The British Universities American Football League (BUAFL), is an American football league contested by university teams in the United Kingdom as part of the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) organisation. The league was formed by the British American Football Association (BAFA), the national governing body of American football in the UK, in 2007 as the successor to the British Collegiate American Football League, after BAFA withdrew its recognition of the British Student American Football Association which ran that league.[1][2] The BUAFL has been credited with reviving interest in American football in the UK.[3]
Quick Facts Sport, Founded ...
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From 2008, the BUAFL was officially associated with the National Football League (NFL), through its partner organisation NFL UK.[4] In 2012, BUAFL's league and teams were absorbed into BUCS after American football became an official BUCS sport.[5] Over the period 2007 to 2014, the BUAFL grew from 42 teams and 2,460 participants to 75 teams and over 4,100 people involved.[6]
Over the course of the regular season, each team in the Premier and Tier 1 plays between eight regular season games. Each team plays everyone in their division twice; once home and once away. For the 2016/17 season, Tier 2 is broken down into six conferences, five of seven teams and one (South East) of eight; teams in Tier 2 play a six-game season (seven in the South East division), playing each other only once.[7]
Current structure
The latest structure for the BUAFL system was announced by BUCS on 26 August 2016. It consists of two Premier divisions, six regional Tier 1 divisions and six regional Tier 2 divisions.[7] This differs from the standard BUCS structure of five geographical regions below Premier level.[8] The Premier and Tier 1 divisions are considered to be of "high performance" by the BAFA and BUCS. The teams allocated to each division at the start of the 2023–2024 season were:
Premier Divisions
More information North, South ...
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Premier North teams (red), Premier South teams (blue)
Tier 1 Divisions
More information Scottish, Northern ...
Scottish | Northern | Midlands |
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Southern | South East | South West |
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Tier 1 South West teams (red), Tier 1 Southern teams (blue), Tier 1 South East teams (yellow)
Tier 2 Divisions
More information Northern A, Northern B ...
Northern A | Northern B | Midlands |
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Southern | South Western | South Eastern |
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Earlier structures
The first two full seasons of BUCS American Football preserved the single tier, eight conference structure inherited from BUAFL. In 2014–15, this was changed to a two tier system with the formation of two Premier divisions (North and South), each of five teams. The eight regional conferences, slightly reorganised (in particular, the small Scottish conference became the more balanced Borders conference, including teams from northern England) to contain 8 or 9 teams each, became the second tier. At the same time the Championship was reduced to the top two teams from each Premier division and the Challenge trophy was replaced with cup competitions for North and South Tier 1 divisional winners, with the winners being promoted to the appropriate Premier division.[8]
For the 2015–16 season, the league was split in three tiers. The premier remained organised into North and South, although the top four (of five) in each division now entered the Championship playoff, with the fifth being relegated. The second tier contained 6 geographic division, three Northern (Scottish North, Northern and Midlands) and three Southern (Western, South and Southeastern). The Trophy playoffs took the top two from each division plus the top two remaining teams with the best record from the northern and southern regions, the playoffs were structured with a "northern semi-final" and a "southern semi-final", with the semi-final winners promoted to the respective Premier division regardless of the result in the final. The third tier was organised into 8 divisions, four Northern (Scottish North, Northern, Midlands and North Midlands) and four Southern (Western, South, Southeastern and London).[8][9] The major change for the 2016–17 season was the reduction to six divisions (and a consequent increase in the number of teams per division) in the third tier (Tier 2), although not fully matching the geographical regions in the second tier (Tier 1).[7]
Championship qualification is shaded in green, and relegation is shaded in red; position in the Championship bracket is based on final positions in the two divisions. League position is based on number of points scored, with 2 points for a win, 1 point for a tie and 0 points for a loss
More information Team, W ...
Premier North[10] |
Team |
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University of Nottingham |
7 | 1 | 0 | 0.875 | 309 | 72 | 14 |
Leeds Beckett Carnegie |
6 | 2 | 0 | 0.750 | 239 | 163 | 12 |
Durham Saints |
5 | 3 | 0 | 0.625 | 207 | 147 | 10 |
Stirling Clansmen |
2 | 6 | 0 | 0.250 | 93 | 239 | 4 |
Leeds Gryphons |
0 | 8 | 0 | 0.000 | 10 | 237 | -2[11] |
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More information Team, W ...
Premier South[12] |
Team |
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UWE Bullets |
8 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 417 | 0 | 16 |
Birmingham Lions |
6 | 2 | 0 | 0.750 | 204 | 143 | 12 |
Cardiff Cobras |
3 | 5 | 0 | 0.375 | 117 | 239 | 6 |
UEA Pirates |
2 | 6 | 0 | 0.250 | 80 | 229 | 4 |
Swansea Titans |
1 | 7 | 0 | 0.125 | 26 | 233 | 0 |
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Championship qualification is shaded in green, and relegation is shaded in red; position in the Championship bracket is based on final positions in the two divisions. League position is based on number of points scored, with 2 points for a win, 1 point for a tie and 0 points for a loss
More information Team, W ...
Premier North[13] |
Team |
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University of Nottingham |
8 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 204 | 42 | 16 |
Leeds Beckett Carnegie |
5 | 3 | 0 | 0.625 | 194 | 130 | 10 |
Durham Saints |
4 | 4 | 0 | 0.500 | 152 | 113 | 8 |
Stirling Clansmen |
3 | 5 | 0 | 0.375 | 138 | 159 | 6 |
Derby Braves |
0 | 8 | 0 | 0.000 | 33 | 277 | 0 |
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More information Team, W ...
Premier South[14] |
Team |
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UWE Bullets |
6 | 2 | 0 | 0.750 | 212 | 134 | 12 |
Swansea Titans |
5 | 3 | 0 | 0.625 | 174 | 119 | 10 |
Birmingham Lions |
5 | 3 | 0 | 0.625 | 198 | 190 | 10 |
Hertfordshire Hurricanes |
3 | 4 | 0 | 0.429 | 155 | 144 | 6 |
Portsmouth Destroyers |
0 | 7 | 0 | 0.000 | 46 | 198 | 0 |
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Championship qualification is shaded in green, and relegation is shaded in red; position in the Championship bracket is based on final positions in the two divisions. League position is based on number of points scored, with 2 points for a win, 1 point for a tie and 0 points for a loss
More information Team, W ...
Premier North[15] |
Team |
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Durham Saints |
7 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 190 | 63 | 14 |
Stirling Clansmen |
4 | 3 | 0 | 0.571 | 174 | 117 | 8 |
Leeds Beckett |
4 | 4 | 0 | 0.500 | 124 | 164 | 8 |
Derby Braves |
3 | 5 | 0 | 0.375 | 167 | 140 | 6 |
Loughborough Students |
1 | 7 | 0 | 0.125 | 46 | 217 | 2 |
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More information Team, W ...
Premier South[14] |
Team |
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Birmingham Lions |
7 | 1 | 0 | 0.875 | 276 | 156 | 14 |
Hertfordshire Hurricanes |
6 | 2 | 0 | 0.750 | 205 | 133 | 12 |
Swansea Titans |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0.500 | 180 | 121 | 16 |
Portsmouth Destroyers |
2 | 4 | 0 | 0.333 | 104 | 133 | 4 |
Bath Killer Bees |
0 | 8 | 0 | 0.000 | 68 | 290 | 0 |
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Championship qualification is shaded in green, and relegation is shaded in red; position in the Championship bracket is based on final positions in the two divisions. League position is based on number of points scored, with 2 points for a win, 1 point for a tie and 0 points for a loss
More information Team, W ...
Premier North[16] |
Team |
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Stirling Clansmen |
6 | 2 | 0 | 0.750 | 204 | 122 | 12 |
Loughborough Students |
6 | 2 | 0 | 0.750 | 95 | 86 | 12 |
Derby Braves |
4 | 4 | 0 | 0.500 | 142 | 180 | 8 |
Durham Saints |
3 | 5 | 0 | 0.375 | 88 | 38 | 6[17] |
Nottingham Trent Renegades |
1 | 7 | 0 | 0.125 | 74 | 167 | 2 |
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More information Team, W ...
Premier South[18] |
Team |
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Hertfordshire Hurricanes |
7 | 1 | 0 | 0.875 | 206 | 91 | 14 |
Birmingham Lions |
5 | 3 | 0 | 0.625 | 175 | 114 | 10 |
Swansea Titans |
5 | 3 | 0 | 0.625 | 159 | 138 | 10 |
Bath Killer Bees |
2 | 6 | 0 | 0.375 | 83 | 135 | 4 |
Kingston Cougars |
1 | 7 | 0 | 0.125 | 90 | 149 | 2 |
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Championship qualification is shaded in green, and relegation is shaded in red; position in the Championship bracket is based on final positions in the two divisions. League position is based on number of points scored, with 2 points for a win, 1 point for a tie and 0 points for a loss
More information Team, W ...
Premier North[19] |
Team |
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Stirling Clansmen |
8 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 268 | 88 | 16 |
Durham Saints |
5 | 2 | 0 | 0.714 | 189 | 132 | 10[20] |
Derby Braves |
4 | 4 | 0 | 0.500 | 144 | 163 | 8 |
Loughborough Students |
2 | 6 | 0 | 0.250 | 104 | 160 | 10 |
Hallam Warriors |
0 | 7 | 0 | 0.000 | 62 | 224 | 0[20] |
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More information Team, W ...
Premier South[21] |
Team |
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Birmingham Lions |
8 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 232 | 45 | 16 |
Hertfordshire Hurricanes |
5 | 3 | 0 | 0.625 | 190 | 109 | 10 |
Kingston Cougars |
4 | 4 | 0 | 0.500 | 102 | 134 | 8 |
Bath Killer Bees |
3 | 5 | 0 | 0.375 | 143 | 163 | 6 |
Imperial Immortals |
0 | 8 | 0 | 0.000 | 46 | 262 | 0 |
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Championship qualification is shaded in green, and relegation is shaded in red; position in the Championship bracket is based on final positions in the two divisions. League position is based on number of points scored, with 2 points for a win, 1 point for a tie and 0 points for a loss
More information Team, W ...
Premier North[22] |
Team |
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Durham Saints |
7 | 1 | 0 | 0.875 | 233 | 119 | 14 |
Stirling Clansmen |
6 | 2 | 0 | 0.750 | 271 | 68 | 12 |
Loughborough Students |
5 | 3 | 0 | 0.625 | 178 | 150 | 10 |
Derby Braves |
1 | 7 | 0 | 0.125 | 68 | 211 | 2 |
Sheffield Sabres |
1 | 7 | 0 | 0.125 | 60 | 262 | 0[23] |
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More information Team, W ...
Premier South[24] |
Team |
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Birmingham Lions |
7 | 1 | 0 | 0.875 | 259 | 30 | 14 |
Hertfordshire Hurricanes |
7 | 1 | 0 | 0.875 | 275 | 56 | 14 |
Bath Killer Bees |
4 | 4 | 0 | 0.500 | 140 | 170 | 8 |
Imperial Immortals |
2 | 6 | 0 | 0.250 | 50 | 133 | 2[25] |
Brighton Tsunami |
0 | 8 | 0 | 0.000 | 15 | 350 | 0 |
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Championship qualification is shaded in green, and Plate qualification is shaded in orange. Seeding is based on number of points scored, with 2 points for a win, 1 point for a tie and 0 points for a loss
More information Team, W ...
Saltire (Scottish)[26] |
Team |
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Stirling Clansmen |
8 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 622 | 13 | 16 |
Glasgow Tigers |
5 | 3 | 0 | 0.625 | 176 | 264 | 10 |
Edinburgh Predators |
4 | 4 | 0 | 0.500 | 130 | 201 | 8 |
Edinburgh Napier Knights |
3 | 5 | 0 | 0.375 | 125 | 244 | 6 |
UWS Pyros |
0 | 8 | 0 | 0.000 | 42 | 373 | 0 |
Big North Western (BNWC)[27] |
Team |
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Sheffield Sabres |
7 | 1 | 0 | 0.875 | 197 | 61 | 14 |
Derby Braves |
7 | 1 | 0 | 0.875 | 320 | 42 | 14 |
Hallam Warriors |
7 | 1 | 0 | 0.875 | 274 | 96 | 14 |
LJMU Fury |
6 | 2 | 0 | 0.750 | 246 | 129 | 12 |
UCLan Rams |
5 | 3 | 0 | 0.625 | 254 | 90 | 10 |
Bangor MudDogs |
3 | 5 | 0 | 0.375 | 140 | 208 | 6 |
MMU Eagles |
3 | 5 | 0 | 0.375 | 121 | 193 | 6 |
Lancaster Bombers |
3 | 5 | 0 | 0.375 | 174 | 294 | 6 |
Staffordshire Stallions |
2 | 6 | 0 | 0.250 | 140 | 229 | 4 |
Manchester Tyrants |
0 | 7 | 0 | 0.000 | 61 | 200 | 0 |
Keele Crusaders |
0 | 7 | 0 | 0.000 | 6 | 386 | 0 |
North Eastern (NEC)[28] |
Team |
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Durham Saints |
7 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 316 | 41 | 14 |
Sunderland Spartans |
7 | 1 | 0 | .875 | 229 | 115 | 14 |
Leeds Carnegie |
6 | 2 | 0 | .750 | 135 | 59 | 12 |
Hull Sharks |
6 | 2 | 0 | .750 | 155 | 87 | 12 |
Newcastle Raiders |
5 | 3 | 0 | .625 | 140 | 134 | 10 |
York Centurions |
4 | 4 | 0 | .500 | 140 | 215 | 8 |
Northumbria Mustangs |
3 | 5 | 0 | .375 | 104 | 114 | 6 |
Huddersfield Hawks |
2 | 5 | 0 | .286 | 146 | 144 | 4 |
Leeds Celtics |
2 | 6 | 0 | .250 | 100 | 162 | 4 |
Bradford Bears |
1 | 7 | 0 | .125 | 42 | 187 | 2 |
Teesside Cougars |
0 | 8 | 0 | .000 | 69 | 312 | 0 |
Midlands Athletics (MAC)[29] |
Team |
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Birmingham Lions |
8 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 206 | 21 | 16 |
Loughborough Students |
7 | 1 | 0 | .875 | 340 | 76 | 14 |
NTU Renegades |
6 | 2 | 0 | .750 | 214 | 117 | 12 |
Nottingham |
4 | 4 | 0 | .500 | 122 | 99 | 8 |
Warwick Wolves |
4 | 4 | 0 | .500 | 193 | 145 | 8 |
Coventry Jets |
3 | 4 | 0 | .429 | 149 | 190 | 6 |
DMU Falcons |
3 | 5 | 0 | .375 | 87 | 176 | 6 |
Worcester Royals |
3 | 5 | 0 | .375 | 77 | 213 | 6 |
Lincoln Colonials |
3 | 4 | 0 | .429 | 52 | 113 | 6 |
Wolverhampton Wildcats |
1 | 6 | 0 | .143 | 58 | 153 | 2 |
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More information Team, W ...
South Western Athletics (SWAC)[30] |
Team |
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Bath Killer Bees |
7 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 253 | 47 | 14 |
UWE Bullets |
6 | 1 | 0 | .857 | 211 | 65 | 12 |
Swansea Titans |
6 | 1 | 0 | .857 | 288 | 88 | 12 |
Exeter Demons |
4 | 3 | 0 | .571 | 198 | 175 | 8 |
Gloucester Gladiators |
3 | 4 | 0 | .429 | 63 | 97 | 6 |
Cardiff Cobras |
2 | 3 | 0 | .400 | 81 | 86 | 4 |
Plymouth Blitz |
1 | 3 | 0 | .250 | 56 | 141 | 2 |
Tarannau Aberystwyth |
1 | 5 | 0 | .166 | 88 | 127 | 2 |
Bristol Barracuda |
1 | 6 | 0 | .143 | 89 | 210 | 2 |
Bath Spa Bulldogs |
0 | 5 | 0 | .000 | 13 | 322 | 0 |
Oyster Card (London)[31] |
Team |
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Imperial Immortals |
8 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 145 | 36 | 16 |
Kingston Cougars |
7 | 1 | 0 | .875 | 186 | 21 | 14 |
Royal Holloway Bears |
6 | 2 | 0 | .750 | 228 | 82 | 12 |
Brunel Burners |
5 | 3 | 0 | .625 | 224 | 80 | 10 |
King's College Regents |
4 | 4 | 0 | .500 | 87 | 141 | 8 |
Greenwich Mariners |
3 | 5 | 0 | .375 | 97 | 172 | 6 |
Westminster Dragons |
1 | 6 | 0 | .143 | 60 | 142 | 2 |
London City Sentinels |
0 | 8 | 0 | .000 | 24 | 320 | 0 |
LSBU Spartans |
1 | 6 | 0 | .143 | 38 | 106 | −2** |
South Coast (SCC)[32] |
Team |
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Brighton Tsunami |
8 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 236 | 40 | 16 |
Southampton Stags |
7 | 1 | 0 | .875 | 236 | 48 | 14 |
Portsmouth Destroyers |
6 | 2 | 0 | .750 | 197 | 47 | 12 |
Surrey Stingers |
5 | 3 | 0 | .625 | 82 | 106 | 10 |
OBU Panthers |
4 | 4 | 0 | .500 | 96 | 103 | 8 |
Reading Knights |
2 | 5 | 0 | .286 | 86 | 155 | 4 |
Solent Redhawks |
2 | 6 | 0 | .250 | 209 | 217 | 4 |
Sussex Saxons |
1 | 6 | 0 | .143 | 102 | 218 | 2 |
Oxford Lancers |
0 | 8 | 0 | .000 | 31 | 294 | 0 |
South Central (SCC)[33] |
Team |
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Hertfordshire Hurricanes |
8 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 384 | 6 | 16 |
Cambridge Pythons |
7 | 1 | 0 | .875 | 243 | 67 | 14 |
Kent Falcons |
5 | 2 | 0 | .714 | 122 | 65 | 10 |
UEA Pirates |
5 | 3 | 0 | .625 | 142 | 65 | 10 |
Northampton Nemesis |
4 | 3 | 0 | .571 | 129 | 158 | 8 |
BNU Buccaneers |
3 | 5 | 0 | .375 | 67 | 143 | 6 |
Canterbury Chargers |
1 | 6 | 0 | .143 | 46 | 180 | 2 |
Anglia Ruskin Rhinos |
1 | 7 | 0 | .125 | 42 | 224 | 2 |
Essex Blades |
0 | 7 | 0 | .000 | 13 | 270 | 0 |
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More information Season, Winning team ...
Season | Winning team | Losing team | notes |
2007–2008 | Southampton Stags | 54 | Staffordshire Stallions | 20 | |
2008–2009 | Birmingham Lions | 42 | Newcastle Raiders | 2 | |
2009–2010 | Birmingham Lions | 27 | Loughborough Aces | 16 | |
2010–2011 | Portsmouth Destroyers | 20 | Birmingham Lions | 19 | |
2011–2012 | Hertfordshire Hurricanes | 37 | Birmingham Lions | 19 | |
2012–2013[34] | Birmingham Lions | 17 | Hertfordshire Hurricanes | 13 | |
2013–2014[35] | Stirling Clansmen | 20 | Birmingham Lions | 15 | |
2014–2015[36] | Stirling Clansmen | 46 | Hertfordshire Hurricanes | 6 | |
2015–2016[37] | Birmingham Lions | 19 | Stirling Clansmen | 13 | |
2016–2017 | Stirling Clansmen | 10 | Durham Saints | 7 | MVP: SC QB Andres Donat |
2017–2018[38] | Durham Saints | 17 | Derby Braves | 6 | |
2018-2019[39] |
Leeds Beckett Carnegie |
57 |
Hertfordshire Hurricanes |
13 |
MVP: LBC S Tyler Broad |
2021-2022 |
UWE Bullets |
28 |
Nottingham Gold |
21 |
MVP: UWE CB Brian Peavy |
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The Challenge Trophy was replaced by the two Divisional Cups for the transitional 2014–15 season, which were replaced in turn by the National Trophy from 2015 to 2016.
More information Season, Winning team ...
Season | Winning team | Losing team | Notes |
2008–2009 | Bath Killer Bees | 13 | Sheffield Hallam Warriors | 8 | |
2009–2010 | Greenwich Mariners | 12 | Stirling Clansmen | 0 | |
2010–2011 | Cardiff Cobras | 20 | UCH Sharks | 0 | |
2011–2012 | Sheffield Sabres | 25 | Bath Killer Bees | 8 | |
2012–2013[40] | NTU Renegades | 42 | Southampton Stags | 28 | MVP: NTU QB Danny Miller |
2013–2014[41] | Swansea Titans | 38 | Royal Holloway Bears | 12 | MVP: ST QB Simon George |
2014–15 (North)[42] |
Sheffield Hallam Warriors |
26 |
Glasgow Tigers |
6 |
Sheffield Hallam promoted to Premier North |
2014–15 (South)[43] |
Kingston Cougars |
42 |
Surrey Stingers |
9 |
Kingston promoted to Premier South |
2015–2016[44] |
Swansea Titans |
21 |
NTU Renegades |
16 |
Swansea promoted to Premier South, NTU promoted to Premier North |
2016–2017[45] |
Leeds Beckett Carnegie |
28 |
Portsmouth Destroyers |
7 |
MVP: LBC QB Chris Winrow, Carnegie promoted to Premier North, Portsmouth promoted to Premier South |
2017–2018 |
Nottingham |
43 |
UWE Bullets |
0 |
Nottingham promoted to Premier North, UWE promoted to Premier South |
2018-2019[46] |
Coventry Jets |
26 |
UEA Pirates |
0 |
Coventry promoted to Premier North, UEA Promoted to Premier South |
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MVP awards have been given out sporadically at best.
More information Season, League MVP ...
Season | League MVP | Offensive MVP | Defensive MVP |
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2008–2009 | | Tristan Varney (Birmingham Lions) | Ed Butcher (Southampton Stags) |
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2009–2010 | David Saul (Sheffield Hallam Warriors) | Tristan Varney (Birmingham Lions) | Ed Butcher (Solent Redhawks) |
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2010–2011 | | Adam Hope (Loughborough Aces) | Russ Waddell (Bristol Barracuda) |
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2011–2012 | Joe Thompson (Hertfordshire Hurricanes) | | |
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2012–2013 | Dan Conroy (Birmingham Lions) | | |
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2022-2023 |
K.K. Brooks (Penn Quakers) |
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Ben Halls (30 September 2016). "Riding the Second Wave: The Resurrection of the NFL in the UK". VICE Sports. Archived from the original on 30 October 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2016. As any wannabe dictator will tell you, revolution simply cannot happen without grassroots action. That is it true in sport, too. For American football, that movement came not from the NFL itself, but was home-grown at British universities.
Penalised 2 points for conceding a walkover against Durham
First five matches of season awarded as involuntary walkovers to opposition due to fielding an ineligible player
Sheffield Hallam vs Durham match void
Penalised 2 points for conceding walkover vs Durham
Penalised 2 points for conceding walkover vs Birmingham