| Year: | 1896 |
| Team: | Vanderbilt Commodores |
| Sport: | football |
| Conference: | Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association |
| Short Conf: | SIAA |
| Record: | 3–2–2 |
| Conf Record: | 2–0–2 |
| Head Coach: | R. G. Acton |
| Hc Year: | 1st |
| Captain: | Phil Connell |
| Stadium: | Dudley Field |
The 1896 Vanderbilt Commodores football team represented Vanderbilt University during the 1896 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season. The team's head coach was R. G. Acton, who was in his first year at Vanderbilt and went on to coach two more. This was the first meeting of Vanderbilt and Kentucky.