British Collegiate American Football League

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).

Contents
Rules
Teams
Full Member records
Associate members
Defunct Teams
BCAFL/College Bowl History
2006–07 Season
Regular season
Playoffs
All-star game

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).
 Winning Division Conference BCAFL
Team Conference Division W L T
Pct. Champ. Champ. Champ.
Caledonian
Northern Scottish 10 21 1 .328 0 0 0
Roughriders
Edinburgh
Northern Scottish 10 14 0 .417 0 0 0
Timberwolves
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
Northern Western 62 59 7 .512 2 0 0
Bombers
Lincoln Colonials Northern Western 0 7 1 .063 0 0 0
Sheffield Sabres Northern Western 46 62 10 .432 1 0 0
Sheffield Hallam
Northern Western 13 16 3 .453 1 0 0
Warriors
Derby Braves Northern Central 31 52 3 .378 0 0 0
UEA Pirates Northern Central 77 75 5 .506 2 1 0
Leicester
Northern Central 67 87 9 .439 1 2 0
Longhorns
Loughborough
Northern Central 121 27 2 .813 12 6 3
Aces
Nottingham
Northern Central 44 43 1 .506 1 0 0
Outlaws
Tarannau
Southern Central 52 64 4 .450 3 1 0
Aberystwyth
Birmingham Lions Southern Central 93 41 10 .681 7 2 1
Oxford Cavaliers Southern Central 65 58 5 .527 4 2 1
Staffordshire
Southern Central 63 47 10 .567 3 1 0
Stallions
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
Southern Eastern 13 10 0 .565 1 0 0
Mariners
Hertfordshire
Southern Eastern 72 26 6 .721 7 5 4
Hurricanes
Kent Falcons Southern Eastern 29 60 0 .326 0 0 0
Royal Holloway
Southern Eastern 4 12 0 .250 0 0 0
Vikings
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
Southern Southern 1 6 1 .188 0 0 0
Destroyers
Reading Knights Southern Southern 27 121 8 .199 0 0 0
Southampton
Southern Southern 89 44 11 .656 5 3 3
Stags
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 SC-Central
Team W L T PCT PF PA Team W L T PCT PF PA
y-Glasgow Tigers 5 3 0 .625 174 122 y-Birmingham
5 2 1 .688 124 103
Lions
Caledonian
4 3 1 .563 67 88
Roughriders Staffordshire
4 3 1 .563 99 89
Stallions
Edinburgh
3 5 0 .375 99 64
Timberwolves Tarannau
4 4 0 .500 112 102
Aberystwyth
Stirling Clansmen 1 5 2 .250 1 73
Warwick Wolves 3 4 1 .438 126 75
Paisley Pyros 0 7 1 .063 26 173
Oxford Cavaliers 3 4 1 .438 52 121
NC-Eastern
SC-Eastern
Team W L T PCT PF PA
Team W L T PCT PF PA
y-UT Cougars 6 1 1 .813 277 91
y-Essex Blades 8 0 0 1.000 245 33
x-Newcastle
6 2 0 .750 189 119
Raiders x-Hertfordshire
5 3 0 .625 275 90
Hurricanes
x-Leeds Celtics 6 2 0 .750 299 96
Greenwich
Sunderland Kings 3 5 0 .375 53 179 4 4 0 .500 166 130
Mariners
NC-Western Kent Falcons 4 4 0 .500 106 134
Team W L T PCT PF PA Royal Holloway
2 6 0 .250 105 272
Vikings
y-Sheffield Sabres 6 1 1 .813 137 18
ARU Phantoms 1 7 0 .125 62 257
x-Sheffield Hallam
4 2 2 .625 75 43
Warriors SC-Western
x-Lancaster Team W L T PCT PF PA
4 3 1 .563 84 135
Bombers
y-Bath Killer Bees 5 1 2 .750 155 90
UCH Sharks 1 5 2 .250 36 127
x-Cardiff Cobras 5 2 1 .688 113 80
Lincoln Colonials 0 7 1 .063 6 172
x-Bristol Bullets 4 2 2 .625 192 89
NC-Central
Plymouth Blitz 2 4 2 .375 48 128
Team W L T PCT PF PA
SC-Southern
y-Loughborough
7 0 1 .938 155 92
Aces Team W L T PCT PF PA
Derby Braves 3 3 2 .500 74 113 y-Southampton
7 0 1 .938 279 46
Stags
UEA Pirates 2 5 1 .313 82 99
x-Brighton
Nottingham 4 3 1 .563 126 95
1 6 1 .188 87 161 Tsunami
Outlaws
Surrey Stingers 3 5 0 .375 105 174
Leicester
1 6 1 .188 35 157
Longhorns Reading Knights 3 5 0 .375 82 120
Portsmouth
1 6 1 .188 34 214
Destroyers

y – Clinched Division Title

x – Clinched Playoff Berth

Playoffs
 Wild Card Round Divisional Round Conference College Bowl XXI
Championships

Loughborough
1 45
Aces
Lancaster
8 0 Loughborough
Bombers 1 16
Aces
6 Leeds Celtics 0
3 Sheffield Sabres 0
6 Leeds Celtics 13 Loughborough
1 23
Northern Conference Aces
2 UT Cougars 18
2 UT Cougars 26
Sheffield Hallam
7 12
Warriors 2 UT Cougars 26
Newcastle
5 20
4 Glasgow Tigers 12 Raiders

Newcastle
5 28 Loughborough
Raiders N1 14
Aces
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
Birmingham
Southampton 4 14
2 25 Lions
Stags
Hertfordshire
7 22 Southampton
Hurricanes 2 6
Stags
Birmingham
Birmingham 4 13
4 20 Lions
Lions
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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This page was last edited on 19 August 2019, at 17:57 (UTC).

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