In round 4, the Sharks defeated the Storm 14–6 at Southern Cross Group Stadium in Cronulla, New South Wales to hand the Storm their first loss of the season; it was also the start of a sixteen-match unbeaten streak for the Sharks. Round 26 was the last round of the regular season before the finals and the game between the two teams would determine who would finish 1st on the NRL ladder and claim the minor premiership. The Storm would go on to defeat the Sharks 26–6 at their home ground, AAMI Park in Melbourne, Victoria.


2016 NRL Grand Final, Background, 2016 season
The Sharks set the record for the longest winning streak during the 2016 season, winning 15 games in a row from Round 4 to Round 20, whilst also breaking their previous best winning streak of 11 in a row.


2016 NRL Grand Final, Background, 2016 season
In their qualifying finals, the Sharks defeated the Canberra Raiders 16–14 at a capacity GIO Stadium in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, and the Storm defeated defending premiers the North Queensland Cowboys 16–10 at AAMI Park. As winners of their respective matches, both sides moved directly to the preliminary finals in the third week of the finals series. In the preliminary finals, the Sharks defeated the Cowboys 32–20 at Allianz Stadium in Sydney, New South Wales to qualify for their first Grand Final since 1997, while the Storm defeated the Raiders 14–12 at AAMI Park to qualify for their sixth Grand Final since 2006.


2016 NRL Grand Final, Teams
Melbourne Storm halfback Cooper Cronk played in his sixth grand final after having previously featured in every premiership decider his club have reached since 2006. Cronk, Will Chambers, Cameron Smith, Jesse Bromwich, and Kevin Proctor were the last remaining members of their last premiership winning team in 2012. The Cronulla Sharks had six players with previous grand final experience in Luke Lewis (2003), Chris Heighington (2005), Matt Prior (2010), Ben Barba, Michael Ennis (both 2012), and James Maloney (2011 and 2013).


2016 NRL Grand Final, Teams
Maloney was only the sixth player to contest three grand finals under different clubs after playing for the New Zealand Warriors and the Sydney Roosters in their respective grand final appearances. At age 35 with 278 first grade games, Sharks' captain Paul Gallen was the oldest and most experienced player to debut in a NRL grand final. The grand final would be Michael Ennis' last game before his retirement after playing 273 first grade games in the NRL.


2016 NRL Grand Final, Teams
The 2016 NRL Grand Final also marked the Melbourne Storm's 500th NRL game since it entered the competition in 1998.


2016 NRL Grand Final, Match summary, First half
The Cronulla Sharks opened the scoring in the eighth minute with a penalty goal kicked by James Maloney after Marika Koroibete was penalized for a swinging arm on Chad Townsend. The Sharks then scored the first try after a scrum-base move from Paul Gallen sent Ben Barba over in the 15th minute. Maloney converted the goal leaving the Sharks with an 8 - 0 lead.


2016 NRL Grand Final, Match summary, First half
Despite dominating ball possession and field position, the Sharks could not break the Storm's defence again in the first half and the score remained the same until half-time.


2016 NRL Grand Final, Match summary, Second half
The Melbourne Storm regained their composure in the second half with tries to Jesse Bromwich and Will Chambers. Both tries were converted by Cameron Smith enabling the Storm to take the lead 12 - 8.


2016 NRL Grand Final, Match summary, Second half
The Sharks responded through a try scored by prop Andrew Fifita in which he beat five Melbourne defenders from close range. Maloney again converted the goal leaving the score 14 - 12 to Cronulla with just nine minutes remaining in the match.


2016 NRL Grand Final, Match summary, Second half
The Storm had a prime opportunity to score when Chambers regathered his own grubber after a right-side break but he failed to recognise an unmarked Cooper Cronk. In the final seconds of the game the Storm again had a chance to steal victory with a play that went from the right side of the field to the left and then back to the right. The Sharks' scrambling defence managed to hold on, with Ricky Leutele making a desperate tackle which secured the club's first ever premiership.


2016 NRL Grand Final, Aftermath
Cronulla's premiership victory qualified them to take part in the 2017 World Club Series. As runners-up, Melbourne were also set to participate but withdrew from the competition, claiming that travelling to England would hamper their pre-season preparations. The Brisbane Broncos, who finished as semi finalists, was the only other team to accept an invitation, thus reducing the series into a two-game format instead of the intended three games. Playing against the Wigan Warriors, who were the 2016 Super League Champions, the Sharks were defeated 22 – 6.


2016 NRL State Championship
The 2016 NRL State Championship was a Rugby League match held between the winners of the 2016 Intrust Super Premiership NSW and the 2016 Queensland Cup. It was the third edition following the 2015 NRL State Championship, and was played before the 2016 NRL Grand Final.


2016 NRL State Championship, Background
For the 2015 NRL State Championship, the Illawarra Cutters won the NSW Cup by defeating the Minor Premiers Mount Pritchard Mounties 21-20 in the Grand Final. The Burleigh Bears won the QLD Cup by defeating the Redcliffe Dolphins 26-16 in the Grand Final.


2016 NRL Under-20s season
The 2016 NRL Under-20s season (known commercially as the 2016 Holden Cup due to sponsorship from Holden) was the ninth season of the National Rugby League's Under-20s competition. The draw and structure of the competition mirrored that of the NRL's 2016 Telstra Premiership season.


2016 NRL Under-20s season, Ladder, Ladder Progression
Numbers highlighted in green indicate that the team finished the round inside the top 8.


2016 NRL season
The 2016 NRL season was the 109th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 19th season run by the National Rugby League. The season started in New Zealand with the annual Auckland Nines, and was followed by the All Stars Match, which was played at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, and the World Club Series. The season concluded on October 2 with the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks winning their first ever premiership after 50 seasons, having entered the competition in 1967. The season was also noteworthy as it was the first time that all three Queensland based teams made the finals.


2016 NRL season, Teams
The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 10th consecutive year. The NRL's salary cap for the clubs' top 25 players was $A6.3M for 2016.


2016 NRL season, Pre-season
The 2016 pre-season featured the third edition of the Auckland Nines competition, held over a weekend at Auckland's Eden Park in which the Parramatta Eels defeated the New Zealand Warriors in the final. The All Stars match was held on February 13 at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. The 2016 World Club Series took place in England with the NRL premiers North Queensland Cowboys defeating the Super League champions Leeds Rhinos in the World Club Challenge match.


2016 NRL season, Parramatta Eels salary cap breach
The Parramatta Eels were faced with starting the season on -4 points due to salary cap indiscretions in 2015, however the NRL was satisfied with governance changes at the Eels and no points were deducted.


2016 NRL season, Parramatta Eels salary cap breach
However, on 3 May 2016, after further salary cap breaches were exposed by the NRL, CEO Todd Greenberg announced the preliminary penalties of the club being fined $1 million, deducted twelve competition points, stripped of its 2016 Auckland Nines title and they were barred from receiving any further competition points until they fell under the salary cap, which they were reported to have exceeded by $570,000. Five officials (chairman Steve Sharp, deputy chairman Tom Issa, director Peter Serrao, chief executive John Boulous and football manager Daniel Anderson) were also suspended indefinitely. On 12 May the NRL reported that Parramatta had fallen back under the salary cap for 2016 and were able to play for competition points again for their next scheduled game.


2016 NRL season, Parramatta Eels salary cap breach
On 9 July, after over 2 months of club officials contesting the preliminary penalties, Parramatta were handed their punishment with the addition of their for/against points tally accumulated from rounds 1-9 being deducted.


2016 NRL season, Regular season
Bold – Opposition's Home gameX – Bye* – Golden point gameOpponent for round listed above margin


2016 NRL season, Ladder
1 Parramatta were deducted 12 competition points and their for/against tally accumulated between rounds 1-9 for gross long-term salary cap breaches.


2016 NRL season, Finals series
A new format of extra time was introduced for the finals series where two additional 5-minute periods are played and if the scores are still tied afterwards, the next team to score wins.


2016 NRL season, Finals series
The 2016 Finals series is notable as the first time three Queensland teams have all made the finals in one season.


2016 NRL season, Finals series
Canberra also broke a long preliminary final drought reaching their first grand final qualifier in 19 years.


2016 NRL season, Regular season player statistics
The following statistics are at the conclusion of Round 26.


2016 NRL season results
The 2016 NRL season consists of 26 weekly regular season rounds starting on Thursday 3 March, and concluded on Sunday 2 October with the grand final.


2016 NRL season results, Round 20
The Sharks beat Newcastle to win 15 games in a row.


2016 NRL season results, Round 22
The Sharks suffer their first defeat since Round 3 against Manly


2016 NRL season results, Round 26
During this round there was a very unusual event. The Melbourne Storm and Cronulla Sharks fought for the minor Premiership with the Sharks going down 26-6 to the Storm. However because of the 20 point loss the Cronulla Sharks dropped to third, overtaken by the Canberra Raiders who beat Wests Tigers 52-10. This then resulted in a different top 2 then the ones that fought for the Minor Premiership.


2016 NRL season results, Finals series
For the fifth year the NRL uses the finals system previously implemented by the ARL competition from the 1990s (also used as the AFL final eight system) to decide the grand finalists from the top eight finishing teams. were featured in the preceding finals series.


2016 NSL 1 season
The 2016 NSL 1 season was the 8th season of play of the National Softball League. NSL 1 operated for the 1st year with pre-determined fixture lists ran during the Diamond Series tournaments.


2016 NSL 1 season
The top 8 teams during regular season qualified for the 2016 BSF NSL National Championships which was won by Pioneers who beat H2O in the final which was streamed live by WebcastSport.


2016 NSL 1 season, League business, Teams
After the 2015 season it was decided that the NSL would be cut to 12 teams from 14. This meant that Maniacs and Warriors the two lowest finishing teams were removed from the NSL for the 2015 season.


2016 NSL 1 season, League business, Teams
Warriors would compete as part of the newly formed NSL 2 in 2015, whereas Maniacs disbanded as a team altogether.


2016 NSL 1 season, Regular season, Dates
The NSL 1 competition took place across the first two Diamond Series tournaments and Windsor Tournament.


2016 NWSL College Draft
The 2016 NWSL College Draft was held on January 15, 2016 at the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Convention in Baltimore, Maryland.


2016 Nadeshiko League
The 2016 Nadeshiko League season was won by NTV Beleza, who have won the title 14 times.


2016 Nadeshiko League Cup Final
2016 Nadeshiko League Cup Final was the 9th final of the Nadeshiko League Cup competition. The final was played at Nishigaoka Soccer Stadium in Tokyo on September 3, 2016. Nippon TV Beleza won the championship.


2016 Nadeshiko League Cup Final, Overview
Nippon TV Beleza won their 4th title, by defeating JEF United Chiba Ladies 4–0 with Yuka Momiki, Mina Tanaka and Rin Sumida goal.