British Collegiate American Football League

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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 celebrated its 20th anniversary with 37 teams to start the 2005-2006 campaign. The league expanded again for the 2006-2007 season, with the introduction of teams in Lincoln and Portsmouth, bringing the total number of BCAFL teams to 39.

While the game is played by university students and it largely follows the rules of American college football (though there are restrictions on the number of North American players allowed on the field at one time), 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 39 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 is responsible for the operations of the BCAFL) has made great strides towards competitive balance, increasing the skill level on the field, and expanding the game throughout the UK.

Contents 1 BCAFL Teams 1.1 Northern Conference 1.1.1 Scottish Division 1.1.2 Eastern Division 1.1.3 Western Division 1.1.4 Central Division 1.2 Southern Conference 1.2.1 Central Division 1.2.2 Eastern Division 1.2.3 Western Division 1.2.4 Southern Division 2 Associate Members 3 Defunct Teams 4 BCAFL/College Bowl Champions 5 2006-07 Season 6 2007 BCAFL Playoffs 7 Recent fixtures 7.1 March 25, 2007 - College Bowl XXI 7.2 March 18, 2007 - Playoffs - Conference Championships 7.2.1 Northern Conference 7.2.2 Southern Conference 8 Other BCAFL Operations/Connections 9 External links

[edit] BCAFL Teams

Teams are listed within their divisions, with their all-time regular season record listed (records include ONLY official BCAFL regular season games through the 2006-07 season, as recorded in the BCAFL official all-time records).

[edit] Northern Conference

[edit] Scottish Division

Team	Record	Winning Pct.	Division Champ.	Conference Champ.	BCAFL Champ.
Caledonian Roughriders	10-21-1	.328	0	0	0
Edinburgh Timberwolves	10-14-0	.417	0	0	0
Glasgow Tigers	92-55-13	.616	9	3	1
Paisley Pyros	20-60-6	.267	0	0	0
Stirling Clansmen	67-70-15	.484	5	1	1

[edit] Eastern Division

Team	Record	Winning Pct.	Division Champ.	Conference Champ.	BCAFL Champ.
Leeds Celtics	97-26-10	.767	7	3	1
Newcastle Raiders	65-80-8	.451	1	1	0
Sunderland Kings	19-72-5	.224	0	0	0
UT Cougars	74-76-13	.494	6	3	2

[edit] Western Division

Team	Record	Winning Pct.	Division Champ.	Conference Champ.	BCAFL Champ.
UCH Sharks	78-72-13	.518	5	3	4
Lancaster Bombers	62-59-7	.512	2	0	0
Lincoln Colonials	0-7-1	.063	0	0	0
Sheffield Sabres	46-62-10	.432	1	0	0
Sheffield Hallam Warriors	13-16-3	.453	1	0	0

[edit] Central Division

Team	Record	Winning Pct.	Division Champ.	Conference Champ.	BCAFL Champ.
Derby Braves	31-52-3	.378	0	0	0
UEA Pirates	77-75-5	.506	2	1	0
Leicester Longhorns	67-87-9	.439	1	2	0
Loughborough Aces	121-27-2	.813	12	6	3
Nottingham Outlaws	44-43-1	.506	1	0	0

[edit] Southern Conference

[edit] Central Division

Team	Record	Winning Pct.	Division Champ.	Conference Champ.	BCAFL Champ.
Tarannau Aberystwyth	52-64-4	.450	3	1	0
Birmingham Lions	93-41-10	.681	7	2	1
Oxford Cavaliers	65-58-5	.527	4	2	1
Staffordshire Stallions	63-47-10	.567	3	1	0
Warwick Wolves	52-81-9	.398	1	0	0

[edit] Eastern Division

Team	Record	Winning Pct.	Division Champ.	Conference Champ.	BCAFL Champ.
ARU Phantoms	2-30-0	.063	0	0	0
Essex Blades	19-25-3	.436	1	0	0
Greenwich Mariners	13-10-0	.565	1	0	0
Hertfordshire Hurricanes	72-26-6	.721	7	5	4
Kent Falcons	29-60-0	.326	0	0	0
Royal Holloway Vikings	4-12-0	.250	0	0	0

[edit] Western Division

Team	Record	Winning Pct.	Division Champ.	Conference Champ.	BCAFL Champ.
Bath Killer Bees	61-48-11	.554	3	0	0
Bristol Bullets	46-61-13	.438	2	1	1
Cardiff Cobras	103-41-14	.696	11	2	1
Plymouth Blitz	14-32-2	.313	0	0	0

[edit] Southern Division

Team	Record	Winning Pct.	Division Champ.	Conference Champ.	BCAFL Champ.
Brighton Tsunami	14-16-2	.469	0	0	0
Portsmouth Destroyers	1-6-1	.188	0	0	0
Reading Knights	27-121-8	.199	0	0	0
Southampton Stags	89-44-11	.656	5	3	3
Surrey Stingers	50-49-5	.505	2	0	0

[edit] Associate Members

• Bournemouth Riptide 2008/9
• Bristol Barracuda 2007/8
• Buckinghamshire Buccaneers 2008/9
• Durham Saints 2007/8
• Gloucestershire Gladiators 2007/8
• Huddersfield Hawks 2007/8
• Liverpool Fury 2008/9
• Worcestershire Cardinals 2008/9

[edit] 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)

[edit] 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
• 2007 - CB XXI: Bristol Bullets def. Loughborough Aces 31-14

[edit] 2006-07 Season

• y - Clinched Division Title
• x - Clinched Playoff Berth

[edit] 2007 BCAFL Playoffs

This article documents a current sports-related event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses.

	Wild Card Round					Divisional Round					Conference Championships					College Bowl XXI
	1	Loughborough Aces	45
	8	Lancaster Bombers	0
						1	Loughborough Aces	16
						6	Leeds Celtics	0
	3	Sheffield Sabres	0
	6	Leeds Celtics	13
											1	Loughborough Aces	23
	Northern Conference
										2	UT Cougars	18
	2	UT Cougars	26
	7	Sheffield Hallam Warriors	12
						2	UT Cougars	26
						5	Newcastle Raiders	20
	4	Glasgow Tigers	12
	5	Newcastle Raiders	28
																N1	Loughborough Aces	14
															S6	Bristol Bullets	31
	1	Essex Blades	21
	8	Brighton Tsunami	6
						1	Essex Blades	6
						6	Bristol Bullets	43
	3	Bath Killer Bees	10
	6	Bristol Bullets	30
											6	Bristol Bullets	21
	Southern Conference
										4	Birmingham Lions	14
	2	Southampton Stags	25
	7	Hertfordshire Hurricanes	22
						2	Southampton Stags	6
						4	Birmingham Lions	13
	4	Birmingham Lions	20
	5	Cardiff Cobras	7

[edit] Recent fixtures

[edit] March 25, 2007 - College Bowl XXI

• Loughborough Aces (10-0-1) vs. Bristol Bullets (7-2-2)

[edit] March 18, 2007 - Playoffs - Conference Championships

[edit] Northern Conference

• #1 Loughborough Aces 23, #2 UT Cougars 18

[edit] Southern Conference

• #6 Bristol Bullets 21, #4 Birmingham Lions 14

[edit] 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.

[edit] External links

• The BCAFL
• The Great Britain Bulldogs
• Unofficial BCAFL Internet Forum
• The British Student American Football Association (BSAFA)