| Year: | 2016 |
| Team: | Cornell Big Red |
| Sport: | football |
| Conference: | Ivy League |
| Short Conf: | Ivy |
| Record: | 4–6 |
| Conf Record: | 2–5 |
| Head Coach: | David Archer |
| Hc Year: | 4th |
| Off Coach: | Roy Istvan |
| Oc Year: | 3rd |
| Def Coach: | Jared Backus |
| Dc Year: | 4th |
| Captain: | Miles Norris, Ben Rogers, Matt Sullivan, Jackson Weber |
| Stadium: | Schoellkopf Field |
The 2016 Cornell Big Red football team represented Cornell University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season as a member of the Ivy League. They were led by fourth-year head coach David Archer and play their home games at Schoellkopf Field. Cornell finished the season 4–6 overall and 2–5 in Ivy League play to tie for sixth place.
The 2016 schedule consisted of five home and five away games. The Big Red hosted Ivy League foes Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth and Penn, and traveled to Harvard, Brown, and Columbia.
As in 2015, Cornell's non-conference opponents were Bucknell and Colgate of the Patriot League, and Sacred Heart of the Northeast Conference (NEC). Homecoming coincided with the home opener against Yale on September 24.
See also: 2016 Bucknell Bison football team.
See also: 2016 Yale Bulldogs football team.
See also: 2016 Colgate Raiders football team and Colgate–Cornell football rivalry.
See also: 2016 Harvard Crimson football team.
See also: 2016 Sacred Heart Pioneers football team.
See also: 2016 Brown Bears football team.
See also: 2016 Princeton Tigers football team.
See also: 2016 Dartmouth Big Green football team and Cornell–Dartmouth football rivalry.
See also: 2016 Columbia Lions football team and Columbia–Cornell football rivalry.
See also: 2016 Penn Quakers football team and Cornell–Penn football rivalry.