The China University American Football League’s 2017-18 season has begun, with 15 total teams spread across two divisions, the East division (teams from Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang) and Southwest division (teams from Sichuan). As is the case with last season, the East Division will consist of three groups of 3-4 teams, with 6 total playoff spots. Two new teams have also joined the East Division, the Suzhou University Rangers and Zhejiang Police College War Horses, while one new team, the Southwest Minzu University Rippers, has joined the Southwest Division. Below is the list of all 15 teams that will be participating in the CUAFL’s 2017-18 season:

The defending champions of the CUAFL West are the Sichuan Normal University Stags. The defending champions in the East are the Shanghai Institute of Technology Aurora, who won their first-ever title in May with a 17-8 victory over the Shanghai Jiaotong University Lions in the Dawn Bowl, the CUAFL’s championship game. The groups of teams in the East have been organized in a way that is fair to new teams, and teams which did not have good records last season, as the four best performing teams were placed in one group, the next three best in another group, and then the bottom four in the final group. This format will allow at least one team from the bottom group to advance to the playoffs.

Last season's champions, the Shanghai Institute of Technology Aurora





The season’s schedule roughly follows the academic schedule of Chinese universities, as the first games of the new season were played last weekend, with games continuing through the end of December, at which point there is a break for exams and Chinese New Year. The season then re-starts in early March, with playoffs commencing in mid-April, and the Dawn Bowl falling on May 13th, 2018. Below is the full schedule of CUAFL games for the season:

Press “Read more” at the bottom of this article to read a more in-depth piece on the history of the CUAFL, as well as what its founders are hoping for in its future.





Below are results from this past weekend’s football games in China, as well as details about games for this upcoming weekend. These details are also available under the 比赛结果/赛程 tab of the “Schedule” menu option

For more information on local American football here in China, long press the QR code below:



