BUCS 2025/2026 Provisional Alignments released

Thumbnail image - Andy Watts Media (@grapplingwithimages)

Yes, the BAFA Adult, NWFL, Under 19’s, and 16’s are still taking place, but we have news coming out from BUCS, which allows us to see the BUCS Provisional Alignments for the 2025-26 season.

Premier National:

Durham Saints, Leeds Beckett Carnegie, Loughborough Students, Nottingham Gold, UWE Bullets 

There is no change for the National Premier League this season after SGS refused to play Leeds Beckett in the play-in match at the end of the previous season. The aforementioned West Yorkshire-based side will be looking for considerable improvement after last season's winless record. UWE will look to defend their National Championship again, whilst the Gold of Nottingham will look to put last season's final disappointment and go one step further and win it all. The Durham Saints and Loughborough Students will join these clubs to compete for the grandest prize that BUCS have to offer. 

Premier North: 

Newcastle Raiders, Nottingham Trent Renegades, Leeds Gryphons, Warwick Wolves, Northumbria Mustangs (Promoted from Tier 1) 

After last season's dramatic ending with Liverpool's disappointment in not being able to play the last game of the season, the Newcastle Raiders who survived on the last day will face the Nottingham Trent Renegades who’s second half of the season saw their success of their pre-Christmas form fall off and struggle in the Playoffs, the Leeds Gryphons who faced SGS in the Semi-final of the playoffs and lost to a strong Pride outfit after finishing second in the division. The Wolves will look to bounce back. A surprising season for the Wolves saw them go all the way to the Final until they faced the unstoppable force of SGS. They will be joined by the Division 1 North winners Northumbria Mustangs; an explosive offence and a brick wall defence sees the Mustangs go from Tier 2 to the Prem North in two seasons. 

Premier South: 

Cardiff Cobras, Exeter Demons, Portsmouth Destroyers, SGS Pride, Brunel Burners (Promoted from Tier One) 

With Birmingham's relegation from the Premiership Tier after being a figurehead in the division, we now have a new look division. Cardiff Cobras' late season resurgence means they are safe in the division for another season. The Demons had some great results against both the Destroyers and Cobras in their first season in the Prem and will look to build on that impressive season despite off the field changes this off-season. The Portsmouth Destroyers came agonisingly close to the final but fell short to a narrow loss to the Warwick Wolves in the Semi-finals. The Pride of SGS, reigning Prem champions, will return to the Prem South after not playing in the Play-in match against Leeds Beckett. The Pride will look to retain their title as the champions and flex their muscles again in the South. They will be joined by the Brunel Burners, who, after several attempts, will finally be in the Prem South as the only London-based side and will look to use their momentum after being crowned Tier One champions on Touchdown Tuesday. 

Tier One Scotland: 

Aberdeen Bulls, Edinburgh Mavericks, Edinburgh Napier Knights, Glasgow Tigers, Heriot-Watt Wolverines, Stirling Clansmen 

The Scottish division remains unchanged from last season as no relegation takes place in Scotland, The reigning Scottish champions Edinburgh Napier Knights will look to carry on unbeaten in divisional play with former National Champions Stirling Clansmen looking to add pressure onto the Knights, the Mavericks and Tigers will need to improve if they are to put together any real playoff hopes, with Heriot-Watt who at times last season looked impressive and picked up some big wins will look to go again and show themselves as a force to reckon with in Scotland, Aberdeen will need to improve a lot after going winless last season and only scoring 8 points all year. 

Tier One North: 

Liverpool Raptors (Relegated from Prem North), Manchester Tyrants, Manchester Met Eagles, UCLan Rams, Edge Hill Vikings (Promoted from Tier Two)

We have two new teams in the division this year after Manchester Tyrants finished with a .500 record and narrowly missed out on the playoffs to the Edinburgh Mavericks. The Eagles will need to improve massively if they are to survive relegation again after last season's narrow miss, which saw Coventry relegated instead. UCLan will look to build on their impressive season after showing a real threat to the division after making the playoffs last season. They will be joined by the Liverpool Raptors, who saw themselves relegated from the Prem North after finishing bottom of the division and not playing their final game of the season due to travel arrangements. Promoted from Tier Two North West, the Edge Hill Vikings join the division after finishing 5-1 and will look to do what Northumbria did a year prior and get back-to-back promotions. 

Tier One Midlands and Yorkshire: 

Leicester Longhorns, Sheffield Hallam Warriors, Nottingham Green, Derby Braves (Promoted from Tier Two), Sheffield Sabres (Promoted from Tier Two)

Last season's Tier Two North finalists, Sheffield Sabres and Derby Braves, will join arguably the most difficult to call division in BUCS this season! The Greens are a good shout for the division but they did falter at the end of last season with a struggling offence which fell victim to two loses to the Sheffield Hallam Warriors who after last years end to the season will look to build on their success and show that there last two victories against the Greens were no fluke. The Longhorns will again need to improve, as the side that struggled against the bottom two sides in the division last season looks to improve and make sure they survive the drop again this season. 

Tier One South Western: 

Bath Killer Bees, Bournemouth Bobcats, Bristol Barracuda, Southampton Stags, Plymouth Blitz (Promoted from Tier Two) 

After Swansea’s relegation from the division, the other sides only welcome one new team in the Plymouth Blitz, after they won the Tier Two South West last season. They will need to learn quick in this division though as they will face a Bournemouth side who were unlucky last season to just miss out on promotion after losing to Brunel in Tier One final, there was nothing to separate the Barracuda and the Bees last season and both will look to put up a fight to the Bobcats and battle for the division, the Stags were lucky last season that the Titans were worse than they were and that a 3-5 record could keep them up but they will need to improve if they want to be a Tier one side again. 

Tier One Southern: 

Birmingham Lions (Relegated from Prem South), Hertfordshire Hurricanes, Oxford Lancers, East Anglia Pirates (Moved from Tier One South Eastern), Oxford Brookes (Promoted from Tier Two) 

The Tier One Southern offers up the most change out of the new alignments. We have the Birmingham Lions, a storied side, with aims to put last season behind them and return to the Prem at the first time of asking. The UEA Pirates, who after a playoff campaign last season, will look to return to post season action, Oxford Brookes will come into the division off of an incredible 2024-25 season where they took Tier Two by storm. They will play against cross-city rivals Oxford Lancers who just fell short of the playoffs with a 3-4 record and will look to improve and go one step further and make the playoffs. Finally, the Hertfordshire Hurricanes, another ex-national finalists, will look to return to the Prem after a fair few years out of the division and look to build on their Playoff run last year. 

Tier One South Eastern: 

Kent Falcons, King's College Regents, UCL Emperors, Brighton Panthers (Moved from Tier One Southern), Kingston Cougars (Promoted from Tier Two) 

Brighton will be looking to rejuvenise the side as they have moved laterally to the South East division after a disappointing 2-5 season. The Kent Falcons will be looking to maintain momentum following their impressive season ending in playoff football, but the best side of the South Eastern last season, the KCL Regents, will look to defend their division title as they went 7-1 in the previous term. The UCL Emperors, much like the Panthers, will look to improve after a disappointing year saw them finish second bottom in the division. The Kingston Cougars will look to come into the division and bring their playoff clinching form with them. They are strong on both sides of the ball, and they'll want to show Tier One what they can do. 

Tier Two North Western: 

Liverpool John Moores Fury (Relegated from Tier One), Keele Crusaders, Lancaster Bombers, Staffordshire Stallions, Salford Storm (New team to BUCS) 

After LJMU’s terrible year last season they now find themselves in Tier Two and looking to return to Tier One in a division that hosts the Keele Crusaders and Staffordshire Stallions, two sides who were hard to split last season in terms of on the pitch action with both sides struggling throughout the season the Lancaster Bombers who looked at times like a strong side but struggled in post season action. These established teams will welcome newcomers Salford Storm, who after an associate year playing against a Chester Legion side as well as a University of Nottingham development team, showed the ambition and their potential in gaining into this BUCS season. 

Tier Two North: 

Hull Sharks (Relegated from Tier Two), Sunderland Spartans, York Centurions, York St John Jaguars 

Sunderland and York both had playoff berths last season and looked promising at times, especially the Spartans who bounced back after a disappointing season two terms ago. York will look to bounce to Tier One now without the likes of Sheffield or Northumbria in their division anymore. YSJ Jaguars will need a huge bounce-back back and the hopes of a new head coach could prove pivotal for the Jags rebuild. And finally, Hull Sharks another side with a lot to do after last season a winless term and now with a large number of high-profile seniors leaving the programme a lot of work will need to take place if they want to return to Tier One. 

Tier Two Midlands: 

Coventry Jets (Relegated from Tier One), Anglia Ruskin Siege, Cambridge Pythons, De Montfort Lions, Lincoln Colonials 

This division seems pretty wide open with the Derby Braves now in Tier One. You have ARU and De Monfort who will be battling it out to see their potential, Cambridge and Lincoln, who both showed real promise last season. Lincoln with their playoff berth and losing is a tight game to Edge Hill and then you have Cambridge who pulled out of the playoffs last season but still showed at points in the season that they can win when they show up, they will be joined the Coventry Jets who showed that the Tier One North can be a minefield and only one game can prove all the difference and that a walkover loss can relegate you. 

Tier Two South Western: 

Swansea Titans (Relegated from Tier One), Tarannau Aberystwyth, Bath Spa Bulldogs, Gloucestershire Gladiators, UWE Bullets 2’s, Worcester Royals 

The ex-prem Titans look to have a full rebuild as they come off of a winless season and relegation to Tier Two where they face fellow Welsh side, Aberystwyth who failed to get going last season after having a large break in between games but they did look strong at times. The Bulldogs will need to go again and look to put last season behind them look to get a win after going 0-5 last term, the Gladiators looked much like the Bulldogs and rather week at times but they did get a win and they can really use that performance to push them forward next season. The UWE 2’s will look to their first team for inspiration and look to improve once again on their 4-1 season and look for promotion to Tier One. The Worcester Royals had a mixed season last year, going 2-3, and it shows how the division will be competitive throughout the season and go to the wire. 

Tier Two Southern: 

Reading Knights (Relegated from Tier One), Chichester Spitfires, Royal Holloway Bears, Solent Redhawks, Surrey Stingers, Sussex Saxons 

The 2025/26 Tier 2 Southern Division is shaping up to be a fierce contest, with a mix of rebuilding powerhouses and hungry contenders all eyeing the top spot. It looks to be a very equal division with Sussex and Surrey looking to cement themselves top contenders after impressive turnouts last season. The Bears and Spitfires will look to improve on their one win seasons and show if they can improve much like the Solent Redhawks who went winless in 2024-25 and need to turn their fortunes around this winter, they will be joined by the Reading Knights who will come into the division with the hope and expectation to bounce back to Tier One and show that last year was just a blip. 

Tier Two South Eastern: 

Essex Blades (Relegated from Tier One), City St George Wolfpack, Greenwich Mariners, Imperial Immortals, Queen Mary Vipers 

Last but not least we have the Tier Two South Eastern last year's second place Queen Mary Vipers will look to show how strong they are again after going 5-1. St George has a strange season last year with going 2-2-2 and needing to turn them draws into wins and challenge for the Playoffs much like the Greenwich Mariners who will look to improve from 3-2-1 and show that their a force to be reckoned with again, the Imperial Immortals will need to improve without the C4 Chargers in the division it looks like the Immortals could be easy prey for the rest and they need to improve massively. The Essex Blades join the division, and they will need to turn last season around and hit the ground running looking to take the division by storm. 

These alignments are only provisional and are subject to change. Keep up to date on all BUCS news on Inside Britball.