The 1896 Wyoming Cowboys football team represented the University of Wyoming as an independent during the 1896 college football season. In its third season under head coach Justus F. Soule, a professor of Latin and Greek, the team compiled a perfect 2–0 record, consisting of victories over Colorado State Normal and Denver's Manual High School.^[1]

For the third consecutive year, Herbert J. Brees was the team captain.^[1] Brees was a native of Laramie, Wyoming who went on to a career in the United States Army. He retired from the Army in 1941 with the rank of lieutenant general.^[2] In the program's first three years under coach Soule and captain Brees (1894–1896), the team compiled a 6–0 record and outscored opponents by a total of 128 to 26.^[1]