BRITISH UNIVERSITIES AMERICAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE OFFICIAL SITE

Lincoln Colonials

The Lincoln Colonials began back in 2003, when a small group of friends decided that our University lacked an American Football team. All of those founders have now moved on, but they have left behind a legacy, and under the guidance of new staff, committee and players, the team continues to rise.

Our numbers rapidly grew in the first year. We went from being a group of lads having a "throw around" to a serious force, searching for more players and of course, Money! However, our first year wasn''''''''t the most successful. We had problems with financial applications and ended up in almost the same position as we had been to begin with. One thing that we had gained over the months however was a great team spirit and a lot of hope.

Our second year began, and with it, our numbers increased again. We recruited a lot of great players, many of whom are still with us. We transformed ourselves into a fully fledged organisation. With the introduction of Mike Stevens as our president, things really began to happen for us. Our University financing came through and by the end of the year we had a full compliment of shoulder-pads for the team. We also got our jerseys and pants. Our fundraising hit new heights and we got our first official sponsor (Shotts Bar). By the start of the academic year 2005/2006, spirits were higher than ever. Some changes were made to the structure of team, with Mike Stevens stepping down as president to take on the role of head coach, having become a BCAFL level one coach. Shane Gostelow took over the presidency and a new committee was elected.

In early 2006, the Lincoln Colonials became a fully fledged, fully kitted team, and the search began for opposition teams. With the BCAFL season in full swing, we managed to face off against the Sheffield Sabres. Whilst the final score-line did not flatter the team, it counted as an official qualifier for the BCAFL league. With positives taken from the game and a second match still to play, the team began training again with spirits at record levels. May brought the second BCAFL qualifier in "The battle of Lincoln ", as the Colonials took to the field with local senior team, The Lincoln Bombers. In a hard fought game, the Bombers came out on top, but with entry to the league for the 2006/2007 season secured, the Colonials could hold their heads high.

Our rookie season saw the team heading into the league with the prospect of managing and growing both on and off the field. Starting out with initially 40 players,the teams squad side dropped due to injuries and people deciding the sport was not for them. Traditionally new teams to the league are not successful and the Colonials were no different by ending the season with 8 games played, 7 losses and one tied game. The season was deemed as a successful failure due to the team’s survival and the experience it gained during its rookie campaign plus gaining respect around the league for being hard nosed hitters and having a ‘never give up’ attitude.

The Colonials were then to become one of the founder members of the BUAFL and have steadily built a platform to truly compete with their local rivals.

The University of Lincoln started out as the University of Lincolnshire and Humberside, having been created the University of Humberside in 1992 from Humberside Polytechnic.

The University has roots going back to the 19th century. These can be traced back to a number of higher educational institutions in Hull, including the Hull School of Art (1861), the Hull Technical Institute (1893), Endsleigh Training College (1905) and the Hull Central College of Commerce (1930). All these higher educational institutions not associated with the University of Hull were merged in 1976 to form the Hull College of Higher Education.

In 1983 this institution became the Humberside College of Higher Education ("HCHE") when it absorbed several courses in fishing, food and manufacturing which were running in Grimsby. HCHE gained polytechnic status in 1990, and then in 1992 was one of the many polytechnics in the UK to become full universities.