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Records |
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|---|---|
| Website | www.ulvikings.ie |
| All-time Regular Season Record: | 48-28-3 |
| All-time Playoff Record: | 9-4 |
| Head Coach: | Ciaran O'Sullivan |
| Shamrock Bowl Record: | 3-4 |
| Highest EFAF Ranking: | #18 (July 18, 2010) |
| Awards | |
| Pageantry | |
| Nickname: | Vikings |
| Colors: | Blue and Yellow |
| Mascot: | Gvoven |
| Home Field: | University of Limerick Sports Fields |
| Rivals: | Cork Admirals |
| Storied Vikings | |
| Retired Jerseys: | Paddy Ryan (#88) |
| Vikings Hall of Fame: | |
| Beau D'Arcy 2001-2002
Paddy Ryan (#88) 1999-2004 Tommy Conneelly (#82)1999-2002 Mike Ryan 1999-2002 Adam Calverley (#11) 2004 Chris Bassitt (#14) 2006-2007 |
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The University of Limerick Vikings are the American football team from the University of Limerick in Limerick, Ireland. The team currently competes in the Irish American Football League. The Vikings have won three IAFL Shamrock Bowl titles - in 2007, 2008 and 2009.
The Vikings' all-time record is 48-28-3 (0.58).
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Established in 1999, the team played mostly flag football until late 2001 when they joined the IAFL winter league.[1]
In UL's first ever game, they took the field on the road to the eventual Shamrock Bowl champion Dublin Rebels and were beaten 48-0. The Vikings lost their first four games, but on December 2, 2001, they recorded their first ever win, 12-8 over the Dublin Dragons in Limerick, with touchdowns from Tommy Conneelly and Paddy "The Saint" Ryan.
In 2002 the Vikings won every game they played thanks to a powerful team of mostly American exchange students. As league champions, they progressed directly to the Shamrock Bowl. However, as most of the American students had returned home, UL was well beaten by the Carrickfergus Knights, 66-0.
The Vikings decided that for the long term benefit of the team, they couldn't rely on exchange students as much as they had been doing. The 2003 and 2004 seasons were devoted to building a base of home grown Irish players. Despite going winless during both of these seasons, the Vikings managed to recruit the core of the future Shamrock Bowl winning teams, including Liam Ryan and Kieran Coen.
In 2005, the much improved Vikings managed to snap their three year, 13 game losing streak with 26-22 victory over rival Cork Admirals, and narrowly missed the playoffs, finishing with a 3-5 record. Buoyed by their promising 2005 campaign, the Vikings made the playoffs their goal in 2006. With the team becoming more and more popular around Limerick, the Vikings had another strong recruiting class and the team was made up of mostly Irish players, although they were helped by the arrival of four American exchange students - Chris Bassitt, Jeremiah Sexton, Alex Smith and Seamus Hogan. The 2006 UL Vikings finished the season with a 5-2-1 record, led by their defense, which gave up only 6 points in 5 home games. The Vikings made the postseason for the first time in 4 years. Aided by the return of former players Kieran Coen and Dan Levy, UL defeated the Carrickfergus Knights on the road to make the Shamrock Bowl for the second time in the team’s short history. However, a very strong Dublin Rebels team upended the Vikings 44-12 to claim their 4th consecutive Shamrock Bowl victory. Despite the defeat, the team had managed to turn a corner by making the Shamrock Bowl with a young, almost exculsively Irish team.
The Vikings had their greatest season ever in 2007. Winning every game they played (the sole loss coming by way of a forfeit due to field unavailability against Cork) in dominant fashion - their smallest margin of victory being 16 points. The Vikings league best defence allowed more than 6 points in a game only once, in a 36-20 road victory over the Cork Admirals, and the offense was equally as dominant, averaging almost 43 points a game and scoring at least four touchdowns in every game, led by an overpowering O-Line and strong running game.
The Vikings entered the playoffs as Shamrock Bowl favourites, but had to get past a 4th-seeded Belfast Bulls team in the semi-finals, eventually winning by a dominating 44-2 scoreline. This led to the first ever all-Munster Shamrock Bowl against the Cork Admirals, which was held in the UL Sports Ground on July 29. The Vikings won a close fought match by a margin of 22-14 courtesy of three rushing touchdowns from game MVP Seamus Hogan to claim their first ever Shamrock Bowl title.
The Vikings finished the 2008 regular season with a 7-1 record, winning their second consecutive Southern Division title. The sole loss came at home at the hands of fellow Shamrock Bowl finalists Dublin Rebels. The Vikings returned most of the starters from the 2007 season, including MVP Seamus Hogan, and added former Chicago Slaughter offensive lineman Jim Davis to their roster. After a slow start offensively in their first two games, the Vikings decided to move Seamus Hogan back to running back and appointed JP Nerbun as their starting QB. Nerbun went on to lead the league in passing efficiency, throwing 15 touchdowns and no interceptions in four games as starter, while Hogan recorded at least one touchdown in every game of the season, except for the defeat against the Dublin Rebels, where he left the game injured after the first series. The Vikings finished as the number two seeds, and after easily defeating the Belfast Trojans 42-8 in the semi-final, proceeded to their third consecutive Shamrock Bowl. The bowl took place on August 10 at CIT Stadium in Cork against the number one seeded Dublin Rebels. A rushing touchdown from MVP Adrian Garvey, and an interception return for a touchdown from Darragh 'Plum' O'Callaghan gave the Vikings a 14-3 lead going into half-time, and thanks to a blocked field goal in the fourth quarter, the Vikings won their second Shamrock Bowl in two years, defeating the Rebels 14-12.
The 2009 season saw the Vikings return the core of their team from 2008, but lost linemen Jim Davis and Kieran Coen to the Valencia Firebats of the Spanish League.
The Vikings once again relied upon power running and a tough, fast defense to make the playoffs for the fourth year in a row, but they once again fell to the Dublin Rebels, this time 12-7 at home. The Vikings finished as the number two seed for the third year in a row, and met the physical Carrickfergus Knights at home in the semi finals, where they welcomed back Davis and Coen, who had helped lead Valencia to victory in the Spanish Bowl. Leading 20-0 at half time, the game was abandoned shortly after the break when a Knights player was seriously injured, and the Vikings advanced to their fourth Shamrock Bowl in a row.
The Vikings met the Dublin Rebels in Belfast for Shamrock Bowl XXIII. In a close, physical game, the score was tied at 6-6 after four quarters, which meant the Shamrock Bowl would go into overtime for the first time in the game’s history. The Rebels won the toss and elected to receive the ball, but two plays into the extra period, Rebels' QB Andy Dennehy was intercepted by Vikings' CB JP Nerbun to set up a game winning 30 yard field goal attempt. UL kicker Daniel Smith converted it successfully[2] and the Vikings claimed their third Shamrock Bowl in three years.
The Vikings continued the success of recent years by reaching the playoffs for the fifth successive year. The team was once again led by a strong running game and a physical defense on their way to a 6-1-1 record. Their only defeat once again came at the hands of perennial championship rivals, the Dublin Rebels. In June 2010, the Vikings won their first international title, by winning the second EFAF Atlantic Cup, held in Dublin. This win, along with their consistent domestic success, elevated the Vikings into the EFAF Top 20 rankings for the first time in the team's history, debuting at No. 19. [3] The Vikings success in the Atlantic Cup resulted in them being named the IFAF Team of the Month for June 2010 - the first Irish team ever to win this award. [4] The Vikings proceeded to their fifth Shamrock Bowl in five years by beating the Carrickfergus Knights 20-0 in their Shamrock Bowl semi-final. The Vikings failed to make it four Shamrock Bowl victories in a row as they lost in the Shamrock Bowl to the No. 1 seed Dublin Rebels, 15-0.
In 2011, the Vikings claimed their second regular season league title, and first undefeated regular season, going 8-0. Although they were unbeaten on the field in 2007, because of a forfeit given up to Cork, the Vikings finished with a 7-1 record and the Dublin Rebels claimed the league crown. The Vikings came close to the kind of dominance seen in the 2007 season. Their only close regular season game was a 6-3 road victory over the Dublin Rebels. The offense averaged 36.8 points per game, while the defense gave up only 4.3 points per game in the four games they played. The last four games games of the season were not contested, as forfeits by UCD, Cork and the Dublin Dragons (twice) gave the Vikings four default 30-0 wins.
In the playoffs, the Vikings defeated the Craigavon Cowboys in the Shamrock Bowl semi-final, and faced the Dublin Rebels at Morton Stadium in Shamrock Bowl XXV on July 31st. Despite leading the game 13-8 at half time through a Marc Ashworth TD run, and a TD catch by Breandán Curtin from Ashworth, the Vikings were defeated by a score of 14-13 thanks to a 4th quarter Sam Hodgins touchdown for the Rebels.
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties
| Year | W | L | T | Finish | Playoff Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 4th IAFL | -- |
| 2002 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1st IAFL | Lost Shamrock Bowl XVI (Knights) |
| 2003 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3rd IAFL Division 2 | -- |
| 2004 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 6th IAFL | -- |
| 2005 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 5th IAFL | -- |
| 2006 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3rd IAFL | Lost Shamrock Bowl XX (Rebels) |
| 2007 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1st IAFL Southern Division | Won Shamrock Bowl XXI (Admirals) |
| 2008 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1st IAFL Southern Division | Won Shamrock Bowl XXII (Rebels) |
| 2009 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2nd IAFL | Won Shamrock Bowl XXIII (Rebels) |
| 2010 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1st IAFL Southern Division | Lost Shamrock Bowl XXIV (Rebels) |
| 2011 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1st IAFL Southern Division | Lost Shamrock Bowl XXV (Rebels) |
| Year | Winner | Age | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Kieran Coen | 21 | Offensive Tackle/Defensive Tackle |
| 2006 | Chris Bassitt | 21 | Quarterback/Wide Receiver/Running Back |
| 2007 | Seamus Hogan | 22 | Safety/Running Back/Kick Returner |
| 2008 | Jim Davis | 24 | Offensive Tackle/Defensive End |
| 2009 | Brendan McCarthy | 22 | Linebacker/Kick Returner |
| 2010 | Brendan McCarthy | 23 | Linebacker/Wide Receiver/Kick Returner |
| 2011 | Glen Carr | 25 | Defensive Tackle/Fullback |
| Year | Winner | Age | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Colin Hillman | 20 | Wide Receiver |
| 2006 | Jeremiah Sexton | 20 | Quarterback |
| 2007 | Dan Levy | 23 | Running Back |
| 2008 | JP Nerbun | 22 | Quarterback |
| 2009 | Liam Ryan | 25 | Quarterback |
| 2010 | Liam Ryan | 26 | Quarterback |
| 2011 | Marc Ashworth | 23 | Quarterback |
| Year | Winner | Age | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Matt Sheehan | 21 | Linebacker |
| 2006 | Alex Smith | 20 | Defensive End |
| 2007 | Bill Parkinson | 21 | Linebacker |
| 2008 | Jim Davis | 24 | Defensive End |
| 2009 | Brendan McCarthy | 22 | Linebacker |
| 2010 | Mark Gaffney | 21 | Linebacker |
| 2011 | Kieran Coen & Brendan McCarthy | 27 & 24 | Defensive Tackle & Linebacker |
| Year | Winner | Age | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Matt Sheehan | 21 | Gunner |
| 2006 | Daniel Smith | 20 | Kicker/Punter |
| 2007 | Seamus Hogan | 22 | Kick Returner |
| 2008 | Daniel Smith | 22 | Kicker/Punter |
| 2009 | Brendan McCarthy | 22 | Kick Returner |
| 2010 | Adrian Garvey | 23 | Kicker |
| 2011 | Craig Switzer | 23 | Kick Returner |
| Year | Winner | Age | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Glen Carr | 19 | Tight End/Defensive End |
| 2006 | Brendan Moroney | 19 | Offensive Guard |
| 2007 | Seamus Feehan | 18 | Wide Receiver |
| 2008 | James Twomey | 22 | Running Back |
| 2009 | John Mullen | 22 | Defensive Tackle |
| 2010 | Sean Sheehy | 29 | Cornerback |
| 2011 | Seán Goldrick | 19 | Wide Receiver |