1996–97 British Collegiate American Football League

The 1996–97 BCAFL was the 12th full season of the British Collegiate American Football League, organised by the British Students American Football Association.

Changes from last season

Division Changes
There were no changes to the Divisional setup

Team Changes

• University of Derby joined the Northern Conference, as the Braves
• University of Kent joined the Southern Conference, as the Falcons
• University of Nottingham joined the Northern Conference, as the Outlaws
• Reading Knights moved within the Southern Conference from Eastern to Western Division
• Sheffield Zulus moved within the Northern Conference from Central to Eastern Division
• Stirling Clansmen returned after one season out

This increased the number of teams in BCAFL to 31, an all-time high.

Regular season

Clansmen

Hawks

Tigers

Panthers

Locations of Scottish teams in BCAFL 1996–97

Aces

Bombers

Braves

Bullets

Cavaliers

Celtics

Cobras

Demons

Falcons

Hurricanes

Killer Bees

Knights

Lemmings

Lions

Mariners

Outlaws

Pirates

Pythons

Rhinos

Sharks

Stags

Stallions

Stingers

Tarannau

Wearwolves

Wolves

Zulus

Locations of English and Welsh teams in BCAFL 1996–97

^[1]

Northern Conference, Scottish Division

Team	Pld	Won	Lst	Drw	PF	PA	Win%
Glasgow Tigers	8	5	1	2	93	48	0.750	Qualified for Playoffs
Strathclyde Hawks	8	3	3	2	99	89	0.500
Stirling Clansmen	8	3	4	1	81	157	0.438
Paisley Panthers	8	1	6	1	38	89	0.188	Withdrew after this season

Northern Conference, Eastern Division

Team	Pld	Won	Lst	Drw	PF	PA	Win%
Lancaster Bombers	8	7	1	0	254	122	0.875	Qualified for Playoffs
Leeds Celtics	8	6	2	0	311	111	0.750	Qualified for Playoffs
Newcastle Mariners	8	5	3	0	270	151	0.625
Sunderland Wearwolves	8	3	3	2	88	166	0.500
Sheffield Zulus	7	0	6	1	34	138	0.071	Withdrew after this season
Teesside Demons	7	0	6	1	24	230	0.071

Northern Conference, Central Division

Team	Pld	Won	Lst	Drw	PF	PA	Win%
Loughborough Aces	8	8	0	0	301	14	1.000	Qualified for Playoffs
Nottingham Outlaws	8	5	3	0	119	128	0.625
Staffordshire Stallions	8	5	3	0	208	153	0.625
Leicester Lemmings	8	3	5	0	74	172	0.375
Hull Sharks	8	2	6	0	40	143	0.250
Derby Braves	8	0	8	0	28	261	0.000

Southern Conference, Eastern Division

Team	Pld	Won	Lst	Drw	PF	PA	Win%
UEA Pirates	8	7	1	0	168	66	0.875	Qualified for Playoffs
Cambridge Pythons	8	6	2	0	178	90	0.750	Withdrew after this season
Hertfordshire Hurricanes	8	5	3	0	168	70	0.625
Surrey Stingers	8	4	4	0	80	165	0.500
Kent Falcons	8	1	7	0	34	169	0.125

Southern Conference, Central Division

Team	Pld	Won	Lst	Drw	PF	PA	Win%
Tarannau Aberystwyth	8	8	0	0	176	0	1.000	Qualified for Playoffs
Birmingham Lions	8	6	2	0	132	40	0.750	Qualified for Playoffs
Warwick Wolves	8	5	3	0	68	93	0.625
Oxford Cavaliers	8	2	6	0	53	130	0.250
Aston Rhinos	8	0	7	1	7	77	0.062	Withdrew after this season

Southern Conference, Western Division

Team	Pld	Won	Lst	Drw	PF	PA	Win%
Bath Killer Bees	8	6	2	0	118	28	0.750	Qualified for Playoffs
Southampton Stags	8	5	2	1	119	43	0.688
Cardiff Cobras	8	2	4	2	64	49	0.375
Reading Knights	8	1	6	1	60	219	0.188
Bristol Bullets	8	1	6	1	38	116	0.188

Playoffs

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

College Bowl XI

N.C1

Loughborough Aces

43

N.E2

Leeds Celtics

0

Loughborough Aces

21

Glasgow Tigers

8

N.E1

Lancaster Bombers

6

N.S1

Glasgow Tigers

12

Loughborough Aces

28

Tarannau Aberystwyth

19

S.W1

Bath Killer Bees

14

S.E1

UEA Pirates

0

Bath Killer Bees

8

Tarannau Aberystwyth

20

S.C2

Birmingham Lions

13

S.C1

Tarannau Aberystwyth

15

• Note – the table does not indicate who played home or away in each fixture.