Founded 2014 Head Coach Nik Maxey Website Club home page | President Daniel Anandie League BUCS Division 2A South | |
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Ground Shenley Training Grounds | ||
The UCLU Emperors represent the University College London Union in American Football. The UCLU Emperors compete in Division 2, South Conference, of the British Universities and Colleges Sports (BUCS) American Football League. They play their home games at Shenley Training Grounds in St Albans, North London.
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Foundation (2014)
The UCLU Emperors were founded in 2014 by students Sam Conway and Michael Foxall-Smith. Initially, without funding for equipment, the team played flag football and entered the BAFA University Flag Football Tournament in May. They placed 3rd, behind Durham Saints (1st) and Oxford Lancers (2nd).
The Nik Maxey era (2015-present)
UCL first fielded a kitted football team in December 2015, under the direction of head coach Nik Maxey, with fellow coaching staff Luke Clark (Offensive Coordinator/ Offensive Line Coach) and Norman Bradford (Special Teams Coach).
Affiliation (2015-2016 Season)
The Emperors were awarded a grant from Sport England with which the committee bought equipment for the team. The team competed in two unkitted scrimmages (against Queen Mary Vipers), two kitted scrimmages (against Southampton Stags and Greenwich Mariners), and one officiated match (against King's Regents). The team compiled a 0–1 record.
2016-2017 Season
In August 2016 the UCLU Emperors were accepted into the BUCS League. Their Divisional opponents for 2016 include: Brunel Burners, BNU Buccaneers, Chichester Spitfires, City College Sentinels, King's College Regents, and Southampton Stags. The Emperors finished their first regular season with a record of 4-2. They finished at 8th overall in the 2A South Division and qualified for playoffs. They played Canterbury Chargers (the number 1 seed) in the quarter-finals of the 2A South Championship and won 10-6. Having knocked out the top seed, they played the next highest seed, the Brunel Burners, in the semi-finals. The Emperors lost 41-0.
Varsity
University College London and King's College London have a longstanding Varsity rivalry - the London Varsity. They hold a yearly varsity period in which the universities pit numerous sporting teams against each other.
2016
In 2016 the Emperors and the Regents held the inaugural American Football London Varsity game. The Regents won the Varsity game beating the Emperors 23-12 after coming back from 8-12 at half time.
2017
The date for the 2017 Varsity match will be 15th March 2017.
Motto
The UCL Emperors motto is - "Vae Victis". The Latin translates to - "Woe to the vanquished". The motto was proposed by William Radcliffe (Offensive Line) and was voted on by the founding members of the club in 2015. The meaning was chosen as it is well apt to both winning and losing a game, inspiring hard work to achieve both team and personal goals throughout the season.