BUCS Football League

BUCS Football League
Founded1994
CountryUnited Kingdom
ConfederationEUSA
Divisions100
Number of clubs450+
Domestic cup(s)BUCS Football Championship, Trophy and Conference Cup
Websitebucs.org.uk/football

The BUCS Football League is the association football league system of British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS). It is the largest sport in UK higher education, with over 450 men's and women's teams competing in 100 leagues.[1]

Competition format

The league follows the standard BUCS double pyramid, with two Premier divisions (North and South) sitting above five regions (Scottish, Northern, Midlands, Western and South Eastern). There are five divisions, one for each region, in the top regional tier (Tier 1), but at lower tiers the regions may be sub-divided into A, B, etc. divisions on a geographical basis. There are eight levels (Premier to Tier 7) in the men's pyramid and five (Premier to Tier 4) in the women's pyramid.[2]

Divisions each consist of six teams, with the exception of the bottom division in each region. Teams in divisions with six or fewer teams play each other twice, home and away, while teams in divisions with seven or more teams play once, either home or away.[2] All teams from the two Premier divisions enter the knockout Championship, teams in Tier 1 enter the Trophy, and teams in Tier 2 and below enter the Conference Cup. The bottom team from each Premier division and the top first teams from Tier 1 enter a promotion/relegation playoff at the end of the season; promotion and relegation between the regional tiers is automatic.[3]

Former winners

Year Championship Premier North Premier South
2017–18 Men[4] Cardiff Met Nottingham Trent Cardiff Met
Women[5] Durham Durham Hertfordshire
2016–17 Men[6] Cardiff Met Loughborough Hartpury
Women[7] Durham Durham Cardiff Met
2015–16 Men[8] USW Durham Hartpury
Women[9] Northumbria Durham Cardiff Met
2014–15 Men[10] Hartpury Loughborough USW
Women[11] Durham Durham Cardiff Met
2013–14 Men[12] Stirling Stirling Hartpury
Women[13] Cardiff Met Durham Hertfordshire
2012–13 Men[14] Loughborough Loughborough Hartpury
Women[15] Cardiff Met Loughborough Cardiff Met
2011–12 Men[16] Bath Loughborough Hartpury
Women[17] Loughborough Northumbria Cardiff Met
2010–11 Men Hartpury[18] Stirling[19] Hartpury[20]
Women Northumbria[18] Leeds Beckett[21] Hertfordshire[22]
2009–10 Men Loughborough[23][24] Leeds[19] Hartpury[20]
Women Northumbria[24] Leeds Beckett[21] Hertfordshire[22]
2008–09 Men Loughborough[25] Loughborough[19] Hartpury[20]
Women Leeds Beckett[25] Leeds Beckett[21] Hertfordshire[22]
2007–08 Men Hartpury[26] Birmingham[19] Hartpury[20]
Women Cardiff Met[26] Leeds Beckett[21] Cardiff Met[22]
2006–07 Men Hartpury[27] Loughborough[19] Brighton[20]
Women Loughborough[27] Loughborough[21] Cardiff Met[22]
2005–06 Men Loughborough[28] Northumbria[19] Bath[20]
Women Loughborough[29] Loughborough[21] Cardiff Met[22]
2004–05 Men Loughborough[30] Loughborough[19] Swansea[20]
Women Bath[30] Loughborough[21] Bath[22]

Note: for consistency, current names are used throughout the table, e.g. Leeds Beckett rather than Leeds Met and Cardiff Met rather than UWIC.

Season Championship Trophy Shield Plate Vase
2004–05 Loughborough University 1st MMU Cheshire 2nd UWE Hartpury 1st University of Sussex 1st University of Strathclyde 2nd
2005–06 Loughborough University 1st UWE Hartpury 1st De Montfort University, Bedford 1st Leeds Metropolitan Carnegie 2nd
2006–07 UWE Hartpury 1st University of Manchester 1st University of Hull 1st Bournemouth University 1st Northumbria University 3rd
2007–08 UWE Hartpury 1st University of Bath 2nd University of Manchester 1st University of Central Lancashire 1st University of Nottingham 4th

References

  1. ^ "Football". BUCS. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  2. ^ a b "BUCS 2016-17 Provisional Leagues Document". BUCS. 6 July 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  3. ^ "Sport-specific regulations: football". BUCS. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  4. ^ "BUCS Football 2017-2018 - Championship - Men's". BUCS. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  5. ^ "BUCS Football 2017-2018 - Championship - Women's". BUCS. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  6. ^ "BUCS Football 2016-2017 - Championship - Men's". BUCS. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  7. ^ "BUCS Football 2016-2017 - Championship - Women's". BUCS. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  8. ^ "BUCS Football 2015-2016 - Championship - Men's". BUCS. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  9. ^ "BUCS Football 2015-2016 - Championship - Women's". BUCS. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  10. ^ "BUCS Football 2014-2015 - Championship - Men's". BUCS. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  11. ^ "BUCS Football 2014-2015 - Championship - Women's". BUCS. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  12. ^ "BUCS Football 2013-2014 - Championship - Men's". BUCS. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  13. ^ "BUCS Football 2013-2014 - Championship - Women's". BUCS. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  14. ^ "BUCS Football 2012-2013 - Championship - Men's". BUCS. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  15. ^ "BUCS Football 2012-2013 - Championship - Women's". BUCS. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  16. ^ "BUCS Football 2011-2012 - Championship - Men's". BUCS. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  17. ^ "BUCS Football 2011-2012 - Championship - Women's". BUCS. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  18. ^ a b "Archive 10-11". BUCS. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  19. ^ a b c d e f g "TEAM PROFILE Loughborough University Men's Football 1st Team". BUCS. History. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  20. ^ a b c d e f g "TEAM PROFILE University of Bath Men's Football 1st Team". BUCS. History. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  21. ^ a b c d e f g "TEAM PROFILE Loughborough University Women's Football 1st Team". BUCS. History. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  22. ^ a b c d e f g "TEAM PROFILE Cardiff Metropolitan University Women's Football 1st Team". BUCS. History. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  23. ^ "Loughborough athletes dominate BUCS indoor finals". Loughborough University. 16 March 2010. Retrieved 5 November 2016. Elsewhere in the BUCS Championships, Loughborough's men's football 1st XI beat Bournemouth University to win the championship after coming back from a goal down in the last ten minutes with strikes from Raul Alexis and Matt Aldred.
  24. ^ a b "BUCS Football Season 2009-10 Round-Up". BUCS. 29 March 2010. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  25. ^ a b "2008-2009 Season". BUCS. Archived from the original on 6 March 2010. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  26. ^ a b "BUCS Sports Review 2007–2008" (PDF). BUCS. p. 10. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  27. ^ a b "BUSA FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS 2006-2007 RESULTS". BUCS. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  28. ^ "Loughborough Make it Three in a Row". BUSA. 5 May 2006. Archived from the original on 20 May 2006.
  29. ^ "Women's Football Championship Clinched by Loughborough". BUSA. 4 May 2006. Archived from the original on 20 May 2006.
  30. ^ a b "News Headlines 01/05/2005 - 31/05/2005". BUSA. Archived from the original on 29 December 2005.