- 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 theUnited 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, 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.
Rules
BCAFL largely followed the rules of American
college football (though there were restrictions on the number ofNorth America n 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-endingplayoff system, similar to theNFL (however, it should be noted that 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).
*y - Clinched Division Title
*x - Clinched Playoff Berth
Playoffs
16TeamBracket | RD1=Wild Card Round
RD2=Divisional Round
RD3=Conference Championships
RD4=College Bowl XXI
group1="Northern Conference"
group2="Southern Conference"
RD1-seed01=1
RD1-team01=Loughborough Aces
RD1-score01=45
RD1-seed02=8
RD1-team02=Lancaster Bombers
RD1-score02=0
RD1-seed03=3
RD1-team03=Sheffield Sabres
RD1-score03=0
RD1-seed04=6
RD1-team04=Leeds Celtics
RD1-score04=13
RD1-seed05=2
RD1-team05=UT Cougars
RD1-score05=26
RD1-seed06=7
RD1-team06=Sheffield Hallam Warriors
RD1-score06=12
RD1-seed07=4
RD1-team07=Glasgow Tigers
RD1-score07=12
RD1-seed08=5
RD1-team08=Newcastle Raiders
RD1-score08=28
RD1-seed09=1
RD1-team09=Essex Blades
RD1-score09=21
RD1-seed10=8
RD1-team10=Brighton Tsunami
RD1-score10=6
RD1-seed11=3
RD1-team11=Bath Killer Bees
RD1-score11=10
RD1-seed12=6
RD1-team12=Bristol Bullets
RD1-score12=30
RD1-seed13=2
RD1-team13=Southampton Stags
RD1-score13=25
RD1-seed14=7
RD1-team14=Hertfordshire Hurricanes
RD1-score14=22
RD1-seed15=4
RD1-team15=Birmingham Lions
RD1-score15=20
RD1-seed16=5
RD1-team16=Cardiff Cobras
RD1-score16=7
RD2-seed01=1
RD2-team01=Loughborough Aces
RD2-score01=16
RD2-seed02=6
RD2-team02=Leeds Celtics
RD2-score02=0
RD2-seed03=2
RD2-team03=UT Cougars
RD2-score03=26
RD2-seed04=5
RD2-team04=Newcastle Raiders
RD2-score04=20
RD2-seed05=1
RD2-team05=Essex Blades
RD2-score05=6
RD2-seed06=6
RD2-team06=Bristol Bullets
RD2-score06=43
RD2-seed07=2
RD2-team07=Southampton Stags
RD2-score07=6
RD2-seed08=4
RD2-team08=Birmingham Lions
RD2-score08=13
RD3-seed01=1
RD3-team01=Loughborough Aces
RD3-score01=23
RD3-seed02=2
RD3-team02=UT Cougars
RD3-score02=18
RD3-seed03=6
RD3-team03=Bristol Bullets
RD3-score03=21
RD3-seed04=4
RD3-team04=Birmingham Lions
RD3-score04=14
RD4-seed01=N1
RD4-team01=Loughborough Aces
RD4-score01=14
RD4-seed02=S6
RD4-team02=Bristol Bullets
RD4-score02=31
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 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
*The [http://www.bcafl.org BCAFL]
*The [http://www.gbbulldogs.org Great Britain Bulldogs]
* [http://disc.yourwebapps.com/Indices/132730.html Unofficial BCAFL Internet Forum]
*The [http://www.bsafa.com/ British Student American Football Association] (BSAFA)
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