BUCS 2025/26 Fixtures announced: Which stand out to us?
- Isaac Oldcorn
- Jul 23
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 23
BUCS 2025/26 season is finally in our sights, and we have the official fixtures for the American Football season. As we previewed in our Provisional Alignments breakdown, we can expect new and old rivalries throughout the season, with our winter months packed full of action.
With teams across all three tiers gearing up for what promises to be a fiercely contested campaign, fans and players alike now have their eyes set on the opening weekend, which kicks off on October 19th.
The first week of fixtures sees the newly promoted Brunel Burners take to the Premier South stage for the first time, when they host the Portsmouth Destroyers in the capital. Meanwhile, in the north, we will see a battle of the new Head Coaches as the Newcastle Raiders travel down the M1 to take on a Bo Scholes-less Leeds Gryphons.
The Premier National kicks off in Week Two when Leeds Beckett make the long trip down to Hillside Gardens to take on the reigning National champs in the UWE Bullets, who are on a quest to make it 5 National Championships in a row. The runners-up from last season, Nottingham Gold, face Loughborough the day after as they kick off their bid to become the National Champions. Last year’s finalists come face to face, for the first time, on the 9th of November when the David Ross Sports Centre plays host, before the return fixture on Valentine's Day, serving up a great date idea for you and your loved one.
Interestingly, Durham will be late to the party this year as they do not start their campaign until November, when they host Leeds Beckett.
The battle for the chance to get into the Premier National will be fierce in the Premier North with the Warwick Wolves, who will look to return as North Champions, when they face the NTU Renegades in Week Two, before newcomers Northumbria Mustangs will try to achieve the tought task of three successive promotions as they kick off their season away at the Gryphons. We get a "Newcastle Derby" this year too, as the Raiders and Mustangs will go face to face on November 23rd and January 25th.
As we look to the South, we see the reigning Premiership Champions SGS Pride, after they did not take up the chance to move into the National League, they will be travelling to Portsmouth in Week Three, before they get a home opener against the Burners two weeks later. Cardiff will look to build on a rocky season last time out when they travel to Portsmouth in Week Two before what you could call an early gut test against the Brunel Burners in Week Three.
Tier 1 looks as tantalising as ever with newcomers Sheffield Sabres, Oxford Brookes, Kingston Cougars and Edge Hill Vikings all in action in Week Two. Sheffield and Oxford Brookes travel to Leicester and East Anglia, respectively, and Edge Hill and Kingston host Manchester Met Eagles and Kent Falcons.
Edinburgh Napier Knights start their defence of their Scottish Crown in the same week as they host former National Champions Stirling Clansmen, whilst Midlands Champions Nottingham Green have to wait till Week Three when they face Leicester Longhorns away from home.
We also see the Derby Braves kick off their campaign back in Tier One as they face Sheffield Hallam Warriors away from home in Week Two, a replay of last season's Tier Two North final. The reverse fixture takes place on December 7th, just before the Christmas break.
In Tier 1 South, we kick off the season in Week Two. We get to see the Birmingham Lions for the first time, who will be looking to make their way straight back to the Premier Tier, but as we know it is never that simple, they start their season against the Oxford Lancers whilst in the south west we see two playoff teams go head to head as Bristol Barracuda take on one of last season's standout performers in the Bournemouth Bobcats. The other newcomer in the tier, Plymouth Blitz, will host the Southampton Stags as they look to build on last season’s triumphs.
Finally, Tier Two also kicks the season off in Week Two, as we see Royal Holloway travel to relegated Reading Knights, Queen Mary Vipers will host the Imperial Immortals. York Centurions take the trip to the North East and face the Sunderland Spartans. We also see Sussex Saxons host Chichester Spitfires, UWE Bullets 2 face the Gloucester Gladiators, and the Swansea Titans will be looking to start their season strongly as they play the Worcester Royals.
The new team on the block, the Salford Storm, will travel to the Keele Crusaders in Week Three. Looking at those who find themselves in Tier 2 following relegation, Essex Blades start their campaign in the same week as they face the Immortals at home. Liverpool John Moore Fury also will look to bounce back after relegation when they face the Staffordshire Stallions away, and the final newly relegated side is the Hull Sharks, and they will look to start their return to Tier One when they face York St John in Week Three.
The Final week of the regular season will take place on February 22nd before the Playoffs start a week later.
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Let's just say we will be mixing it up for the 2025/26 season!