The UWE Bullets are proud to announce that their current Head Coach Mathew Dyke has now got 53 regular season wins at the helm of the UWE Bullets. Coach Dyke took over the head coaching role with a heavy heart after Coach Jones lost his fight with cancer. He took the role through a straw poll decision to step in for the rest of that season. The plan was to then look for a new head coach at the end of the season. However Coach Dyke started fast with a much-focused team that was determined to ‘do coach proud’. They won all six remaining games, and only missed out on play-off football by a three way tie-breaker. After the success of the season and long off-season to try and decide what was best for the future of the team, the committee decided to re-offer the Head Coach position to Coach Dyke.

Coach Dyke took the role happily and was determined to build upon the great foundations that Coach Jones had put down. His aim was to finish the journey that his Coach had started and get the Bullets to the College Bowl. Coach Dyke achieved that in his fourth season as Head Coach. When asked about the National Title Coach Dyke said “This title is for Coach Jones. We all have been holding the rope from the day I met him. He was an amazing coach, and an amazing friend. I knew that he was looking down on us and smiling. He would have been very proud of how hard the Bullets worked to earn this title. It is something that can never be taken away from us. One day I WILL get back to the big show, but this victory is in the name of Coach Jones.”

During Coach Dyke’s eight completed seasons the UWE Bullets have won 5 conference titles, made the play-offs in every year except his first, and one national title. When asked about his time as the UWE Bullets Head Coach he commented “I am very proud to be the UWE Bullets Head Coach. I spent the first four years trying to make Coach proud of me and the team that he helped build. The national title was what Coach Jones dreamed of and we finally got there and won it all. Since then we have won many regular season games. This is due to my incredible coaching staff and focused committees. The coaching staff is one of the biggest and best in the country. Every year they continue to improve and push players to reach their own personal potential. This goes for first year true rookies up to final year veterans. Without their continual commitment and hard work we would not be where we are today. The committee have a very hard job and even though over the years the different players have made mistakes in their roles, they always had the Bullets’ success in their minds. We have had some serious bumps in the road during my time as head coach, but the work ethic and commitment from the coaches, players, committees, alumni, and support staff will mean we have many wins to come!”

The UWE Bullets are currently working their way through their 9th season under Coach Dyke and are sitting unbeaten at 6 & 0. Their next game is the Varsity Match up against Bristol University on February 12th at Beggars Bush, Clifton, with a 3pm kick off. The event is free and will have live commentary, half time entertainment, as well as a licensed bar and hot food for sale.