Published in the Telegraph-Journal on Thursday June 18, 2009
Appeared on Page B7

The new Atlantic Football League will begin its inaugural season on Sept. 26 at Chapman Field on the University of New Brunswick campus in Fredericton.

The UNB Fredericton Red Bombers are scheduled to host the UNB Saint John Seawolves that night at 7 p.m. The first game in the three-team loop will take place 30 years after the old Red Bombers university team began its final season before folding, said Seawolves president and general manager Barry Ogden.

Ogden believes the new circuit, which involves players between the ages of 18-24, could pave the way for a resurgence of football after high school, perhaps someday at the varsity level.

"In the late 1960s, there were 15 post-high-school football teams in the fall in the Maritimes. Many were associated with institutions like colleges or universities, some were associated with the military and some were more associated with the community," Ogden said. "There's only four university teams in the Maritimes now, so they've dropped from 15 to four."

Ogden said the league's goal is to provide a higher level for minor players to graduate to, and its growth potential is unlimited.

"Now we have hundreds of minor teams. "¦ In the 60s they didn't have the base to deal with, now we have that huge base," Ogden said. "When people say, 'Where are we going with this?' We might be going back to the past in terms of number of teams because there's communities that used to have teams post-high-school that didn't have any base, now they have the base and don't have anything after high school."

The third member of the league, based out of Moncton, begins its schedule Oct. 2 at Rocky Stone Memorial Field in Moncton, playing host to the Seawolves. Each team is scheduled to play a home-and-home against the other two teams, with the Seawolves playing home games at Millidgeville Field. The first-place finisher will earn a bye into the championship game on Nov. 21. The other teams will meet in a semifinal on Nov. 14.

Plans for the league were finalized at a meeting held earlier this week in Sussex. Pat O'Brien of Saint John was named commissioner while Larry Timms, also of Saint John, was named secretary-treasurer of the new AFL. Joining them on the board of governors are the representatives from each of the three teams: Larry Wisniewski and Terry McIntyre of the Red Bombers, Roger Collette and Dan Fougere out of Moncton and Ogden and Bill Todd representing the Seawolves. The league finalized a constitution at the meeting and drew up a schedule, which is subject to final approval pending availability of referees.

UNBSJ's other games will take place Oct. 24 at home against the Red Bombers and Nov. 7 at home against Moncton. Dave Grandy, who also coaches Saint John High School and the Saint John Wanderers of the Maritime Football League, will be head coach of the Seawolves and his assistants include Chris Hopkins, Derek Bury and Mark Gallagher. For further information contact Barry Ogden at bogden@nb.sympatico.ca.