CHEER UP! for Keio University American Football Club

*This project is a collaborative research project with students from Keio University SFC Campus.
The results of the project will also be used as research material for sports business courses.

What is CHEER UP!?

• CHEER UP! delivers your support to hard-working students through personal meetings.
• You can buy fish for a small amount.
• After the project is completed, all the collected sashiire will be delivered to the team in one go.

Sashii-recipes

" Morinaga & Co. Weider In Jelly (set of 5)　"
Manufacturer's suggested retail price 1 piece ¥231 (tax included) / 5 piece set ¥1,155 (tax included)

Meet our team

The Keio University Athletic Association's American Football Club, the UNICORNS, was first established as a club organization in 1935.

The team was founded by a total of 28 players, including Keiichi Funada (Harold Funada), a second-generation Japanese-American from the University of Hawaii, as coach and Koichi Kataoka as captain, including three second-generation Japanese-Americans (Mr. Nakagami, Mr. Imamura, and Mr. Takemura) who had played football in high school.

In 1934, Rikkyo, Waseda, and Meiji established their own teams, followed by Keio and Hosei the following year in 1935. In the fall of the same year, they joined the league and became part of the Tokyo Five Major Leagues.

In 1941, with the outbreak of the Pacific War, the use of the proper term "football" was prohibited and the name was changed to "gaikyuu" (armor ball), but the league matches continued. Keio UNICORNS' performance gradually improved, and they maintained second place until the fall of 1942.

From 1943 until the end of the war in 1945, the club was forced to suspend activities. However, in 1946, the club was allowed to join the Keio University Athletic Association, and in the year that activities resumed, the Keio UNICORNS achieved a great feat. Not only did they win the Tokyo Big Six League, but they also defeated Doshisha University 45-0 in the first Koshien Bowl (the East-West University Championship Game) to become the first student champions.

In 1948, they also faced Kansai University and won the championship again with a score of 14 to 7. They went on to win the Kanto region championship for two consecutive years, and participated in the Koshien Bowl, where they came in second. This feat, which came at a time when the team was in the midst of postwar reconstruction after losing many members in the war, has been passed down to future generations.

After 1965 , the team often finished in the middle of the league, but in 1988, 1989, 1990, and 1993, they advanced to the Kanto Championship four times in six years. However, they were one win away from returning to the Koshien Bowl, but they had to swallow their tears.

After that, the team's morale went downhill somewhat, and in 1999 the team finished in 6th place in the first division and lost in a relegation match against the National Defense Academy in the second division, resulting in the club being relegated to the second division for the first time in its history.

However, the team returned to the first division in the following year of 2000 with a perfect record, and in 2005 and 2006 they came in second in the first division and won the playoffs for two consecutive years, progressing to the Kanto Championship finals for the first time in 12 years.

The Keio University Athletic Association American Football Club has always been one of the top teams in the Kanto region. The UNICORNS is celebrating its 88th year since its founding this year, and with the support of many alumni, the team of about 150 active members is eager to participate in the Koshien Bowl, which has not been played since 1950.