The British American Football Association (BAFA) have announced a further expansion of Division 1 of the National League from 18 to 20 teams, and placed the Eagles in the SFC1 Central Conference.
Joining the Eagles in SFC1 are the South Wales Warriors, who have taken a voluntary relegation from the Premier Division South, Solent Thrashers, Sussex Thunder and Oxford Saints.
Of our 2016 opponents Doncaster Mustangs are in the NFC1 North Conference, and Birmingham Bulls, Nottingham Caesars and Sandwell Steelers are all in NFC1 South.
Details of the regular season schedule are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
2017 Play-Off Structure
For the 2017 season the top eight teams in Division 1 will progress to the play-offs, which will consist of the top two teams in each of the four conferences (NFC1 North, NFC1 South, SFC1 Central and SFC1 East).
The first round of the play-offs will see the #1 seed in the SFC/NFC face and #4 seed, and the #2 seed meet the #3 ranked team.
The Division 1 Championship will be decided between the NFC1 and SFC1 winners.
2017 Divisional 1 Alignments
NFC1 North
– Doncaster Mustangs
– Manchester Titans
– Newcastle Vikings (promoted)
– West Coast Trojans
– Yorkshire Rams
NFC1 South
– Birmingham Bulls
– Coventry Jets (relegated)
– Leicester Falcons (promoted)
– Nottingham Caesars
– Sandwell Steelers
SFC1 Central
– Oxford Saints (promoted)
– Ouse Valley Eagles
– Solent Thrashers
– South Wales Warriors (relegated)
– Sussex Thunder
SFC1 East
– Cambridgeshire Cats (promoted)
– Colchester Gladiators
– Kent Exiles
– London Hornets (promoted)
– London Olympians (relegated)