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 1985–86 season with four teams, with founder members Newcastle Skolars, led by Mike Rea, and Hull University, and celebrated its 20th anniversary with 37 teams competing in the 2005–06 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).

TeamConferenceDivisionWLTWinning Pct.Division Champ.Conference Champ.BCAFL Champ.Caledonian RoughridersNorthernScottish10211.328000Edinburgh TimberwolvesNorthernScottish10140.417000Glasgow TigersNorthernScottish925513.616931Paisley PyrosNorthernScottish20606.267000Stirling ClansmenNorthernScottish677015.484511Leeds CelticsNorthernEastern972610.767731Newcastle RaidersNorthernEastern65808.451110Sunderland KingsNorthernEastern19725.224000UT CougarsNorthernEastern747613.494632UCH SharksNorthernWestern787213.518534Lancaster BombersNorthernWestern62597.512200Lincoln ColonialsNorthernWestern071.063000Sheffield SabresNorthernWestern466210.432100Sheffield Hallam WarriorsNorthernWestern13163.453100Derby BravesNorthernCentral31523.378000UEA PiratesNorthernCentral77755.506210Leicester LonghornsNorthernCentral67879.439120Loughborough AcesNorthernCentral121272.8131263Nottingham OutlawsNorthernCentral44431.506100Tarannau AberystwythSouthernCentral52644.450310Birmingham LionsSouthernCentral934110.681721Oxford CavaliersSouthernCentral65585.527421Staffordshire StallionsSouthernCentral634710.567310Warwick WolvesSouthernCentral52819.398100ARU PhantomsSouthernEastern2300.063000Essex BladesSouthernEastern19253.436100Greenwich MarinersSouthernEastern13100.565100Hertfordshire HurricanesSouthernEastern72266.721754Kent FalconsSouthernEastern29600.326000Royal Holloway VikingsSouthernEastern4120.250000Bath Killer BeesSouthernWestern614811.554300Bristol BulletsSouthernWestern466113.438211Cardiff CobrasSouthernWestern1034114.6961121Plymouth BlitzSouthernWestern14322.313000Brighton TsunamiSouthernSouthern14162.469000Portsmouth DestroyersSouthernSouthern161.188000Reading KnightsSouthernSouthern271218.199000Southampton StagsSouthernSouthern894411.656533Surrey StingersSouthernSouthern50495.505200

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-ScottishTeamWLTPCTPFPA y-Glasgow Tigers530.625174122 Caledonian Roughriders431.5636788 Edinburgh Timberwolves350.3759964 Stirling Clansmen152.250173 Paisley Pyros071.06326173 NC-EasternTeamWLTPCTPFPA y-UT Cougars611.81327791 x-Newcastle Raiders620.750189119 x-Leeds Celtics620.75029996 Sunderland Kings350.37553179 NC-WesternTeamWLTPCTPFPA y-Sheffield Sabres611.81313718 x-Sheffield Hallam Warriors422.6257543 x-Lancaster Bombers431.56384135 UCH Sharks152.25036127 Lincoln Colonials071.0636172 NC-CentralTeamWLTPCTPFPA y-Loughborough Aces701.93815592 Derby Braves332.50074113 UEA Pirates251.3138299 Nottingham Outlaws161.18887161 Leicester Longhorns161.18835157 SC-CentralTeamWLTPCTPFPA y-Birmingham Lions521.688124103 Staffordshire Stallions431.5639989 Tarannau Aberystwyth440.500112102 Warwick Wolves341.43812675 Oxford Cavaliers341.43852121 SC-EasternTeamWLTPCTPFPA y-Essex Blades8001.00024533 x-Hertfordshire Hurricanes530.62527590 Greenwich Mariners440.500166130 Kent Falcons440.500106134 Royal Holloway Vikings260.250105272 ARU Phantoms170.12562257 SC-WesternTeamWLTPCTPFPA y-Bath Killer Bees512.75015590 x-Cardiff Cobras521.68811380 x-Bristol Bullets422.62519289 Plymouth Blitz242.37548128 SC-SouthernTeamWLTPCTPFPA y-Southampton Stags701.93827946 x-Brighton Tsunami431.56312695 Surrey Stingers350.375105174 Reading Knights350.37582120 Portsmouth Destroyers161.18834214 y – Clinched Division Title x – Clinched Playoff Berth

Playoffs

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.

References