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BCAFL Logo
BCAFL Logo

The British Collegiate American Football League (BCAFL) was an American football league consisting of players from various colleges and universities in the United Kingdom.

In 2007 it was succeeded by the British Universities American Football League.

The league officially began in the 1985–1986 season with 4 teams, with founder members Newcastle Skolars, led by Mike Rea, and Hull University, and celebrated its 20th anniversary with 37 teams competing the 2005–2006 campaign. The final season was contested by 39 teams, with some teams consisting of players from more than one institution.

Throughout its existence, BCAFL was plagued by the fact that some of its teams played at a vastly higher skill level than others. During its final years the British Student American Football Association (BSAFA), who was responsible for the operations of BCAFL, made great strides towards competitive balance; increasing the skill level on the field and expanding the game throughout the UK. However, after extended public disagreements with the policies of the governing body of the British American Football Association (BAFA), the BAFA dissolved the BSAFA with all the teams being forced to transfer to the new British university American Football League (BUAFL).

Rules

BCAFL largely followed the rules of American college football (though there were restrictions on the number of North American players allowed on the field at any one time). As opposed to the conference and " bowl game" set-up used in American college football BCAFL divided itself into two conferences and used a season-ending playoff system, similar to the NFL (however, below the Bowl Subdivision of Division I, the NCAA uses a season-ending playoff system to crown national champions). At the end of an 8-game regular season, 16 teams would 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 culminated with a championship game, called the "College Bowl" which features the champions of the Northern and Southern Conferences.

Teams

Full Member records

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).

Team Conference Division W L T Winning Pct. Division Champ. Conference Champ. BCAFL Champ.
Caledonian Roughriders Northern Scottish 10 21 1 .328 0 0 0
Edinburgh Timberwolves Northern Scottish 10 14 0 .417 0 0 0
Glasgow Tigers Northern Scottish 92 55 13 .616 9 3 1
Paisley Pyros Northern Scottish 20 60 6 .267 0 0 0
Stirling Clansmen Northern Scottish 67 70 15 .484 5 1 1
Leeds Celtics Northern Eastern 97 26 10 .767 7 3 1
Newcastle Raiders Northern Eastern 65 80 8 .451 1 1 0
Sunderland Kings Northern Eastern 19 72 5 .224 0 0 0
UT Cougars Northern Eastern 74 76 13 .494 6 3 2
UCH Sharks Northern Western 78 72 13 .518 5 3 4
Lancaster Bombers Northern Western 62 59 7 .512 2 0 0
Lincoln Colonials Northern Western 0 7 1 .063 0 0 0
Sheffield Sabres Northern Western 46 62 10 .432 1 0 0
Sheffield Hallam Warriors Northern Western 13 16 3 .453 1 0 0
Derby Braves Northern Central 31 52 3 .378 0 0 0
UEA Pirates Northern Central 77 75 5 .506 2 1 0
Leicester Longhorns Northern Central 67 87 9 .439 1 2 0
Loughborough Aces Northern Central 121 27 2 .813 12 6 3
Nottingham Outlaws Northern Central 44 43 1 .506 1 0 0
Tarannau Aberystwyth Southern Central 52 64 4 .450 3 1 0
Birmingham Lions Southern Central 93 41 10 .681 7 2 1
Oxford Cavaliers Southern Central 65 58 5 .527 4 2 1
Staffordshire Stallions Southern Central 63 47 10 .567 3 1 0
Warwick Wolves Southern Central 52 81 9 .398 1 0 0
ARU Phantoms Southern Eastern 2 30 0 .063 0 0 0
Essex Blades Southern Eastern 19 25 3 .436 1 0 0
Greenwich Mariners Southern Eastern 13 10 0 .565 1 0 0
Hertfordshire Hurricanes Southern Eastern 72 26 6 .721 7 5 4
Kent Falcons Southern Eastern 29 60 0 .326 0 0 0
Royal Holloway Vikings Southern Eastern 4 12 0 .250 0 0 0
Bath Killer Bees Southern Western 61 48 11 .554 3 0 0
Bristol Bullets Southern Western 46 61 13 .438 2 1 1
Cardiff Cobras Southern Western 103 41 14 .696 11 2 1
Plymouth Blitz Southern Western 14 32 2 .313 0 0 0
Brighton Tsunami Southern Southern 14 16 2 .469 0 0 0
Portsmouth Destroyers Southern Southern 1 6 1 .188 0 0 0
Reading Knights Southern Southern 27 121 8 .199 0 0 0
Southampton Stags Southern Southern 89 44 11 .656 5 3 3
Surrey Stingers Southern Southern 50 49 5 .505 2 0 0

Associate members

  • Bristol Barracuda 2007/8
  • Durham Saints 2007/8

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 History

  • 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 Cavaliers 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

2006–07 season

Regular season

NC-Scottish
Team W L T PCT PF PA
y-Glasgow Tigers 5 3 0 .625 174 122
Caledonian Roughriders 4 3 1 .563 67 88
Edinburgh Timberwolves 3 5 0 .375 99 64
Stirling Clansmen 1 5 2 .250 1 73
Paisley Pyros 0 7 1 .063 26 173
NC-Eastern
Team W L T PCT PF PA
y-UT Cougars 6 1 1 .813 277 91
x-Newcastle Raiders 6 2 0 .750 189 119
x-Leeds Celtics 6 2 0 .750 299 96
Sunderland Kings 3 5 0 .375 53 179
NC-Western
Team W L T PCT PF PA
y-Sheffield Sabres 6 1 1 .813 137 18
x-Sheffield Hallam Warriors 4 2 2 .625 75 43
x-Lancaster Bombers 4 3 1 .563 84 135
UCH Sharks 1 5 2 .250 36 127
Lincoln Colonials 0 7 1 .063 6 172
NC-Central
Team W L T PCT PF PA
y-Loughborough Aces 7 0 1 .938 155 92
Derby Braves 3 3 2 .500 74 113
UEA Pirates 2 5 1 .313 82 99
Nottingham Outlaws 1 6 1 .188 87 161
Leicester Longhorns 1 6 1 .188 35 157
SC-Central
Team W L T PCT PF PA
y-Birmingham Lions 5 2 1 .688 124 103
Staffordshire Stallions 4 3 1 .563 99 89
Tarannau Aberystwyth 4 4 0 .500 112 102
Warwick Wolves 3 4 1 .438 126 75
Oxford Cavaliers 3 4 1 .438 52 121
SC-Eastern
Team W L T PCT PF PA
y-Essex Blades 8 0 0 1.000 245 33
x-Hertfordshire Hurricanes 5 3 0 .625 275 90
Greenwich Mariners 4 4 0 .500 166 130
Kent Falcons 4 4 0 .500 106 134
Royal Holloway Vikings 2 6 0 .250 105 272
ARU Phantoms 1 7 0 .125 62 257
SC-Western
Team W L T PCT PF PA
y-Bath Killer Bees 5 1 2 .750 155 90
x-Cardiff Cobras 5 2 1 .688 113 80
x-Bristol Bullets 4 2 2 .625 192 89
Plymouth Blitz 2 4 2 .375 48 128
SC-Southern
Team W L T PCT PF PA
y-Southampton Stags 7 0 1 .938 279 46
x-Brighton Tsunami 4 3 1 .563 126 95
Surrey Stingers 3 5 0 .375 105 174
Reading Knights 3 5 0 .375 82 120
Portsmouth Destroyers 1 6 1 .188 34 214
  • y – Clinched Division Title
  • x – Clinched Playoff Berth

Playoffs

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

All-star game

Each season BCAFL held an All-Star game between the Northern Conference Cougars and the Southern Conference Wildcats. Trials for these All-Star teams are open to all players in the league. Along with the accolades 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.

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