Top British University American Football Narratives:

The landscape of British University American Football is one in constant flux, as players come and go through graduation or moving universities, teams rise and fall, and there is always a story to be told about every team that takes part in what we call Uniball.

My name is Chris Tebbutt, or if you know me from the British American Football world, Tebbs, and I have been covering the glorious sport of Uniball for half a decade now, and these are the top narratives to follow come the 2025/26 Uniball Season.

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National Premiership:

The Reign of Bullets

When it comes to British University American Football, there is one team that is synonymous with the Sport and that is the University of the West of England Bullets, or UWE for short.

Since the turn of the decade, they have run roughshod over Uniball, winning the top divisions prize every year since 2022, and this year they are going for the five-peat and their sixth national championship overall.

As it stands, the Bullets have unleashed a hail of new signees, with ex-NFL Talent such as Chris Murray and ELF Stars such as Tony Anderson and Marloshawn Franklin Jr. from the Rhein Fire.

Ethan Gretzinger, the MVP of the Britbowl, Bristol Aztecs Quarterback out of California, will begin his second year with the Bullets after sitting behind Donovan Isim last season.

Also, Tight End Quinten Wimmer will join back up with Gretzinger after they played together at Pomona-Pitzer College in California, and Wimmer hasn’t played a snap for UWE yet, but has already lit up Britball, winning the MVP for the Elite 5’s tournament.

The Bullets have also reloaded their staff with Frankie Pankhurst stepping down from a title-clad run as OC for the Bullets. UWE have found a replacement in their former QB and current Quarterback of the Nordic Storm, Jadrian Clark, to take over duties at OC.

Although they did suffer their first loss at home in numerous seasons last year to the Nottingham Gold, the Bullets once again look unstoppable and to bet against them making an appearance at BUCS Big Wednesday for the finals seems very, very foolish.

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The Band of Brotherhood

Leeds Beckett has been on a strange trajectory the last few years. Going from being considered one of the top 2-3 teams in the country to being another team's choice not to play a promotion/relegation gam, away from being removed from the top flight of Uniball.

Going 0-8 and having the displeasure of being on the receiving end of a triple-digit score versus the Bullets, it looked as though Leeds Beckett’s time under the bright lights was over. But SGS Pride refusing to play in the Promotion/Relegation game after winning the Premiership last year has given LB a new lease on life, and they are grabbing it with both hands.

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Premiership:

The Great Wide North:

With the National Premiership expansion calling up four Northern Premiership teams in its initial season last year, the Northern Premiership contingent took on a whole new form, with only the Nottingham Trent Renegades earning their place in the division through conventional means.

With the Leeds Gryphons, Liverpool Raptors, Warwick Wolves and Newcastle Raiders all getting pulled up, it made attempting to predict the winner of the division extremely difficult, with the Leeds Gryphons ending up being the pre-season choice.

Though seemingly out of nowhere, the Warwick Wolves, who had a history of being a solid team but being the bridesmaid and never the bride, finishing behind teams like NTU and Loughborough, though always in the playoffs.

Finishing 5-3 in the Midlands 1 in the 23/24 season to finishing 7-1 in the Premiership North was a massive jump up. With scintillatingly tricky play from QB Pedro Rosselli & RB Edward Kyere dreamt up by BUCS Head Coach of the Year, Geoff Williams.

The Wolves made it all the way to the final in a losing effort to the SGS Pride. But it does beg the question, can Wolves do it all over again this year?

Leeds are entering this season with a new Head Coach, whilst the Renegades, I believe, could be the true dark horse of this division.

Joining the fray are the Northumbria Mustangs, fresh off two promotions in two seasons, though their star Swiss Army Knife player, Aaron Aucoin, has headed back to Colorado, and it will be interesting to see if they can keep the same form entering the Premiership.

All of these words about this division, and I still haven’t got a clue who is the favourite for the Premiership North.

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Burn in their light

It was a hard, almost decade-long journey for the Brunel Burners to finally reach the Premiership.

Seven seasons in a row, the Brunel Burners made the playoffs in Division One each time, resulting in heartbreak for the London-based side.

Year after year, the question was asked of the Burners. “When will you get out of this division?”

Then last year, under first-year Head Coach James Kelvin, the Burners finally pushed through and claimed their spot in the Premiership in a big victory over the Bournemouth Uni Bobcats in the Southern Semi-Final before putting the cherry on top of the cake, winning Division 1, defeating the Northumbria Mustangs at BUCS Big Wednesday. Although they had an undefeated fairytale season last year, it begs the question: can the Burners thrive at heights the team has never seen before?

On the field, the Brunel Burners have some outstanding players. Quarterback Christian Dzulynsky from Chicago, Illnois, returns to be under center for the Burners, along with Running Back David Moore III, who holds the second highest rusher in Colorado High School history, will be joining a diabolical offensive attack this season.

Luckily, we do not have to wait a long time to see just how the Brunel Burners will do in their first ever season in the Premiership, as they’ll be one of the four teams playing in week one of the Uniball season, as they take on the juggernaut of the Portsmouth Destroyers.

Thankfully, it will be livestreamed on DepthChartSports.

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To Live & Die in Cardiff

Last season was historic for the Cardiff Cobras, managing to stave off relegation after two seasons of finishing in the relegation position but being saved due to the UEA Pirates taking voluntary relegation and the UWE Bullets being promoted to the National Premiership.

Last season, the Cobras saved themselves from relegation and secured their spot in the playoffs with big wins over the Portsmouth Destroyers and the now-relegated Birmingham Lions, ultimately losing to the Warwick Wolves.

The question now becomes, can the Cobras build on that season? The Southern Premiership does not have a weak link in it, but the fan-favourite Cobras are once again the favourite to face relegation. A notion helped as their starting QB, Kieran McGill, graduated after last season.

We hear through the grapevine that Bristol Aztecs QB, Louis Benzey, will be taking over from McGill and will be reunited with WR and Kicker Oli Luck in Cardiff. Benzey should be delighted as WR Sam Harvey is back with the Cobras, and given his play last year, he will be a difference maker for a side that wants to be removed from the relegation conversation.