Australian rules football in the United States
Encyclopedia
Australian rules football
in the United States
is a team
and spectator sport
which has been played domestically in the United States since 1996.
There are several leagues around the country, a national championship and a national men's and women's teams.
.
A struggle to tour regularly between the two countries, especially after World War I and a general lack of exposure and the popularity of American Football in the states ensured that the game of Australian Football remained virtually unknown in the United States for many decades.
, a compromise game between Gridiron
and Australian rules were played in Australia between servicemen of both countries in the Australian city of Geelong. The visiting Americans were reported to be excited by the Australian game.
Between the 1960 and 1990s, Victorian Football League
exhibition matches
were played in major US cities.
In 1965, former Victorian Football League
player Colin Ridgeway
was recruited by the Dallas Cowboys and played a total of 3 games as a punter. Although he became the first Australian to make such a transition but did not have much impact in the NFL.
was the biggest breakthrough for Australian football in the United States.
In the 1980s, sports channel ESPN
began televising Australian Rules matches.
The first American born player in the AFL, Don Pyke
(who moved to Western Australia
in his youth) debuted for the West Coast Eagles
in 1989 and later that year, the first African-American born player Sanford Wheeler
debuted for the Sydney Swans
.
– former Melbourne Football Club
player was recruited by the San Diego Chargers
. He went on to become one of the most successful punters in the history of the NFL. His popularity as an ex-Australian also considerably increased the awareness of Australian Rules in the US, as excerpts of him kicking goals in the VFL were sometimes shown on American television. Since Bennett, other Australian rules players have followed, having a small effect of exposing the Australian game to Americans.
Against the flow, Essendon Football Club
coach Kevin Sheedy enticed former Oakland Raiders
National Football League
player Dwayne Armstrong
to switch codes to Australian rules. The experiment was largely unsuccessful, with Armstrong not debuting at senior level, but nevertheless created media interest in Australia about the possibility of American athletes playing the Australian game.
.
In the first year the Mid American Australian Football League
was formed.
Many of the local players had found out about the game in the 1980s on television and ESPN. Although the local game grew, ESPN no longer broadcast AFL matches, and in response the lobby group AFANA was formed.
In 1997, the first club national championships were held in Cincinnati. Nashville
hosted the first Australian Grand Final Festival in the same year. The United States Australian Football League
(USAFL) was formed in 1997 to govern the code in the country.
and was for a time coached by AFL legend Paul Roos.
In the same year, a record crowd of 1,000 attended an MAAFL match between the Nashville Kangaroos and Chicago Swans at Nashville in Tennessee
.
In 2001, the first college Australian rules club began in Vanderbilt University In the following years, several new clubs emerged in universities across the state, many of them affiliated with USAFL clubs.
The Revolution competed in the 2002 Australian Football International Cup
with an All-American side and finished fifth out of eleven countries.
In 2002, the Australian Football League
began to recognise the potential of the USA as a pool of talent and began providing a small amount of international funding to the USAFL. An offshoot was the US Footy Kids junior program, with strong similarities to AFL Auskick
.
In 2003, clear weather at a Nashville homegame against the St Louis Blues and Kangaroos saw the match set a new league crowd record.
In 2005, the Revolution attended the 2005 International Cup finishing third out of ten countries. The first College Invitational was also held that year, hosted by Vanderbilt University
and won by [University of North Carolina].
In 2005, the USAFL struck a deal with the ASTN television station for rights to the game, however although the station has filmed local matches, they have not been televised.
Also in that year, Ben Graham joined the New York Jets
, bringing media exposure for the Australian sport. On a multi-million dollar NFL contract, Graham joined with the local New York Magpies club in fundraising activities.
In January 2006, an AFL promotional pre-season match was played in Los Angeles
at UCLA between the Kangaroos
and league premiers the Sydney Swans
, it attracted a crowd of 3,200.
Saverio Rocca
debuted in the NFL in 2007 as a punter, bringing media exposure for the Australian game.
Kevin Sheedy and Stephen Silvagni
visited in 2007 on a tour of North America as AFL ambassador, attending the USAFL Nationals.
The AFL returned to the ESPN
banner in 2009, with replays and occasional live matches, including the Grand Final, appearing on the ESPN360 internet service. Several home-and-away games, plus the Grand Final, also air live on ESPN2
.
for Australian Rules in the United States is the USAFL.
By 2006, the league had grown to 40 affiliated clubs, making up 60 teams and 2,000 players, of which 1,048 were registered USAFL players and 340 USAFL sanctioned matches were played. Of the 709 players who competed at the USAFL National Championships, 77.4% were non-Australian, and over 60% were American.
The 2007 AFL International Census did not indicate any growth to these figures over 2006.
Many clubs, in the formative stages are looking for players in order to compete in the USAFL National Championships or field Metro
leagues.
The advent of the Internet has greatly facilitated the growth of the sport in the United States.
Australian rules has a nominal but growing international audience. According to Roy Morgan Polls 7,496,000 North Americans watch Australian rules football at least occasionally on television. This number is twice as many as watch the sport on television in Australia, but tiny by US standards.
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
is a team
Team sport
A team sport includes any sport which involves players working together towards a shared objective. A team sport is an activity in which a group of individuals, on the same team, work together to accomplish an ultimate goal which is usually to win. This can be done in a number of ways such as...
and spectator sport
Spectator sport
A spectator sport is a sport that is characterized by the presence of spectators, or watchers, at its matches. For instance, Tennis, Rugby, F-1, baseball, basketball, cricket, football , and ice hockey are spectator sports, while hunting or underwater hockey typically are not...
which has been played domestically in the United States since 1996.
There are several leagues around the country, a national championship and a national men's and women's teams.
History
The first mention of Australian rules football in the United States was an article in the New York Times featured "Australian Game of Football is the Best" on October 23, 1910, which mentioned a tour of Australia by the Columbia Park Boys' Club, a USA schoolboys side from San Francisco which played matches against teams from SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
.
A struggle to tour regularly between the two countries, especially after World War I and a general lack of exposure and the popularity of American Football in the states ensured that the game of Australian Football remained virtually unknown in the United States for many decades.
Emergence from obscurity
In 1947, games of AustusAustus
Austus is a sport which was started in Australia during World War II when U.S. soldiers wanted to play a form of football against the Australians...
, a compromise game between Gridiron
Gridiron football
Gridiron football , sometimes known as North American football, is an umbrella term for related codes of football primarily played in the United States and Canada. The predominant forms of gridiron football are American football and Canadian football...
and Australian rules were played in Australia between servicemen of both countries in the Australian city of Geelong. The visiting Americans were reported to be excited by the Australian game.
Exhibition matches
From the 1960s, several attempts were made to kickstart Australian rules interest in the United States.Between the 1960 and 1990s, Victorian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
exhibition matches
Australian rules football exhibition matches
Australian rules football has been introduced to a wide range of places around Australia and the world since the code originated in Victoria in 1859....
were played in major US cities.
| Year | Location | Stadium | Teams | Crowd |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | San Francisco San Francisco, California San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland... , California California California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area... |
vs. | 3,500 | |
| 1988 | Miami Miami, Florida Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625... , Florida Florida Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it... |
Joe Robbie Stadium | vs. | 7,500 |
| 1989 | Miami Miami, Florida Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625... , Florida Florida Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it... |
Joe Robbie Stadium | vs. | 10,069 |
| 1990 | Portland Portland, Oregon Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States... , Oregon Oregon Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern... |
Civic Stadium Civic Stadium Civic Stadium may refer to:* Civic Stadium in Eugene, OregonOther places formerly called Civic Stadium:* Oshawa Civic Auditorium in Oshawa, Ontario* Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton, Ontario* Jeld-Wen Field in Portland, Oregon... |
vs. | 14,787 |
| 2006 | Los Angeles Los Angeles, California Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California... , California California California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area... |
Intramural Field, UCLA | vs. | 3,200 |
In 1965, former Victorian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
player Colin Ridgeway
Colin Ridgeway
Colin Edwin Ridgway was an American football punter distinguished as being the first Australian to play in the National Football League.-Track and Field:...
was recruited by the Dallas Cowboys and played a total of 3 games as a punter. Although he became the first Australian to make such a transition but did not have much impact in the NFL.
1980s – television and ESPN
TelevisionTelevision
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
was the biggest breakthrough for Australian football in the United States.
In the 1980s, sports channel ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
began televising Australian Rules matches.
The first American born player in the AFL, Don Pyke
Don Pyke
Donald Lachlan Pyke is a former Australian rules football player, administrator and coach. He played for in the West Australian Football League and in the Australian Football League , and later served as senior coach at Claremont and assistant coach at...
(who moved to Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
in his youth) debuted for the West Coast Eagles
West Coast Eagles
The West Coast Eagles are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League. The club is based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and played its first games in the 1987 season. Its current home ground is Subiaco Oval...
in 1989 and later that year, the first African-American born player Sanford Wheeler
Sanford Wheeler
Sanford Wheeler is a former Australian rules football player for the Sydney Swans....
debuted for the Sydney Swans
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
.
1990s – punt into America
In 1995, Darren BennettDarren Bennett (footballer)
Darren Bennett is a former Australian rules football player and American football punter in the National Football League.As an Australian rules footballer, he played 12 seasons for two clubs...
– former Melbourne Football Club
Melbourne Football Club
The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....
player was recruited by the San Diego Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. He went on to become one of the most successful punters in the history of the NFL. His popularity as an ex-Australian also considerably increased the awareness of Australian Rules in the US, as excerpts of him kicking goals in the VFL were sometimes shown on American television. Since Bennett, other Australian rules players have followed, having a small effect of exposing the Australian game to Americans.
Against the flow, Essendon Football Club
Essendon Football Club
The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
coach Kevin Sheedy enticed former Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
player Dwayne Armstrong
Dwayne Armstrong
Dwayne Armstrong is a former sportsman who played American Football and Australian rules football.-College football career:Armstrong played college football for Iowa State in 1991 and 1992, lettering in both years.-Australian rules football:...
to switch codes to Australian rules. The experiment was largely unsuccessful, with Armstrong not debuting at senior level, but nevertheless created media interest in Australia about the possibility of American athletes playing the Australian game.
- See Also List of Australian rules to Gridiron Converts
First local games
The first match between two local US clubs was played in 1996 between Cincinnati and LouisvilleLouisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
.
In the first year the Mid American Australian Football League
Mid American Australian Football League
The MAAFL is a division of the United States Australian Football League and is a semi-professional Australian rules football competition based in the middle of the United States....
was formed.
Many of the local players had found out about the game in the 1980s on television and ESPN. Although the local game grew, ESPN no longer broadcast AFL matches, and in response the lobby group AFANA was formed.
In 1997, the first club national championships were held in Cincinnati. Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
hosted the first Australian Grand Final Festival in the same year. The United States Australian Football League
United States Australian Football League
The United States Australian Football League is the governing body for Australian rules football in the United States. It was conceived in 1996 and organized in 1997....
(USAFL) was formed in 1997 to govern the code in the country.
New millennium – international representation and steady growth
A national team, the Revolution, formed in 1999 to compete against nearby Canada in the 49th Parallel Cup49th Parallel Cup
The 49th Parallel Cup is an annual Australian rules football match between the USA and Canada.-History:In 1999, the first USA v Canada game was played 49th Parallel Cup...
and was for a time coached by AFL legend Paul Roos.
In the same year, a record crowd of 1,000 attended an MAAFL match between the Nashville Kangaroos and Chicago Swans at Nashville in Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
.
In 2001, the first college Australian rules club began in Vanderbilt University In the following years, several new clubs emerged in universities across the state, many of them affiliated with USAFL clubs.
The Revolution competed in the 2002 Australian Football International Cup
Australian Football International Cup
The Australian Football International Cup is an international sport competition in Australian rules football...
with an All-American side and finished fifth out of eleven countries.
In 2002, the Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
began to recognise the potential of the USA as a pool of talent and began providing a small amount of international funding to the USAFL. An offshoot was the US Footy Kids junior program, with strong similarities to AFL Auskick
Auskick
Auskick is a national program in Australia to develop and promote participation in Australian rules football by children. It has proven to be popular with both boys and girls....
.
In 2003, clear weather at a Nashville homegame against the St Louis Blues and Kangaroos saw the match set a new league crowd record.
In 2005, the Revolution attended the 2005 International Cup finishing third out of ten countries. The first College Invitational was also held that year, hosted by Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
and won by [University of North Carolina].
In 2005, the USAFL struck a deal with the ASTN television station for rights to the game, however although the station has filmed local matches, they have not been televised.
Also in that year, Ben Graham joined the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, bringing media exposure for the Australian sport. On a multi-million dollar NFL contract, Graham joined with the local New York Magpies club in fundraising activities.
In January 2006, an AFL promotional pre-season match was played in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
at UCLA between the Kangaroos
North Melbourne Football Club
The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world...
and league premiers the Sydney Swans
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
, it attracted a crowd of 3,200.
Saverio Rocca
Saverio Rocca
Saverio "Sav" Giovanni Rocca is a punter for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League and former Australian rules footballer for both and in the Australian Football League. He has also played for the Philadelphia Eagles.He is one of a few players who have converted from...
debuted in the NFL in 2007 as a punter, bringing media exposure for the Australian game.
Kevin Sheedy and Stephen Silvagni
Stephen Silvagni
Stephen Silvagni is a former Australian rules footballer for the Carlton Football Club.During his long VFL/AFL career, from his debut in 1985, until his retirement in 2001, he gained the reputation as one of the greatest ever full-backs to play the game and was named as full-back in the AFL Team...
visited in 2007 on a tour of North America as AFL ambassador, attending the USAFL Nationals.
The AFL returned to the ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
banner in 2009, with replays and occasional live matches, including the Grand Final, appearing on the ESPN360 internet service. Several home-and-away games, plus the Grand Final, also air live on ESPN2
ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
.
Notable Players in the VFL/AFL
- Don PykeDon PykeDonald Lachlan Pyke is a former Australian rules football player, administrator and coach. He played for in the West Australian Football League and in the Australian Football League , and later served as senior coach at Claremont and assistant coach at...
(West Coast EaglesWest Coast EaglesThe West Coast Eagles are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League. The club is based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and played its first games in the 1987 season. Its current home ground is Subiaco Oval...
1989–1996) - Sanford WheelerSanford WheelerSanford Wheeler is a former Australian rules football player for the Sydney Swans....
(Sydney SwansSydney SwansThe Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
1989–1994) - Dwayne ArmstrongDwayne ArmstrongDwayne Armstrong is a former sportsman who played American Football and Australian rules football.-College football career:Armstrong played college football for Iowa State in 1991 and 1992, lettering in both years.-Australian rules football:...
(EssendonEssendon Football ClubThe Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
reserves 1996) - Shae McNamaraSeamus McNamaraSeamus 'Shae' McNamara is an American born Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League .McNamara signed a two year international rookie contract and was selected by the Collingwood Football Club in the 2009 AFL Rookie Draft at pick #47.Collingwood discovered McNamara, who played...
(CollingwoodCollingwood Football ClubThe Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
International rookie 2009)
Governing body
The governing bodySport governing body
A sport governing body is a sports organization that has a regulatory or sanctioning function. Sport governing bodies come in various forms, and have a variety of regulatory functions. Examples of this can include disciplinary action for rule infractions and deciding on rule changes in the sport...
for Australian Rules in the United States is the USAFL.
Major tournaments
- USAFL National ChampionshipsUSAFL National ChampionshipsThe USAFL National Championships is a tournament for Australian rules football in the United States.Since 1997, the National Championships have been a large event featuring teams from the United States and Canada in four men's divisions and a women's division...
- Held 2nd weekend of October every year - 49th Parallel Cup49th Parallel CupThe 49th Parallel Cup is an annual Australian rules football match between the USA and Canada.-History:In 1999, the first USA v Canada game was played 49th Parallel Cup...
- Held each non-International Cup year, alternating between US & Canadian soil. - AFL International Cup - Held every 3 years, began 2002.
Participation
In 2004, there were 855 senior players in 38 active clubs.By 2006, the league had grown to 40 affiliated clubs, making up 60 teams and 2,000 players, of which 1,048 were registered USAFL players and 340 USAFL sanctioned matches were played. Of the 709 players who competed at the USAFL National Championships, 77.4% were non-Australian, and over 60% were American.
The 2007 AFL International Census did not indicate any growth to these figures over 2006.
Men's
- United States Australian Football LeagueUnited States Australian Football LeagueThe United States Australian Football League is the governing body for Australian rules football in the United States. It was conceived in 1996 and organized in 1997....
- Mid American Australian Football LeagueMid American Australian Football LeagueThe MAAFL is a division of the United States Australian Football League and is a semi-professional Australian rules football competition based in the middle of the United States....
(MAAFL) - North West Pacific Australian Football League
- Eastern Australian Football LeagueEastern Australian Football LeagueThe Eastern Australian Football League is an Australian rules football competition in the Eastern United States of America and a division of the United States Australian Football League.-History:...
- Golden Gate Australian Football League
- Mid American Australian Football League
Former leagues
- Many of the CAFL's clubs and former players still compete, either in the SCAFL or GGAFL. The SEAFL and NEAFL formed the EAFL.
- Californian Australian Football LeagueCalifornian Australian Football LeagueThe California Australian Football League was the first organized league of Australian rules football in the United States of America, and is in itself a member of the United States Australian Football League. Wayne Pollock served as the CAFL's first head...
- South East Australian Football LeagueSouth East Australian Football LeagueThe Southeastern Australian Football League was a division of the United States Australian Football League. The league formed in 2001, but disbanded after a few seasons, with North Carolina and Florida moving to the newly formed Eastern Australian Football League and Atlanta and Baton Rouge to the...
- North East Australian Football LeagueNorth East Australian Football LeagueThe North East Australian Football League is an Australian rules football league in New South Wales, Queensland, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory in Australia...
- Californian Australian Football League
College Aussie rules
- Arizona State University Australian rules football Club
- Belmont University Australian rules football Club
- Middle Tennessee State University Australian rules football Club
- North Carolina State University Australian rules football Club Official Site
- Ohio State University Australian rules football Club
- University of North Carolina Australian Rules Football ClubUniversity of North Carolina Australian Rules Football ClubThe University of North Carolina Australian Rules Football Club is an Australian rules football club that is a student organization at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The UNC Australian Rules Football Club is the oldest college Australian rules football club in the U.S...
- University Of Missouri Australian rules football Club
- University of South Florida Australian rules football Club Official Site
- University of Texas Australian rules football Club Official Site
- University Of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Australian rules football Club Official Site
- Vanderbilt University Australian rules football Club Official Site
Formation senior clubs
As yet, not all geographical regions in the US are represented by clubs.Many clubs, in the formative stages are looking for players in order to compete in the USAFL National Championships or field Metro
Metro Footy
Metro Footy is a modified version of Australian rules football rules played on gridiron football, rugby or Association football fields, predominantly in the United States of America...
leagues.
The advent of the Internet has greatly facilitated the growth of the sport in the United States.
| Cities | State | Club Name | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte CHARLOTTE - CHARLOTTE :CHARLOTTE is an American blues-based hard rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1986. Currently, they are signed to indie label, Eonian Records, under which they released their debut cd, Medusa Groove, in 2010. Notable Charlotte songs include 'Siren', 'Little Devils',... |
North Carolina North Carolina North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte... |
||
| Columbus Columbus, Ohio Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city... |
Ohio Ohio Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus... |
Columbus Light Horse Australian rules football Club | |
| Rhode Island Rhode Island The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area... /Connecticut Connecticut Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately... |
|||
| Billings Billings, Montana Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, and is the principal city of the Billings Metropolitan Area, the largest metropolitan area in over... |
Montana Montana Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,... |
Billings Bulldogs |
Television
Since 2006, due to growing demand and lobbying by the AFANA, Australian rules began playing live matches on television in the United States.Australian rules has a nominal but growing international audience. According to Roy Morgan Polls 7,496,000 North Americans watch Australian rules football at least occasionally on television. This number is twice as many as watch the sport on television in Australia, but tiny by US standards.
- USAFL – All Sports Television Network (ASTN)
- AFL – ESPN 360 www.espn360.com {contact local broadband internet service provider to subscribe} , MHz NetworksMHz NetworksMHz Networks is a Northern Virginia based independent, non-commercial educational broadcaster operated by Commonwealth Public Broadcasting Corporation. The legal broadcast callsigns for the two stations of MHz Networks are WNVC and WNVT...
Local competition
- 1,000 (2004). (Mid American Australian Football LeagueMid American Australian Football LeagueThe MAAFL is a division of the United States Australian Football League and is a semi-professional Australian rules football competition based in the middle of the United States....
). Nashville Kangaroos vs Chicago Swans – NashvilleNashville, TennesseeNashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, TennesseeTennesseeTennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
. (source MAAFL)
Exhibition matches
- 14,787 (1990). MelbourneMelbourne Football ClubThe Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....
v. West CoastWest Coast EaglesThe West Coast Eagles are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League. The club is based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and played its first games in the 1987 season. Its current home ground is Subiaco Oval...
(Civic StadiumPGE ParkJeld-Wen Field is an outdoor sports stadium located in Portland, Oregon, United States that is used primarily for soccer and American football...
, PortlandPortland, OregonPortland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
)