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The British Collegiate American Football League (BCAFL) is an American Football league consisting of players from various colleges and universities in the United Kingdom . The league officially began in the 1985 - 1986 season with 4 teams, and is celebrating its 20th aniversary with 37 teams to start the 2005 - 2006 campaign.

While the game is played by university students and it largely follows the rules of American College Football , it organizationally resembles the professional National Football League . As opposed to the conference and " Bowl Game " set-up used in American college football, the BCAFL divides itself into two conferences and uses a season-ending playoff system, similar to the NFL . At the end of an 8-game regular season, 16 of the 37 BCAFL teams advance to the playoffs (the playoffs expanded from 12 to 16 teams in the 2004 - 2005 season), with the 4 division champions and 4 "wild card" teams from each conference participating. The playoffs culminate with a championship game, called the "College Bowl" which features the champions of the Northern and Southern Conferences. Another difference between British and American college football is the fact that some British teams recruit players from more than one university.

Throughout its existence, the BCAFL has been plagued by the fact that some of its teams play at a vastly higher skill level than others. Over the past decade, however, the BSAFA (The British Student American Football Association which is responsible for the running of the BCAFL league) has made great strides towards competitive balance, increasing the skill level on the field, and expanding the game throughout the UK .


BCAFL TEAMS

Teams are listed within their divisions, with their all-time regular season record listed in parentheses (records include ONLY official BCAFL regular season games through the 2005-06 season, as recorded in the BCAFL official all-time records).


Northern Conference


Scottish Division



Eastern Division



Western Division



Central Division



Southern Conference


Central Division



Eastern Division



Western Division



Southern Division



DEFUNCT TEAMS

  • Aberdeen Steamroller (0-8-0, .000)

  • Aston Rhinos (10-43-3, .205)

  • Cambridge Pythons (38-16-2, .696)

  • Dundee Bluedevils (1-7-0, .125)

  • Manchester MPs (3-12-2, .235)

  • Strathclyde Hawks (64-41-15, .596)



BCAFL/COLLEGE BOWL CHAMPIONS

  • 1986 - Hull Sharks (5-0)

  • 1987 - College Bowl I: Hull Sharks def. Newcastle Scholars 23-6

  • 1988 - CB II: Cardiff Cobras tie Hull Sharks 0-0 (declared Co-Champions)

  • 1989 - CB III: Hull Sharks def. Cardiff Cobras 7-6

  • 1990 - CB IV: Teesside Demons def. Birmingham Lions 21-20

  • 1991 - CB V: Teesside Demons def. UEA Pirates 19-0

  • 1992 - CB VI: Southampton Stags def. Glasgow Tigers 53-0

  • 1993 - CB VII: Southampton Stags def. Leeds Celtics 19-0

  • 1994 - CB VIII: Glasgow Tigers def. Leicester Lemmings 26-0

  • 1995 - CB IX: Loughborough Aces def. Cambridge Pythons 23-20

  • 1996 - CB X: Leeds Celtics def. Cardiff Cobras 14-8

  • 1997 - CB XI: Loughborough Aces def. Tarannau Aberystwyth 28-19

  • 1998 - CB XII: Hertfordshire Hurricanes def. Leeds Celtics 16-7

  • 1999 - CB XIII: Hertfordshire Hurricanes def. Loughborough Aces 7-3

  • 2000 - CB XIV: Hertfordshire Hurricanes def. Leicester Lemmings 20-6

  • 2001 - CB XV: Oxford Cavaliers def. Loughborough Aces 26-23

  • 2002 - CB XVI: Loughborough Aces def. Oxford Cavliers 39-23

  • 2003 - CB XVII: Stirling Clansmen def. Hertfordshire Hurricanes 22-17

  • 2004 - CB XVIII: Hertfordshire Hurricanes def. Staffordshire Stallions 27-6

  • 2005 - CB XIX: Birmingham Lions def. Glasgow Tigers 34-7

  • 2006 - CB XX: Southampton Stags def. UT Cougars 79-8



2005-06 SEASON





  • y - Clinched Division Title

  • x - Clinched Playoff Berth



RECENT FIXTURES


College Bowl XX

  • Southampton Stags 79, UT Cougars 8



BCAFL Playoffs - Conference Championships


Northern Conference

  • #3 UT Cougars 21, #1 Loughborough Aces 14



Southern Conference

  • #6 Southampton Stags 19, #2 Cardiff Cobras 6



BCAFL Playoffs - Divisional Round


Northern Conference

  • #1 Loughborough Aces 34, #7 Newcastle Raiders 2

  • #3 UT Cougars 26, #4 Staffordshire Stallions 6



Southern Conference

  • #6 Southampton Stags 19, #1 Birmingham Lions 14

  • #2 Cardiff Cobras 14, #5 Bristol Bullets 6



BCAFL Playoffs - Wild Card Round


Northern Conference

  • #1 Loughborough Aces 30, #8 Stirling Clansmen 7

  • #7 Newcastle Raiders 22, #2 Glasgow Tigers 12

  • #3 UT Cougars 44, #6 Sheffield Sabres 12

  • #4 Staffordshire Stallions 6, #5 Leeds Celtics 0



Southern Conference

  • #1 Birmingham Lions 21, #8 Hertfordshire Hurricanes 14

  • #2 Cardiff Cobras 25, #7 Bath Killer Bees 12

  • #6 Southampton Stags 63, #3 Surrey Stingers 14

  • #5 Bristol Bullets 22, #4 Greenwich Mariners 6



BCAFL AWARDS

Similar to American college football, the BCAFL selects and annual "All-College" Team, similar to the All-American team. The most recent (2005) All-College First Team consisted of:


Offense

  • Quarterbacks

  • --- Neale Canning - Birmingham

  • --- Daniel Storey - Loughborough

  • --- Alexander Fisher - Leeds

  • Running Backs

  • --- Baron D'Anyangwe - Surrey

  • --- Michel Sobanjo - Derby

  • --- Matthew Excell - Essex

  • --- Andrew Cochrane - Hertfordshire

  • --- Jack Turner - Lancaster

  • Wide Receivers

  • --- Kayed Al-Qusimi - Essex

  • --- Joe Black - Lancaster

  • --- Carlos Yanes-Roca - Stirling

  • --- Martin Ray - UEA

  • Tight Ends

  • --- Matt Pringle - Hull

  • --- Frederick Walker - Plymouth

  • Centre

  • --- Timothy Lees - Hull

  • Offensive Line

  • --- Neil Bexton - APU

  • --- Philip Hume - Cardiff

  • --- Alexander Roberts - Greenwich

  • --- Robert Milburn - Nottingham

  • --- Peter Downes - Warwick



Defense

  • Defensive Line

  • --- Simon Ritchie - Brighton

  • --- Martin Pragnell - Plymouth

  • --- Richard Stockdale - Hull

  • --- George Askew - Essex

  • --- Juston McNaughten - Glasgow

  • Linebackers

  • --- Gareth Lucyszyn - Nottingham

  • --- Chris Omyilogwu - Staffordshire

  • --- Robert Stewart - Greenwich

  • --- Casey Egglestone - Essex

  • --- Andrew McGowan - Glasgow

  • Defensive Backs

  • --- Gareth Wild - Hull

  • --- Glenn Lindley - Kent

  • --- Alistair Reid - Reading

  • --- Richard Traves - Sunderland

  • --- Andy Grist - Surrey



Special Teams

  • Kicker

  • --- Andrew Studer - Loughborough

  • Punter

  • --- Jonathan Weller - Sheffield

  • Kick Returner

  • --- Richard Davis - Derby



OTHER BCAFL OPERATIONS/CONNECTIONS

Each season, the BCAFL holds an annual All-Star game between the Northern Conference Cougars and the Southern Conference Wildcats. Trials for these All-Star teams are open to all in the league.
Along with the acolades of competing for their conference, All-Star players are also eligible to try-out for the Great Britain Bulldogs, a national college team that competes with North American and other European American football national teams.


EXTERNAL LINKS