The IAFL College Bowl was a college football tournament contested by collegiate participants of the Irish American Football League between 2006 and 2019. Four teams competed in the championship: the UL Vikings, the DCU Saints, Trinity College, and UCD.Trinity Players visit Temple Street Hospital | IAFA The final champions were UCD, having defeated the UL Vikings 17-8 in 2019.American Football Ireland Intervarsity Championship 2006–present – EirballUCD retain the Intervarsity Championship – American Football Ireland
History Initially, the championship was a single game between the two collegiate participants of the IAFL, the DCU Saints and UL Vikings, overseen by the Colleges and Universities Sports Association of Ireland (CUSAI).The UL Vikings were victorious in the first three iterations, defeating the DCU Saints by scores of 58-0, 50-2 and 47-12. In 2009, the championship became a four-team tournament with the addition of Trinity College and UCD. The Vikings were again successful, defeating the Saints in the final.
In 2010, Trinity College captured the Championship for the first time in spectacular fashion. Facing the UL Vikings in Limerick, the game finished 12-6 after triple overtime (7 quarters) and 3 hours and 45 minutes of play; an IAFL record for match length. The victory was sealed in the third quarter of overtime with a touchdown from Rob McDowell. Linebacker Stephen Carton was named game MVP.Trinity College win College Championship | IAFA The club retained their title in 2011, defeating UCD by a margin of 7-0.
The College Bowl was reformatted by the IAFL as the IAFL Intervarsity Championship in 2014, in line with a league reorganization that allowed collegiate teams to participate alongside other IAFL teams in competition for the Shamrock Bowl.Irish American Football League announces 2013 League Line-up | IAFA After the restructuring of the IAFL into American Football Ireland (AFI) in 2020 and two years of suspended play in 2020 and 2021 across all competitions, the league has not addressed the potential return of the Intervarsity Championship; while DCU Saints disbanded in 2013DCU Saints withdraw from SBC – American Football Ireland and Trinity College experienced a hiatus beginning in 2024,Irish American Football 2025 Season Preview – Gaelic Gridiron UCD and UL Vikings have continued to field full-kitted AFI sides.
Results Date Winning team Losing team Location Notes Ref. March 19, 2006 UL Vikings 58 DCU Saints 0 University of Limerick IAFA – 19 March 2006 (archived) June 3, 2007 UL Vikings 50 DCU Saints 2 DCU Sports Grounds July 6, 2008 UL Vikings 47 DCU Saints 12 DCU Sports Grounds November 21, 2009 UL Vikings 22 DCU Saints 0 University of Limerick Trinity College came 3rd, defeating UCD 8-0 IAFS • View topic - University Champs November 20, 2010 Trinity College 12 UL Vikings 6 University of Limerick UCD and DCU did not compete December 3, 2011 Trinity College 7 UCD 0 Trinity Sports Grounds UL Vikings did not compete 2012 Trinity College UL Vikings 2013 Trinity College 12 UL Vikings 0 University of Limerick DUAFc triumph over Limerick Vikings – Trinity News (10 Jan 2014) 2014 UCD 26 Trinity College 20 2017 UCD UL Vikings 2018 UCD 8 Trinity College 6 November 16, 2019 UCD 17 UL Vikings 8 University of Limerick
References
External links IAFL official website