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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 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 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

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

BCAFL/College Bowl Champions

2005-06 Season

NC-Scottish
Team W L T PCT PF PA
y-Glasgow Tigers 7 1 0 .875 225 81
x-Stirling Clansmen 4 3 1 .563 92 52
Edinburgh Timberwolves 4 4 0 .500 94 75
Caledonian Roughriders 2 6 0 .250 88 139
Paisley Pyros 1 7 0 .125 88 300
NC-Eastern
Team W L T PCT PF PA
y-UT Cougars 7 1 0 .875 238 92
x-Leeds Celtics 5 3 0 .625 132 88
x-Newcastle Raiders 4 3 1 .563 103 74
Sunderland Kings 2 5 1 .313 80 157
UCH Sharks 1 6 1 .188 41 148
NC-Western
Team W L T PCT PF PA
y-Staffordshire Stallions 5 2 1 .688 232 181
x-Sheffield Sabres 5 3 0 .625 222 98
Lancaster Bombers 4 4 0 .500 112 174
Sheffield Hallam Warriors 1 7 0 .125 55 184
NC-Central
Team W L T PCT PF PA
y-Loughborough Aces 8 0 0 1.000 195 35
Nottingham Outlaws 4 4 0 .500 110 114
Derby Braves 4 4 0 .500 159 114
Leicester Lightning 0 8 0 .000 12 253
SC-Central
Team W L T PCT PF PA
y-Birmingham Lions 8 0 0 1.000 371 92
Tarannau Aberystwyth 4 3 1 .563 158 157
Warwick Wolves 3 5 0 .375 120 171
Oxford Cavaliers 2 6 0 .250 67 230
SC-Eastern
Team W L T PCT PF PA
y-Greenwich Mariners 6 2 0 .750 148 61
x-Hertfordshire Hurricanes 5 3 0 .625 199 119
Essex Blades 4 3 1 .563 116 101
UEA Pirates 3 5 0 .375 151 178
APU Phantoms 1 7 0 .125 36 207
SC-Western
Team W L T PCT PF PA
y-Cardiff Cobras 6 1 1 .813 181 57
x-Bristol Bullets 6 2 0 .750 254 104
x-Bath Killer Bees 5 2 1 .688 187 107
Plymouth Blitz 2 6 0 .250 78 223
SC-Southern
Team W L T PCT PF PA
y-Surrey Stingers 6 1 1 .813 186 88
x-Southampton Stags 6 2 0 .750 423 108
Kent Falcons 3 5 0 .375 83 181
Brighton Tsunami 2 6 0 .250 68 191
Royal Holloway Vikings 2 6 0 .250 116 303
Reading Knights 1 7 0 .125 80 262

Recent Fixtures

College Bowl XX

BCAFL Playoffs - Conference Championships

Northern Conference

Southern Conference

BCAFL Playoffs - Divisional Round

Northern Conference

Southern Conference

BCAFL Playoffs - Wild Card Round

Northern Conference

Southern Conference

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

Defense

Special Teams

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

 

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