Top British University American Football Narratives:
- Chris Tebbutt
- Oct 15
- 9 min read
Updated: Nov 4
Division One:
Redemption’s Roar?
When it comes to the Southern Division One leagues, the South stands out as the one that will be the most hotly contested, with the Hertfordshire Hurricanes and Oxford Lancers both gunning for glory in the Division that has been their home for a while but the additions of Oxford Brookes fresh off their Division 2 Southern Championship last year and former Premiership side in the University of East Anglia (UEA) Pirates making the move from the South East division into a spicy Southern, where everyone but Oxford Brookes have competed for the National Championship in their clubs lineage.
Though the fifth team in the Southern 1 may be the one to keep your eyes on. The Birmingham Lions, a stalwart of the Premiership, seemingly immovable from their position in the Prem, now reside in Division 1.
In my humble opinion, the Lions have the legacy and the team numbers to be a favourite to bounce straight back up.
Though it won’t be easy in this insanely tough division. A key matchup to look out for is the pair of rematches from the 2011/12 & 12/13 National Championship games when the Lions take on the Hurricanes.
Bridesmaid Bobcats:
Every single year could have been the Bournemouth University Bobcats' year since they made the jump up from Division Two in the 21/22 season.
Making it all the way to being a single game away in the team’s first-ever season in Division One, going 7-1, losing to the Exeter Demons in the regular season and Portsmouth in the Semi Finals, promoting the Destroyers.
In the 23/24 season, the Bobcats fell to their apparent kryptonite in the Exeter Demons three times, twice in the regular season and once in the playoffs, eliminating the Bobcats from promotion once again.
Last year, the Bobcats were perfect going into the Semi-Finals, though so was their opponent, the Brunel Burners. Both teams are looking to give their club their first-ever Premiership Berth. In a tight contest in Bournemouth, the Burners sent the Bobcats’ hopes crashing and ironically burning.
This season, with their social media posts alight with impressive football talent such as Ollie Williams, out of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, joining the fray, with the hope that Bournemouth can finally get over the line and take their place in the Premiership.
New Name, Who Dis?
There are a few similarities between the former UCLan Rams, the current University of Lancashire Rams, and the Bournemouth Uni Bobcats, in that expectations going into last season were astronomically high, promotion or bust style situations.
The Rams had something that the Bobcats didn’t have to deal with, though, the Northumbria Mustangs.
A matchup that had Uniball fans worldwide (I assume there are some outside the U.K.) in the previous season sweating with anticipation was taken away from us after the Rams’ unexpected early exit from the playoffs.
With both teams in the Northern 1 last year, we were treated to two meetings, though they contained a strange narrative. The Mustangs won the first game at home 28-13, and in order to take first place in the Northern 1, the Rams would have to beat the Mustangs by 16.
On a temperate day in Preston, the Rams were able to pick up the victory over a Mustangs team without their star player, Aaron Aucoin, though only by a margin of 13. When the final whistle was blown, there was a strange silence over both teams as the Rams knew the divisional title was out of their reach.
Entering the playoffs, a third meeting between the Mustangs and Rams was speculated; however, a shocking first-round exit eliminated Lancashire as the Stirling Clansmen advanced.
Promotion is the aim for the Rams, and they are one of the teams to beat. Although Lancashire have struggled in the post-season, they are still favourites for a ticket to Loughborough come March.
Knight Time:
The Edinburgh Napier Knights have always been poised for greatness, just a few key pieces away from continuing the tradition of elite Uniball teams to come out of Scotland, and last year, they grabbed that potential by the throat and were just a single game away from being the first Scottish team in the Premiership since the 22/23 season.
Going a perfect 7-0 last season, finishing with a +143 differential, beating former National Champions in the Stirling Clansmen 34-12 and 28-13 en route to the playoffs.
Defeating rivals in the Edinburgh Mavericks and Stirling Clansmen in the playoffs, the promotion game was set: the Knights vs the Mustangs. And Napier just couldn’t hold off the stampeding Northumbria, losing 32-12.
With how tough and chaotic the Scottish 1 is, Napier being able to improve from 3-3 to 7-0 and one game away from Promotion, you have to think momentum is on their side as they want to go back to the post-season but this time add some Scottish flair to the Premiership North.
Division Two Northern:
The three leagues that make up the Northern 2 divisions all have a degree of uncertainty about them when it comes to who will claim promotion by winning the division, so let’s start with the North East.
On paper, this one looks the most cut and dry. The York Centurions have been just a step behind teams over the last two seasons, with the Northumbria Mustangs and the Sheffield Sabres being able to keep the Centurions away from promotion, though York still competed and made the playoffs.
With how the last few seasons have turned out for the Hull Sharks, finishing in last place in the Midlands 1 last season after being moved from the Northern 1, where they finished 3-5 the year prior, after back-to-back 2-6 seasons. Normally, I try to be positive for teams that have just come down, but I just can’t see it for the Hull Sharks.
Where the North East 2 has some intrigue is in the dark horse. The Sunderland Spartans have come back, revamped and reloaded, with players joining the 300 from across the seas. The Spartans' playoff run last year may give them the momentum to take the North East 2 away from the expected winners in York.
North West:
Now this is the biggest roll of the dice when it comes to picking a divisional winner, although the teams will only be playing four games each, that won’t matter when the season ends and someone is promoted.
Let’s start with the relegated. The Liverpool John Moores University Fury have come back down to Division 2, which, in my opinion, was a bit of a surprise, being able to hang with the D1 talent over the last few years finally ran out for LJMU finishing without a win last season.
The Lancaster Bombers last year were my lock to win the Division. I normally don’t make predictions so bold, but for me, they truly were the biggest favourite to take their division, even over the Bullets.
How wrong I was, losing to the Edge Hill Vikings twice and keeping themselves in D2 was a shocker for me. I still think that the Bombers have the team to go up, though this year, I’d argue is a tougher proposition to get promoted.
Not since 2021 has a debut been so anticipated. The Salford Storm finally enter official BUCS Football, and they come in highly touted, with coaches and players from Britball teams such as the Premiership Manchester Titans and Division Two Lancashire Buccaneers, and all of them have eyes for play-offs at the very least.
Midlands 2:
With the Derby Braves’ conquest back up to D1 at an end, the Midlands 2 is much like the other Northern Divisions, wide open.
The Coventry Uni Jets FINALLY make their way down to Division 2 after a calamitous few years, which saw them finish in last place twice, and since 2021 have a record of 5-25-1. Though if you saw them last season, it would be fraudulent to admit that the Coventry Uni Jets didn’t have something good cooking up in Cov, taking teams like the Nottingham Green to the limit.
I’ve said this for a few years now: relegation can be a good thing, as the Jets have needed to go down for a few years now, just to regroup and find the form that made them a real threat in Uniball all those years ago.
Though a division without the Nottingham Green or Derby Braves, will finally be the time for the Lincoln Colonials to make it to Division 1 for the first time in the team's history? Lincoln has made the playoffs the last few years, though not to any championship success. It’s a lot of pressure to say it’s now or never, but the door is certainly more open for them than it has been the last few seasons.
Division 2 South:
The Southern arm of D2, I’d argue, is less open, with both the South West and South East having a clear frontrunner, whilst the South has three teams that could get promoted up to D1 and no one would bat an eyelid, so let's make like the Pet Shop Boys and Go West!
South West 2:
Last season was poised to be the time for the UWE Bullets 2s to emulate Nottingham Green and secure promotion for the two top teams in all of Uniball’s second teams into Division One.
Although the Plymouth Blitz put an early spanner in the works, taking a 19-16 victory away from UWE, which ultimately cost the UWE 2s their promotion dreams, as the Blitz finished with a perfect 5-0 and the Bullets 4-1.
This season looks good for the 2s, as although the last time Swansea Titans came down they bounced straight back up, last season the Titans only managed to score 2 points in their 0-8 24/25 campaign.
Aberystwyth could prove to be a threat, but given the Bullets beat them 38-9 last season, if UWE can survive the long travel to Aberystwyth, then it should be grand for UWE.
Worcester is going into this season confident, though I just cannot see the Royals or anyone else in that division stopping UWE this season.
South East:
The South East 2 was an odd one last year, as the now-promoted Kingston Cougars seemed almost a lock to finish the season undefeated and stare down a D2 Southern Championship, but post the Christmas break, the scorelines for Kingston started to fall apart. Leaving the QMBL Vipers, hoping that they’d slip up twice and the Vipers would find themselves in D1.
But Kingston went up, and now the Vipers are ready to strike. Making the playoffs last year with a 5-1 record and beating the UWE Bullets 2s in the first round of the playoffs, it puts QMBL in the promotion spotlight going into this season.
Though they’ll have to contend with an old foe in the Essex Blades. Making their way down to D2 after a winless season last year.
The Blades have made it known that they do not intend to stay in D2 very long, and given the battles the Blades and Vipers did when both teams were in D1 years ago, the two clashes between QMBL and Essex will both be pivotal for who will be playing D1 next season.
Southern 2:
Now this is a division full of intrigue and solid squads all hunting promotion, though there can only be one.
The Reading Knights last season ended it winless, causing their relegation but close games with Brighton, Hertfordshire and the now Premiership Brunel Burners shows that something is cooking in Reading and given the size of their squad last year who all now have a season of D1 football under their belt, as the Knights look to take it back to the 2022/23 season and bounce straight back up to Division 1.
The Surrey Stingers have been a team touted to return to D1 since their relegation at the end of the 21/22 season. Though, as you can tell by them still being in D2, the Stingers have not reached the potential many believe they have.
Going 3-2 last year, losing only to the Saxons and Oxford Brookes, the Stingers want to get out of this role of gatekeeper, and they’ll be able to make an impact on November 23rd when they take on Sussex.
Speaking of Sussex, the Saxons are a team that has been impressive and just a hair away from going back up to Division 1, though this year it could very well be the year of the Saxon.
Last season, the Saxons went 4-1, losing only to Oxford Brookes, the eventual winners of the Division 2 Southern championship. The season before that, Sussex went 4-1 again, not allowing a point until their final regular season game versus Brighton, which allowed the Panthers to get promoted.
The Saxons now find themselves as the big dog in the Southern 2, and every game they play should be sure to draw interest, but given their showdown with the Reading Knights is on the final week of the regular season on the 15th of February, there’ll be no love lost, as it could be a win-and-in game.
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