The 1996 Paradise Bowl was a matchup between No.1 Massachusetts and No. 2 Tennessee for the NCAA national championship in Division-I football, held on January 9th, 1996 at the Paradise Bowl in La Paz, Peninsula. The game was touted as it was U-Mass head coach Harrison Ford's fifth national title game in which he would be aiming for a fourth title, and questions were raised over if his team could stop prolific Tennessee tailback Richard Evans.