BRITISH UNIVERSITIES AMERICAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE OFFICIAL SITE

Oxford Cavaliers

American football started at Oxford in 1988, and in the first two years the flag football team defeated Cambridge in the Varsity Bowl.

In 1990 Oxford became fully kitted, and they again defeated Cambridge, in the first fully kitted Varsity Bowl. The next year the Cavaliers joined BCAFL. That first year, they recorded an impressive 6-2 record, good for fourth place in the Southern Conference and a playoff position in the first round of the playoffs, they were defeated 28-0 by eventual College Bowl VI champion Southampton.

With the departure of Coach Jerry Jones and a number of quality players, the Cavaliers dropped to 2-6 in 1992-93, including losing for the first time in the Varsity Bowl. Led by new coach Greg Crease and halfback and BCAFL offensive player of the year Julian Horne, Oxford rebounded in1993-94, finishing with a 5-3 record.

After losing their first three games in 1994-95, the Cavaliers frequently playing with only 13 players -rebounded to finish 4-3-1, just missing the wild-card position for the playoffs.

The Cavaliers had one of the nation’s great passing attacks in1995-96, as Ryan Millsap threw a dozen touchdown passes. However, that season and the next they could not generate the consistency to have a winning record.

The next two seasons the Cavaliers worked on finding the formula to turn the team around. While struggling to find wins, the Cavaliers were no pushovers under Head Coach Phil De Monte. Prior to the 98-99 season relentless recruitment enabled the Cavalier to gain the wildcard playoff spot behind running back Brian Myers and a tough wishbone offense. The Cavaliers were knocked out of the playoffs by the eventual College Bowl XIII winners Hertfordshire Hurricanes in a close but controversial game. A strong foundation was now laid and the ‘New’ Cavaliers program was off and running.

The 1999-2000 season saw the Cavaliers win the Central Division title for the first time in the teams history with a win over the Birmingham Lions, on the last day of the regular season. The playoffs saw the Cavaliers defeat the Bath KillerBees, overcoming an 11 point half time deficit, winning 46-38. The Southern Conference title was played against the Hertfordshire Hurricanes, and again the Hurricanes knocked the Cavaliers out of the playoffs.

The 2000-2001 season saw the Cavaliers drop the first regular season game to the Cardiff Cobras, but it was all Cavaliers for the rest of the season. The Cavaliers again won the Central Division, beat Birmingham and Hertfordshire in the playoffs, only to meet Loughborough in College Bowl XV. The Cavaliers came from behind in what many people call the best ever College Bowl ever played.

The 2001-2002 season saw the Cavaliers again win both the Central and the Southern Conference, only to lose to the Loughborough Aces in College Bowl XVI. After two straight visits to the College Bowl and major personnel changes, many expected the Cavaliers go through the inevitable rebuilding year during 2002-03. However Phil De Monte in what ws thought would be his final season as HC of the Cavs, put together a team brimming in self-belief and went on to win the Central division for the fourth consecutive year, losing Birmingham in the playoffs. With the departure of the most outspoken coach in the league, it was never going to be an easy task for new HC Simon Dale to take over the reigns.

Coach Dale was a member of the College Bowl XV winning side and knew what it takes to make a football team in the gritty world of UK college football. The inevitable rebuilding year occurred with the young Cavs winning their opening game, but going on to play a host of strong teams, including eventual champs Hertfordshire and finishing 1-7 in 2003-04.

2004-05 brought new coaches and a return to the Cavaliers winning ways. OC Tim Watton revitalised the Oxford Offense and combined with the traditionally hard-hitting Defence and equally aggressive Special Teams, the Cavaliers recorded a 6-2 season ending with a wildcard playoff appearance. The season’s story was one of doing just enough to come out the right side of several epic games against Bath and Aberystwyth and a good way for Coach Dale to bow out at the end of the season as work moved him to pastures new.

Coach Marshall then picked up the reigns hoping to move the Cavaliers into a consistent winning force to be reckoned with in years to come. 2006 saw Phil De Monte return to the Cavaliers. 2007 saw the Cavaliers play with a potent passing game led by former Georgetown QB David Fajgenbaum using TE Stuart Lowe and WR Ducan Robertson. Dennis Cook and Drew Janes led the ground game. Richard Conroy and Dan Czasznicki led the Cav’s defense.

The Cavaliers have retired the number of David Hasnip (54), Broderick Bagert (21) and Tom Rick (55).

The Oxford Cavaliers draw membership from the two universities in Oxford.

Oxford Brookes has roots in Oxford that go back to 1865 (when it was known as the Oxford School of Art).

Oxford Brookes University pioneered the use of modular degree courses and has earned recognition for quality in architecture, art, economics, computer science, automotive/motorsports engineering, history], modern languages and publishing.

The Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies is one of several programmes at Brookes that has expanded the university’s reputation abroad. Similarly, the national Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) assigned the Department of History its foremost international ranking (5*).

The Oxford Brookes Department of Architecture is one of the largest in Britain and in 2006 was named as the leading school of architecture outside London and second overall in the UK. In the most recent 2008 survey by the Architect’s Journal it was ranked fourth overall. The Centre for Development and Emergency Practice (CENDEP) in the School of the Built Environment was awarded the Queen’s Anniversary Prize and is well known for its programme for humanitarian practitioners. CENDEP provides an academic setting for the study of cities, humanitarianism and refugees. Singer and activist Annie Lennox is patron of the Master’s Course in Humanitarian and Development Practice.

In 2007, The MSc in Primate Conservation was awarded the highly-prestigious Queen’s Anniversary Prize – a national honour recognising the outstanding contribution by the MSc programme team and the Department of Anthropology & Geography at Oxford Brookes.

The Oxford Brookes School of Technology is well known for its automotive and motorsports engineering courses leading to undergraduate BEng(Hons) and MEng(Hons) degrees. Due to the close links between Oxford Brookes and several Formula 1 teams around Oxfordshire, the syllabus development for the undergraduate and post graduate courses are carried out in collaboration with F1 teams. Over the decade, the school has developed a niche for producing Formula 1 design and race engineers, who go on to build championship winning cars, participating in the FIA Formula 1 Championships.

The school is also home and lead institution to Motorsport Knowledge Exchange which is a Government-funded small cooperative of institutions, involved in delivering motorsport education at a variety of different levels, from technician to post-graduate. Formula One champion Fernando Alonso provides scholarships for masters degree students to study motor sport engineering at the university. Participants, in specific will study either an MSc in motorsports engineering or in race engine design at Oxford Brookes. The university, which is based in the heart of the UK’s ‘motorsport valley’, boasts a teaching staff that includes Prof. Geoff Goddard, a former chief designer at Cosworth.

The University of Oxford is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. It is also regarded as one of the world''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''s leading academic institutions.

. The University has 38 independent colleges, and 6 permanent private halls. The university traces its roots back to at least the end of the 12th century, although the exact date of foundation remains unclear. After a dispute between students and townsfolk broke out in 1209, some of the academics at Oxford fled north-east to the town of Cambridge, where the University of Cambridge was founded. The two universities have since had a long history of competition with each other, in particular in sport.

The University of Oxford is a member of the Russell Group of research-led British universities, the Coimbra Group (a network of leading European universities), the League of European Research Universities, International Alliance of Research Universities and is also a core member of the Europaeum.

Academically, Oxford is consistently ranked in the world''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''s top 10 universities. For more than a century, it has served as the home of the Rhodes Scholarship, which brings highly accomplished students from a number of countries to study at Oxford as postgraduates.

There are 38 colleges of the University of Oxford and 6 Permanent Private Halls, each with its own internal structure and activities. All students, and most academic staff, are affiliated with a college. The heads of Oxford colleges are known by various titles, according to the college, including warden, provost, principal, president, rector, master or dean. The colleges join together as the Conference of Colleges to discuss policy and to deal with the central University administration. Teaching members of the colleges (fellows and tutors) are collectively and familiarly known as dons (though the term is rarely used by members of the university itself). In addition to residential and dining facilities, the colleges provide social, cultural, and recreational activities for their members. Colleges have responsibility for admitting undergraduates and organising their tuition; for graduates, this responsibility falls upon the departments.