Boğaziçi Sultans
Boğaziçi Sultans is Turkey's first American football team, founded in 1987 at the Boğaziçi University in Istanbul. Formerly named as Bogaziçi Elephants, the team improved their game by practicing with American soldiers, and played their first game against another Turkish team with "Istanbul Pistoflar" winning 28-0. The team's head coach is Erdem Özsalih. The team plays in the American Football First League of Turkey and American Football University League of Turkey.
The Sultans were followed by other university teams such as Hacettepe Red Deers, ITU Hornets, Marmara Sharks and METU Falcons after 1993.
Players from these teams founded many other teams all around Turkey. Sultans won many championships and played a leading role in the development of American football in Turkey. Boğaziçi University International Sports Fest was the only football tournament in Turkey for years.
In Turkey, American football was played without protective equipment until 2001. The first game with pads and helmets was played in Ankara in 2001, and the Boğaziçi Sultans defeated the Bilkent Judges 34-0.
A federation was founded in 2005 and Boğaziçi won the first official title by winning the league final against the Ege Dolphins 30-8 in a game played at İnönü Stadium of Beşiktaş in Kabataş, Istanbul.
The Sultans won the title again in the 2008-09 season, and attended EFAF Challenge Cup in 2010. In their first ever game against a foreign team, Boğaziçi Sultans defeated the Bucharest Warriors 61-0 in Bucharest, Romania.
After losing against Gazi Warriors in the final and in the semi-finals in two years, Sultans won two consecutive championships in 2013 against METU Falcons and in 2014 against Koç Rams. Sultans reached up to 4 official national championships, which is the record for the country.
In May 2014 Sultans attended the first IFAF Europe Champions League and lost the only played game 39-8 against the finalist Serbian team SBB Vukovi Beograd.
