2015 State of the Union Address, Address contents and delivery
In general terms, President Obama referenced the country's many struggles over the past fifteen years and argued that the nation seemed primed to "turn the page". The address focused on the improved American economic situation and the fight against terrorism, especially the threat of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Obama called for community college to be made free, proposed a new tax on Wall Street companies, and announced that he would issue an executive order to guarantee workers up to seven days of paid sick leave. The President described the nation's drive as "strong" and stated, "Tonight, after a breakthrough year for America, our economy is growing and creating jobs at the fastest pace since 1999. Our unemployment rate is now lower than it was before the financial crisis."


2015 State of the Union Address, Address contents and delivery
In keeping with prior statements by the Obama administration on foreign policy, the President also remarked that the U.S. had good reason to stand up to what it saw as Russian belligerence towards Ukraine. The President specifically called for "upholding the principle that bigger nations can't bully the small." He also reiterated his belief in the idea of American exceptionalism.


2015 State of the Union Address, Address contents and delivery
In a memorable moment, President Obama deviated from the official text after applause from Republicans following his statement that he had "no more campaigns to run." Obama then added "I know, because I won both of them."


2015 State of the Union Address, Address contents and delivery
With the speech delivered less than two weeks following the Charlie Hebdo shooting, many members of Congress held pencils during the speech to show their support for freedom of the press as well as to express their sympathy with the victims of the attack.


2015 State of the Union Address, Address contents and delivery
Obama became the first president to use the words "lesbian", "gay", "bisexual", and "transgender" in a State of the Union Address, when addressing the need to protect the human rights of religious, sexual and gender minorities.


2015 State of the Union Address, Reactions, United States
Newly elected U. S. Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa gave the official Republican response in English to the State of the Union address, with Representative Carlos Curbelo of Florida giving the official Republican Spanish-language response. The English and Spanish responses differed in that the Spanish response talked about immigration issues, whereas the English response did not. In addition to the official Republican responses, Representative Curt Clawson of Florida, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, and Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky all gave their own televised responses.


2015 State of the Union Address, Reactions, United States
Obama's televised address was viewed by 33 million Americans, making it the lowest number in recent history.


2015 State of the Union Address, Reactions, International
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Obama's speech indicated plans for world domination and displayed goading behavior. "The Americans have chosen a path toward confrontation, and do not evaluate their own steps critically at all", Lavrov added.


2015 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks football team
The 2015 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks football team represented Stephen F. Austin State University in the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Lumberjacks were led by second-year head coach Clint Conque and played their home games at Homer Bryce Stadium. They were members of the Southland Conference.


2015 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks football team, Previous season
The Lumberjacks finished the season 8–5 overall and 5–3 in conference play. They lost their first round playoff game against Northern Iowa 10–44.


2015 Stetson Hatters football team
The 2015 Stetson Hatters football team represented Stetson University during the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by third-year head coach Roger Hughes and played their home games at Spec Martin Stadium. They were a member of the Pioneer Football League. They finished the season 3–8, 1–7 in PFL play to finish in a three-way tie for eighth place.


2015 Stevenage Borough Council election
The by-thirds 2015 Stevenage Borough Council election was held on 7 May 2015 to elect one third (thirteen) of the members (councillors) of the council, one for each ward, as part of the 2015 United Kingdom local elections held simultaneously with the 2015 General Election. The up for election were last contested in 2011. The Labour Party retained control of the council, which it had held continuously since 1973.


2015 Stevenage Borough Council election, Results
In the previous result the changes were that Labour party candidates gained two Conservative-held seats and a Liberal Democrat took a Labour councillor-held seat. As shown in the 2012 table this meant the total of councillors stood as 31, 4 and 4 for these party groups, the governing group being that of Labour councillors. This election saw three seats in that group convert to the now largest formal opposition group of councillors, local Conservatives.


2015 Stjarnan season
The 2015 season was Stjarnan's 13th season in Úrvalsdeild and their 7th consecutive season.


2015 Stjarnan season
Rúnar Páll Sigmundsson head coached the team for the second season running. He was assisted by Brynjar Björn Gunnarsson.


2015 Stjarnan season
Stjarnan came into the season as league champions after winning their first league title in 2014, going unbeaten in the league.


2015 Stjarnan season
Along with Úrvalsdeild, Stjarnan competed in the Meistarakeppni KSÍ, the Lengjubikarinn, the Borgunarbikarinn and the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League Second qualifying round for the first time in the club's history.


2015 Stjarnan season
On 27 April Stjarnan won KR 1–0 in the Meistarakeppni KSÍ, an annual match between previous league winners and previous Icelandic cup winners.


2015 Stjarnan season, First team
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2015 Stjarnan season, Preseason, Fótbolti.net Cup
Stjarnan took part in the 2015 Fótbolti.net Cup, a pre-season tournament for clubs outside of Reykjavík.


2015 Stjarnan season, Preseason, Fótbolti.net Cup
The team played in Group 2 along with ÍBV, Grindavík and Keflavík. Stjarnan topped the group with 6 points after wins against ÍBV and Grindavík.


2015 Stjarnan season, Preseason, Fótbolti.net Cup
As winners of Group 2 Stjarnan went straight to the finals where they met Breiðablik. The game ended 2–1 for Breiðablik with Veigar Páll scoring Stjarnan's only goal.


2015 Stjarnan season, Lengjubikarinn
Stjarnan played in Group 3 in the Icelandic league cup, Lengjubikarinn along with ÍA, Valur, Grindavík, Keflavík, Fjarðabyggð, Haukar and Þór.


2015 Stjarnan season, Lengjubikarinn
After a draw against Valur and a defeat against ÍA in the first two rounds Stjarnan won their remaining five games and finished in 3rd place with 16 points. Stjarnan went through to the quarter-finals as the 3rd place team with the most points but they had already announced their withdrawal from the quarter-finals.


2015 Stjarnan season, Meistarakeppni KSÍ
Stjarnan played the 2014 Borgunarbikarinn winners KR in the Meistarakeppni KSÍ, an annual match contested between the champions of the previous Úrvalsdeild season and the holders of the Borgunarbikarinn on 27 April 2015.


2015 Stjarnan season, Meistarakeppni KSÍ
Stjarnan won the game 1–0 with Þórhallur Kári Knútsson scoring the winning goal in the 82nd minute.


2015 Stjarnan season, Borgunarbikarinn
Stjarnan came into the Icelandic cup, Borgunarbikarinn, in the 32nd-finals and were drawn against Leiknir Reykjavík. Stjarnan won the game after penalties. The game had ended 1–1. In the 16th-finals the team was drawn against Fylkir. Stjarnan played poorly and lost the game 3–0.


2015 Stjarnan season, Champions League
Stjarnan came into the 2015-16 UEFA Champions League in the 2nd qualifying round.


2015 Stjarnan season, Champions League
On 7 July it was confirmed that Stjarnan would play Celtic in the second qualifying round for the 2015-16 UEFA Champions League. Celtic F.C. won the first leg at home 2–0 after dominating for most of the game. In the second leg Stjarnan started well and scored a goal in the 7th minute through Ólafur Karl giving them a glimmer of hope in the tie but Celtic equalised on the 33rd minute and scored three more goals in the game winning the tie 6–1.


2015 Stjarnan season, Statistics, Appearances
Includes all competitive matches. Numbers in parentheses are sub appearances


2015 Stjarnan season, Statistics, Squad stats
Includes all competitive matches; Úrvalsdeild, Borgunarbikar, Lengjubikar, Meistarakeppni KSÍ and UEFA Champions League.


2015 Stock Car Brasil season
The 2015 Circuito Schin Stock Car Brasil season was the thirty-seventh season of the Stock Car Brasil. The season began at the Goiânia in March and ended at the Interlagos in December. The 2015 Stock Car Brasil consists of four main support championships which support the championship at almost every round, along with several smaller championships supporting one or two events. Marcos Gomes was the champion of the season.


2015 Stock Car Brasil season, Race calendar and results
The provisional 2015 schedule was announced on 18 November 2014. The seventh edition of the Schin Million was held on August 16 in Goiânia; the season will be contested over twenty-one races at twelve rounds, with the first round – also to be held in Goiânia – being contested by two-driver entries with wildcard drivers. The Ribeirão Preto street circuit will return to the series after one year off the schedule, and will be held in April. Later in the season, it was announced that the race on the Salvador street circuit was to be replaced by a race  at Curitiba. All races were held in Brazil.


2015 Stock Car Brasil season, Championship standings
Points were awarded for each race at an event, to the driver/s of a car that completed at least 75% of the race distance and was running at the completion of the race, up to a maximum of 48 points per event.


2015 Stock Car Brasil season, Championship standings, Drivers' Championship
Bold – Pole positionItalics – Fastest lap† – Retired, but classified


2015 Stockholm Open
The 2015 Stockholm Open (also known as the 2015 If Stockholm Open for sponsorship reasons) was a professional men's tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 47th edition of the tournament, and part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2015 ATP World Tour. It took place at the Kungliga tennishallen in Stockholm, Sweden from 20 to 25 October 2015.


2015 Stockholm Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2015 Stockholm Open, Doubles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following pairs received wildcards into the doubles main draw:


2015 Stockholm Open – Doubles
Eric Butorac and Raven Klaasen were the defending champions, but Klaasen chose not to participate. Butorac played alongside Scott Lipsky, but lost in the semifinals to Nicholas Monroe and Jack Sock.


2015 Stockholm Open – Doubles
Nicholas Monroe and Jack Sock went on to win the title, defeating Mate Pavić and Michael Venus in the final, 7–5, 6–2


2015 Stockholm Open – Singles
Tomáš Berdych was the defending champion and successfully defended his title, defeating Jack Sock in the final, 7–6(7–1), 6–2.


2015 Stockholm Open – Singles, Seeds
The top four seeds received a bye into the second round.


2015 Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council election
The 2015 Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 7 May 2015 to elect members of Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections and the UK General Election. Stockport Council is elected in thirds which means that in each three member local ward, one councillor is elected every year, except every four years which is classed as fallow year. The last fallow year was 2013, when no local government elections took place in the borough. Those councillors elected with serve a four-year term expiring in 2019.


2015 Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council election
Following the elections, the Lib Dem minority administration was able to continue in office.


2015 Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council election, Election results by ward
Asterix indicates incumbent in the Ward, and Bold names highlight winning candidate.


2015 Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council election, Election results by ward, Bramhall South & Woodford
Paul Bellis was previously the Conservative Party councillor for Bramhall South & Woodford.


2015 Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council election, Election results by ward, Hazel Grove
William Wragg was the incumbent however he instead contested the Hazel Grove Constituency for the Conservative Party.


2015 Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council election, Election results by ward, Manor
Patrick McAuley left the Lib Dems in April 2016 to become an Independent politician.


2015 Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council election, Council make up
After the 2015 local election, the  political make up of the council was as follows:


2015 Stockton Challenger
The 2015 Stockton Challenger was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the first edition of the tournament and part of the 2015 ITF Women's Circuit, offering a total of $50,000 in prize money. It took place in Stockton, California, United States, on 13–19 June 2015.


2015 Stockton Challenger, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2015 Stockton Challenger – Doubles
This was a new event in the ITF Women's Circuit in 2015.


2015 Stockton Challenger – Doubles
Jamie Loeb and Sanaz Marand won the title, defeating Kaitlyn Christian and Danielle Lao in an all-American final, 6–3, 6–4.


2015 Stockton Challenger – Singles
This was a new event to the ITF Women's Circuit in 2015.


2015 Stockton Challenger – Singles
Nao Hibino won the title, defeating An-Sophie Mestach in the final, 6–1, 7–6(8–6).


2015 Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council election
The 2015 Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council election took place on 7 May 2015 to elect members of the Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council in England. It was held on the same day as other local elections.


2015 Stoke-on-Trent City Council election
The 2015 Stoke-on-Trent City Council election took place on 7 May 2015 to elect members of Stoke-on-Trent City Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections and the general election.


2015 Stoke-on-Trent City Council election, Election result
After the election, results were as follows: Labour 21, Independent 14, Conservative 7, UKIP 2. The Labour Party lost 14 seats, with gains for the Conservatives, Independent candidates and UKIP.


2015 Stony Brook Seawolves football team
The 2015 Stony Brook Seawolves football team represented Stony Brook University in the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Seawolves competed as third year members of the Colonial Athletic Association with Chuck Priore as the head coach for his tenth season. They played their home games at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium in Stony Brook, New York. They finished the season 5–5, 3–5 in CAA play to finish in a four-way tie for seventh place.


2015 Stony Brook Seawolves football team, Game summaries, at Toledo
This game was suspended just before the start of the second half due to thunderstorms. It had been delayed three times due to lightning. The Rockets wanted to finish the game the next day, but this would have forced Stony Brook to miss its chartered flight and take an 11-hour bus ride back to Long Island. Stony Brook officials felt this was an unacceptable risk to their players' safety. There was no room in the schedule to finish the game, and it was officially declared "no contest."


2015 Strade Bianche
The 2015 Strade Bianche was the ninth edition of the Strade Bianche road cycling race. Held on 7 March 2015, it started in San Gimignano and ended 200 kilometres (124 miles) away in Siena. It was a 1.HC-ranked race that was part of the 2015 UCI Europe Tour.


2015 Strade Bianche
Particularly known for its long sections of dirt roads, the race's name comes from the strade bianche (English: white roads) that formed large sections of the route. The race was also hilly throughout, with the finish coming after a particularly difficult climb into Siena.


2015 Strade Bianche
Traditionally the Strade Bianche was the first of a pair of races alongside the Roma Maxima; the latter event, however, was cancelled in 2015 due to "organisational problems".


2015 Strade Bianche
The race was won by Zdeněk Štybar, with Greg Van Avermaet finishing second and Alejandro Valverde finishing third.


2015 Strade Bianche, Route
The Strade Bianche was part of the spring classics season, which began the week before with the Belgian races Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne. Many of the same riders then travelled to Tuscany to take part in the Strade Bianche.


2015 Strade Bianche, Route
The race was unique in the cycling season. Many of the early season races included the cobbles of Flanders and northern France; the Strade Bianche, however, included various extended sections of strade bianche, the dirt roads that gave the race its name. These were often farm tracks and included both climbs and descents, as well as various additional challenges such as uneven surfaces, steep grades, and potholes; the longest such section covered a distance of 11.5 kilometres (7.1 miles). There were ten sections of strade bianche, with the last coming 12 kilometres (7 miles) from the finish in Siena. The race was often decided, however, on the final climb. This came in the final part of the race: a 1-kilometre (0.6-mile) climb into Siena, followed by a descent into the finish in the Piazza del Campo.


2015 Strade Bianche, Pre-race favourites
The previous year's champion, Michał Kwiatkowski (Etixx–Quick-Step), was not selected for the 2015 race; he participated in Paris–Nice, which started the following day. The runner up from 2014, Peter Sagan (Tinkoff–Saxo) was one of the favourites for the event. Another was Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing), who had won the race in 2008 and 2012.


2015 Strade Bianche, Pre-race favourites
Other riders with a chance at winning the race included Vincenzo Nibali (Astana), Rigoberto Urán, Zdeněk Štybar (both Etixx–Quick-Step), Simon Gerrans (Orica–GreenEDGE), Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team), Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing Team) and Ian Stannard (Team Sky).


2015 Strade Bianche, Teams
20 teams were selected to take part in the race. 14 of them were UCI WorldTeams and the remaining six were UCI Professional Continental teams.


2015 Strade Bianche, Report
An early breakaway was formed by Stefano Pirazzi (Bardiani–CSF), Giacomo Berlato and Daniele Colli (both Nippo–Vini Fantini), Giuseppe Fonzi (Southeast Pro Cycling), Artem Ovechkin (RusVelo), David Lozano (Team Novo Nordisk), Julián Arredondo (Trek Factory Racing) and Ilia Koshevoy (Lampre–Merida). This move was ended by attacks from the peloton behind on the Monte Sante Marie, which led to the formation of a new group of riders, including favourites for the race win Fabian Cancellara, Zdeněk Štybar, Alejandro Valverde, Greg Van Avermaet and Peter Sagan.


2015 Strade Bianche, Report
This group earned a large lead, and attacks in the remaining kilometres reduced the race to three main groups. The first of these included Valverde, Van Avermaet and Stybar. Sep Vanmarcke (LottoNL–Jumbo) was chasing alone behind them, with another group of Cancellara, Diego Rosa (Astana) and Daniel Oss (BMC Racing Team) behind.


2015 Strade Bianche, Report
Coming into the final climb, Valverde was the favourite from the leading group, as he was seen as the best climber of the three, and the final climb into Siena was difficult. Valverde, however, had put significant effort into keeping the leading group clear of the chasers, and he was unable to respond to an attack from Van Avermaet at the bottom of the climb. Stybar held Van Avermaet's wheel and was able to pass him as the riders entered the Piazza del Campo to take the race win. Van Avermaet was second and Valverde third, with Vanmarcke holding on alone for fourth place.


2015 Strade Bianche Women
The 2015 Strade Bianche was the first running of the Strade Bianche Donne, a one-day women's cycling race in Italy that was held on 7 March 2015. The race started in San Gimignano and finished on Siena's Piazza del Campo and was run entirely in the province of Siena, in the Chianti region of Tuscany. The inaugural edition was spun off the men's event, which started in 2007, and had a UCI rating of 1.1.


2015 Strade Bianche Women
The event was won by American Megan Guarnier after distancing her team mate Lizzie Armitstead and Italian Elisa Longo Borghini during the final stretches of the race. Like the men's race, the women's race featured five gravel sectors, totalling 17 kilometres (11 miles).


2015 Stratford-on-Avon District Council election
The 2015 Stratford-on-Avon District Council election took place on 7 May 2015 to elect members of the Stratford-on-Avon District Council in England. It was held on the same day as other local elections.


2015 Stratford-on-Avon District Council election
The 2015 election took place on new boundaries, and the electoral cycle was changed from one-third of councillors elected each year, to whole council elections every four years.


2015 Stroud District Council election
The 2015 Stroud District Council election took place on 7 May 2015 to elect members of the Stroud District Council in England. It was held on the same day as other local elections.


2015 Strømsgodset Toppfotball season
The 2015 season was Strømsgodset's 9th season in Tippeligaen following their promotion back to the top flight in 2006.


2015 Strømsgodset Toppfotball season
David Nielsen started the season as the manager, but was sacked after league round 10, having only secured 12 points. He was replaced by assistant manager Bjørn Petter Ingebretsen on 26 May 2015. Ingebretsen achieved immediate success, and took the team from 9th to 2nd after a 20-match run that secured 45 points.


2015 Strømsgodset Toppfotball season
In the cup they were knocked out by 2. Divisjon side Kvik Halden on a penalty shootout in the third round. In the UEFA Europa League qualifications, they eliminated FK Partizani and FK Mladá Boleslav in the 1st and 2nd qualifying rounds, but lost 0–4 on aggregate versus Hajduk Split in the third qualifying round.


2015 Strømsgodset Toppfotball season, Review and events, Pre-season transfers
Three important players left in the winter transfer window, as well as several players who had been on loan spells.


2015 Strømsgodset Toppfotball season, Review and events, Pre-season transfers
Former Ghana international Adam Larsen Kwarasey, who had been in the club since 2007, and was the first choice goalkeeper for the last five seasons, signed for Major League Soccer club Portland Timbers after his contract expired. He was replaced by the experienced former Norway international Espen Bugge Pettersen, who had become back-up goalkeeper at Molde in the two previous seasons.


2015 Strømsgodset Toppfotball season, Review and events, Pre-season transfers
In defence, former Norway international Jarl André Storbæk, who had arrived mid-season in 2012 and been crucial to the title win in 2013, left the club after his contract expired, to become playing assistant manager for Nybergsund. He was replaced by French left back Florent Hanin, who had been released by Lierse.


2015 Strømsgodset Toppfotball season, Review and events, Pre-season transfers
Most importantly, the hugely talented 16-year-old Norway international Martin Ødegaard was sold to Real Madrid for the record selling fee of 35 million NOK (which could rise to 70 million NOK).


2015 Strømsgodset Toppfotball season, Review and events, Pre-season
Strømsgodset went on two training tours abroad. On 30 January, they played 0–0 in a Copa X match vs Dinamo Zagreb at La Manga, Murcia. On 6 February, they won 3–1 against Hammarby in the same cup and location.


2015 Strømsgodset Toppfotball season, Review and events, Pre-season
Next, the team moved to Belek, Turkey, where they played three friendlies. They won 2–1 against CSKA Sofia on 15 February, lost 0–1 to Spartak Moscow on 21 February  and lost 1–3 to Torpedo Moscow on 25 February.


2015 Strømsgodset Toppfotball season, Review and events, Pre-season
In March, Strømsgodset played four friendlies on home soil against Norwegian teams. They lost 3–5 in an away match against Odd at Skagerak Arena on 6 March, having trailed 1–5 at half-time. On 14 March, they won 3–0 at home to newly promoted Sandefjord, and repeated the score against Vålerenga one week later, when Iver Fossum scored a hattrick. Their final pre-season friendly was a 2–1 away win at Lillestrøm.


2015 Strømsgodset Toppfotball season, Review and events, Season, League
Strømsgodset had a difficult start of the season, with away games at four of the best teams from the 2014 Tippeligaen in the first five away matches. They also hosted the long-awaited derby vs rivals Mjøndalen IF in the first home game. After just one win in the first six rounds, Strømsgodset was at 13th place in the league. After two home wins and two away losses, manager David Nielsen was fired from his job, and assistant Bjørn Petter Ingebretsen, also known as «BP», was hired as interim manager for the remainder of the season.


2015 Strømsgodset Toppfotball season, Review and events, Season, League
Ingebretsen had more luck, and the team won five of their next six matches in the league, rising to 6th position in the table after half the season had been played. The team went undefeated for the eleven final games of the season, and secured the silver medals.


2015 Strømsgodset Toppfotball season, Review and events, Season, Norwegian Cup
In the cup, Strømsgodset easily won the First and Second Round matches against FK Tønsberg and Kjelsås Fotball, 5–0 and 4–0, respectively. After a goalless draw in the Third Round, Strømsgodset were surprisingly eliminated by Kvik Halden on a 2-4 penalty shootout. The latter club thus won its third match on penalties, and advanced to the Fourth Round, whereas Strømsgodset yet again failed to advance from the Third Round.


2015 Strømsgodset Toppfotball season, Review and events, Season, Europe
Through their 4th place in 2014 Tippeligaen, Strømsgodset had secured a spot in the first qualifying round of the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League. On 22 June 2015, Strømsgodset was drawn against Albanian club FK Partizani Tirana, who had qualified through their 3rd place in the 2014–15 Albanian Superliga. The original draw had the Albanians playing at home first, but this was reversed by UEFA due to security reasons. The first leg, played at home on 2 July, ended with a 3–1 win to Strømsgodset. The second leg ended with a 1–0 win for Strømsgodset, after a late goal by Petter Vaagan Moen.


2015 Strømsgodset Toppfotball season, Review and events, Season, Europe
FK Mladá Boleslav awaited in the 2nd qualifying round. After a 2–1 win away, the 0–1 home defeat meant that Strømsgodset advanced to the third round on the away goals rule. They faced Hajduk Split, but were eliminated win 0–2 defeats both away and home.


2015 Strømsgodset Toppfotball season, Transfers, Winter
In:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2015 Strømsgodset Toppfotball season, Transfers, Winter
Out:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2015 Strømsgodset Toppfotball season, Transfers, Summer
In:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2015 Strømsgodset Toppfotball season, Transfers, Summer
Out:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2015 Strømsgodset Toppfotball season, Team kit
The official kit manufacturer for Strømsgodset is Diadora. This is the final year of the five-year-deal from 2011. The home shirt is deep blue, while the shorts and socks are white. The away kit has the reverse colours, with a white shirt and deep blue shorts and socks.


2015 Strømsgodset Toppfotball season, Team kit
The main sponsor since June 2014 is the nationwide bank DNB in June.


2015 Studénka train crash
On 22 July 2015 at 7:43 AM, a passenger train on its way from Bohumín to Františkovy Lázně collided with a truck on a rail crossing in Studénka, Czech Republic. Three passengers died and seventeen others were injured. It was the deadliest train disaster in the Czech Republic since 2008, when a road bridge under construction collapsed just in front of an approaching train on the same track, two kilometres ahead of the 2015 crash site.


2015 Studénka train crash, Incident
On 22 July 2015, a person of Polish nationality was driving from Poland to Hungary with a load of aluminium plates. The driver chose a time-consuming route on local roads in order to save money on highway tolls. The driver drove through a rail crossing near the Studénka train station. The crossing was protected by warning signals and gates, and the driver entered the crossing when the red lights accompanied by acoustic signal. The driver drove into the crossing despite warnings and as the gates went down, he stopped the truck on the tracks.


2015 Studénka train crash, Incident
Instead of ramming through the gate, which is constructed so as to allow even a motorbike to penetrate the barrier and automatically sends a stop signal to all approaching trains if breached, the driver moved the truck only a few metres forward in order to avoid a direct impact to its cab, with its trailer carrying aluminium sheets remaining on the track. After a few seconds, train SC 512 Pendolino emerged from the curve leading to the crossing at 160 km/h (99 mph).


2015 Studénka train crash, Incident
The train driver pulled the emergency brake, managing to slow the train to 142 km/h (88 mph) at the moment of impact. The train came to a halt halfway along the Studénka railway station, about 500 metres (1,600 ft) from the point of impact, pushing ahead and completely destroying the truck's chassis and trailer, while the truck's cab was chopped off and fell on the ground as a whole with minimum damage. The trailer, as it was pushed by the train, inflicted major damage to the station platform, with projectile debris injuring six people at the station.


2015 Studénka train crash, Incident
Two passengers sitting in the front carriage were killed instantly, while the train driver lost his leg and sustained further serious injuries, including to his spine, as more than three tons of metal sheets smashed through the driver's cabin and into the passenger compartment. Another twelve people were injured inside the train, one of them fatally.


2015 Studénka train crash, Aftermath
The truck driver, completely unharmed in the crash, was detained by Czech police. He was charged with public endangerment, which carries a penalty of five to ten years' imprisonment, and ordered into pre-trial custody by the court.


2015 Studénka train crash, Aftermath
In February 2016 the County Court in Nový Jičín sentenced the driver to 8+1⁄2 years in prison, and banned him from driving on Czech territory until 2026.


2015 Styrian state election
The 2015 Styrian state election was held on 31 May 2015 to elect the members of the Landtag of Styria.


2015 Styrian state election
The election saw major losses for the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) and Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), the two major parties, matched by huge gains for the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ). The SPÖ finished first on 29.3% and 15 seats, just ahead of the ÖVP's 28.5% and 14 seats. The FPÖ placed a close third with 26.8%, and tied the ÖVP in seats.


2015 Styrian state election
Governor Franz Voves resigned after the election. The SPÖ and ÖVP renewed their coalition government, but during negotiations, it was unexpectedly announced that ÖVP leader Hermann Schützenhöfer would become Governor, despite his party being the smaller of the two. The SPÖ claimed it was a necessary concession to prevent an ÖVP–FPÖ coalition; nonetheless, the announcement caused significant controversy. Schützenhöfer was sworn in on 15 June.


2015 Styrian state election, Background
After the 2010 election, the SPÖ won a narrow victory over the ÖVP, and the two parties formed a coalition government.


2015 Styrian state election, Background
Prior to amendments made in 2011, the Styrian constitution mandated that cabinet positions in the state government be allocated between parties proportionally in accordance with the share of votes won by each; this is known as Proporz. As such, the government was a perpetual coalition of all parties that qualified for at least one cabinet position. In November 2011, the Landtag voted to amend the constitution to remove this requirement. As such, the 2015 election was the first in post-war Styrian history in which conventional coalition formation could take place.


2015 Styrian state election, Electoral system
The 48 seats of the Landtag of Styria are elected via open list proportional representation in a two-step process. 38 of the seats are distributed between four multi-member constituencies. For parties to receive any representation in the Landtag, they must win at least one seat in a constituency directly. Seats are distributed in constituencies according to the Hare quota, with ten leveling seats allocated using the D'Hondt method at the state level, to ensure overall proportionality between a party's vote share and its share of seats.


2015 Styrian state election, Contesting parties
In addition to the parties already represented in the Landtag, three parties collected enough signatures to be placed on the ballot:


2015 Styrian state election, Aftermath
Prior to the election, Governor Franz Voves stated he would resign if the SPÖ fell below 30% of vote share. As the party fell short of this target, albeit by less than one percentage points, Voves announced his resignation. He was replaced as party leader by Michael Schickhöfer. Formal coalition talks between the SPÖ and ÖVP proceeded. As the SPÖ was the larger party, it was naturally expected that they would retain the governorship. However, after several days of negotiations, the government announced that Voves would be succeeded by ÖVP leader Hermann Schützenhöfer. This was received poorly by opposition parties and the federal SPÖ alike, who criticised it as a breach of political convention. The Styrian SPÖ claimed it had been done to prevent the ÖVP from defecting and forming a coalition with the FPÖ. The government took office on 16 June.


2015 Sudan Premier League
The 2015 Sudan Premier League is the 44th season of top-tier football in Sudan. The season began play on 26 January 2015. Al Hilal Omdurman are the defending champions, having won their 28th championship, more than the rest of the clubs in the league combined.


2015 Sudan Premier League
The league comprises 15 teams, the bottom three of which will be relegated to regional leagues for 2016, while the next lowest team will compete in a playoff with a regional league team for a spot in the 2016 Sudan Premier League.


2015 Sudan Premier League, Teams
A total of 15 teams will contest the league, including 12 sides from the 2014 season and four promoted from the regional leagues as the Sudan Premier League expanded to 15 teams this season. The four newcomers from the regional leagues are Al Ahli Wad Medani, Al Merghani, Hilal Obayed and Merikh Kosti.


2015 Sudan Premier League, Teams
El-Ahli Atbara, Al Nil and Al Ittihad were the last three teams of the 2014 season and will play in the regional leagues for the 2015 season. Al Hilal Omdurman are the defending champions from the 2014 season.


2015 Sudanese general election
General elections were held in Sudan on 13–16 April 2015 to elect the President and the National Assembly. They were originally scheduled for 2 April, but were delayed by eleven days. These were the first elections to be held following the secession of South Sudan.


2015 Sudanese general election
Incumbent President Omar al-Bashir won the presidential election by a landslide, amid a boycott from the majority of the opposition. The ruling National Congress of Sudan also won a majority in the 426 seat National Assembly.


2015 Sudanese general election, Electoral system
The President was elected using the two-round system; if no candidate gained a majority of the vote in the first round, a run-off would have been held.


2015 Sudanese general election, Electoral system
The 426 members of the National Assembly were elected by three methods; half were elected by majority voting in multi-member constituencies based on the 18 states and containing between two and 36 seats. 128 seats were reserved for women and elected by closed list proportional representation in a single national constituency, whilst a further 85 unreserved seats were elected by the same system.


2015 Sudanese general election, Conduct, Campaign
Incumbent President Omar al-Bashir was re-selected as the presidential candidate of the National Congress (NCP) in October 2014. Fifteen other candidates registered to contest the elections, although they are relatively unknown.


2015 Sudanese general election, Conduct, Campaign
The majority of opposition parties were boycotting the elections, although a total of 44 parties put forward candidates. However, the ruling NCP opted not to field candidates in 30% of constituencies in order to allow other parties to win seats.


2015 Sudanese general election, Conduct, Observers
Election observer missions (EOM) were deployed from the African Union (AU), Arab League, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC); as well as from China, Russia and Turkey.


2015 Sudanese general election, Conduct, Observers
The African Union's EOM was led by former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo. The AUEOM was "satisfied that voting went on peacefully" and noted that the country "still faces serious challenges to democracy building and national reconciliation". It concluded that the "results.. would reflect the expression of the will of the voters of Sudan".


2015 Sudanese general election, Conduct, Observers
COMESA EOM noted that the "general environment within which the general elections were organized ha[d] remarkably been peaceful" and commended the Sudanese people. It also noted with concern that the "general elections were boycotted by several opposition political parties".


2015 Sudanese general election, Reactions
On 9 April 2015, the European Union said that there was a "lack of a conducive environment for the upcoming elections" and that it was  disappointed that the Sudanese government missed an opportunity "by not responding to the efforts by the African Union to bring all stakeholders together."


2015 Sudanese general election, Reactions
On 20 April 2015; Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States issued a joint statement saying that the Sudanese Government failed "to create a free, fair, and conducive elections environment" and that the "outcome of these elections cannot be considered a credible expression of the will of the Sudanese people". Following this statement, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry summoned the ambassadors from these countries and condemned the statement as "erroneous information and prejudgment of the elections"; and also deemed it as "flagrant intervention in Sudan's internal affairs." President Bashir labeled the critics as "colonialist parties".


2015 Sudanese general election, Reactions
On 21 April 2015, the Sudanese Embassy in London issued a statement saying that other international bodies were clearly biased as they refused to even send their observers and "the claim that unrest in some isolated peripheries reduces the validity of elections does not hold water; because Northern Ireland suffered serious “troubles” for decades and that didn't stop UK elections."


2015 Sudanese general election, Reactions
On 28 April 2015, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said that they respect "the choice made by the Sudanese people" and congratulated President Bashir on his re-election.


2015 Sudanese general election, Reactions
President Bashir also received congratulatory messages from President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt, King Abdullah of Jordan, Emir Sabah of Kuwait, Sultan Qaboos of Oman, Emir Tamim of Qatar, King Salman of Saudi Arabia and President Khalifa al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates.


2015 Sudirman Cup
The 2015 Sudirman Cup was the fourteenth tournament of the Sudirman Cup. It was held in Dongguan, China.


2015 Sudirman Cup, Host city selection
Dongguan is the only city to submit a bid for 2015 Sudirman Cup. Badminton World Federation awarded the event to Dongguan during BWF Council Meeting in Athens, Greece.


2015 Sudirman Cup, Seedings
The seedings for teams competing in the tournament were released on March 5, 2015. It was based on aggregated points from the best players in the world ranking. The tournament was divided into four groups, with twelve teams in the elite group competing for the title. Eight teams were seeded into second and third groups and seven teams were seeded into fourth group. The draw was held on March 16, 2015.


2015 Sudirman Cup, Results, Knockout stage
The draw for the quarterfinals was held after the completion of the final matches in the group stage on May 13, 2015.


2015 Sudirman Cup Group 1 group stage
This article lists the complete results of the group stage of the 2015 Sudirman Cup Group 1 in Dongguan, China.


2015 Sudirman Cup squads
This article lists the confirmed squads lists for badminton's 2015 Sudirman Cup


2015 Suffolk Coastal District Council election
The 2015 Suffolk Coastal District Council election took place on 7 May 2015 to elect members of the Suffolk Coastal District Council in England. It was held on the same day as other local elections. This was the last election for Suffolk Coastal District Council.


2015 Sugar Bowl
The 2015 Sugar Bowl was a college football game that was played on January 1, 2015 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was the 81st Sugar Bowl, and a semifinal game in the College Football Playoff. It was one of the 2014–15 bowl games that concluded the 2014 FBS football season. Sponsored by the Allstate insurance company, the game was officially known as the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl.


2015 Sugar Bowl
In the game, the fourth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide by a score of 42–35. The Buckeyes advanced to the College Football Playoff Championship Game against the Oregon Ducks, which was played January 12 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.


2015 Sugar Bowl
The contest was televised on ESPN and ESPN Deportes, with a radio broadcast on ESPN Radio and XM Satellite Radio. Kickoff time was set for 8:30 PM, Eastern Standard Time, but was delayed until after the end of the Rose Bowl.


2015 Sugar Bowl, Teams
The participants were announced on December 7, 2014, based on the final rankings by the College Football Playoff selection committee. The Rose Bowl hosted the other College Football Playoff semifinal game between No. 3 Florida State and No. 2 Oregon. When not hosting the semifinals of the new CFP system (once every three years), the Sugar Bowl typically features the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and Big 12 Conference champions, or the highest ranked remaining team from the respective conferences if one or both champions are selected for the CFP semifinals.


2015 Sugar Bowl, Teams, Alabama
The Alabama Crimson Tide entered the season ranked 2nd in the AP and Coaches polls behind defending National Champions Florida State. Along with Ohio State, the Crimson Tide were considered a preseason favorite for a berth in the inaugural College Football playoff. After losing offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier to Michigan, the Crimson Tide added former Oakland Raiders, Tennessee, and USC head football coach Lane Kiffin as their offensive coordinator. Among other changes came a change at quarterback with a controversy between Blake Sims and Florida State transfer Jacob Coker.


2015 Sugar Bowl, Teams, Alabama
Initially, Coker was considered to be the favorite for the starting job; however, Sims, a more mobile quarterback, was named the starter shortly before the season began. Alabama played its first game of the season in Atlanta in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game against the West Virginia Mountaineers, pulling away late to win 33–23. After two easy wins against Florida Atlantic and Southern Miss, Alabama played Florida, a rival from the SEC East Division. Florida took an early 14–7 lead but the Crimson Tide eventually took control behind strong performances by Blake Sims and wide receiver Amari Cooper.


2015 Sugar Bowl, Teams, Alabama
In the next game, Alabama played fellow SEC West Division foe Ole Miss. In that game, which was played in Oxford, Mississippi, Ole Miss upset the #3 Crimson Tide 23–17 after a shaky performance by Blake Sims. At this point in the season, Alabama's playoff hopes were in doubt as three SEC teams (Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and Auburn) were ranked in the initial College Football Playoff rankings ahead of the #5 Crimson Tide.


2015 Sugar Bowl, Teams, Alabama
In their next four games, the Tide handily beat Tennessee and Texas A&M but struggled against last place Arkansas and West Division rivals LSU, winning 14–13 against the Razorbacks and 20–13 in overtime versus the Tigers. Through these games, Sims struggled while Amari Cooper's success propelled the Tide offense to narrow wins. At this point in the season, speculation rose whether Jakob Coker would be moved into the starting role for the struggling Sims.


2015 Sugar Bowl, Teams, Alabama
Alabama entered its annual contest against #1 Mississippi State as the #5 team in the College Football Playoff standings. The Bulldogs were having a season like no other in their history, winning decisively against then-highly ranked Texas A&M and Auburn, respectively. Dak Prescott, the senior quarterback for the Bulldogs, was thriving under Dan Mullen's system and was at the time a top Heisman Trophy candidate. In the game, the Crimson Tide came out strong, building an early 19–0 lead on Mississippi State. The Bulldogs brought the score to 19–13 before Alabama scored one last touchdown to effectively end the game.


2015 Sugar Bowl, Teams, Alabama
The final score was 25–20 after a late Mississippi State touchdown. In the game, the Crimson Tide's stifling defense overwhelmed Dak Prescott and forced him into the worst game of his 2014 season. Following the game, the Crimson Tide jumped to #1 in the standings while the Bulldogs dropped to #4. After a routine win against Western Carolina, the Crimson Tide then looked on to the Auburn Tigers.


2015 Sugar Bowl, Teams, Alabama
In the previous season, the Tigers won one of the most thrilling games in the history of college football 34–28 in the Iron Bowl with a late field goal return for a touchdown (now dubbed the "Kick Six"). In this edition of the Iron Bowl, Auburn jumped on multiple interceptions by Blake Sims to stay ahead of the Crimson Tide; however, a second half turnaround by Sims saw Alabama win the highest scoring edition of the Iron Bowl, 55–44. The next week, the #1 ranked Crimson Tide routed the SEC East Division champion Missouri Tigers, 42–13, in the SEC Championship, all but securing a #1 seed in the playoff and a Sugar Bowl berth the following morning.


2015 Sugar Bowl, Teams, Ohio State
The Ohio State Buckeyes entered the 2014 season ranked #5 in both the AP and Coaches polls. They were an early favorite, along with Alabama, to make it to inaugural College Football Playoff. Two weeks before the season started, two-time Big Ten Offensive player of the year and Heisman Trophy candidate Braxton Miller was injured in practice. It was determined that Miller had a torn labrum which required surgery, and the Buckeyes looked to J. T. Barrett, an unproven redshirt freshman. The Buckeyes were underwhelming in their opener against Navy, winning 34–17 after trailing for a majority of the game.


2015 Sugar Bowl, Teams, Ohio State
The next week, the Buckeyes played Virginia Tech at home and, surprisingly, lost the decision 35–21. Barrett's inexperience along with the inexperience of the offensive line proved costly in the Buckeyes' defeat to the Hokies. After the loss, the Buckeyes coasted through their next four games, scoring over 50 points in each matchup versus Kent State, Cincinnati, Maryland, and Rutgers, respectively. Following a 31–24 overtime victory against Penn State in Happy Valley, the Buckeyes were ranked No. 16 in the initial College Football Playoff rankings. The Buckeyes jumped to 14th in the CFP rankings following a 55–14 dismantling of rival Illinois and were ready for a primetime matchup against the #8 Michigan State Spartans.


2015 Sugar Bowl, Teams, Ohio State
Ever since the Spartans defeated the Buckeyes by a score of 34–24 in the 2013 Big Ten Football Championship Game, the 2014 edition was highly anticipated. Due to Ohio State's loss to Virginia Tech and Braxton Miller's injury, the game lost a bit of its luster. Regardless, College Gameday made the trip to East Lansing as the Spartans were two-point favorites over the Buckeyes. In a show of their offensive strength, J. T. Barrett and the Buckeyes handily defeated the Spartans 49–37.


2015 Sugar Bowl, Teams, Ohio State
Following the win, Ohio State was back in the Playoff hunt and Barrett was an established Heisman Trophy candidate. Following close wins against the Minnesota Golden Gophers and the Indiana Hoosiers, the Buckeyes entered their rivalry game against Michigan ranked #6 and just outside a playoff spot. In the game, Ohio State struggled early before pulling away to a 42–28 victory against their rivals. The win came at a cost, however, as J. T. Barrett was injured in the fourth quarter with a broken ankle.


2015 Sugar Bowl, Teams, Ohio State
Following Barrett's injury during the Michigan Game, Ohio State turned to their third-string quarterback, Cardale Jones, for the Big Ten Championship game against Wisconsin. Because #4 Mississippi State lost in the Egg Bowl, Ohio State moved from #6 to #5 despite the loss of Barrett. Due to the game being Jones' first collegiate start, the Buckeyes entered as a 4.5 point underdog to the West Division champion Badgers. Ohio State, however, proved the oddsmakers wrong as Jones shined in a 59–0 rout of Wisconsin to capture the program's 35th Big Ten Championship and a potential College Football Playoff berth. The next morning, it was announced that Ohio State's win had propelled them to #4 in the final College Football Playoff rankings, securing their spot in the Sugar Bowl against #1 Alabama.


2015 Sugar Bowl, Game summary
The game began with Ohio State winning the coin flip and deferring to the second half, so Alabama got the ball to begin the game. The opening kickoff resulted in a touchback that came out to the 20. Alabama was forced to punt on their first drive, going 3 and out. The Buckeyes began their first drive of the night from their own 15 yard line. The Buckeyes drove down the field into the redzone, but failed to get a touchdown, and were forced to kick a field goal, giving them a 3–0 lead.


2015 Sugar Bowl, Game summary
The drive involved a 54-yard run by Ezekiel Elliott in which it saw him break tackles and hurdle another tackler. Alabama was forced to punt on their next drive. However, on the first play of Ohio State's next drive, Elliott lost the first fumble of his career, which was recovered by Landon Collins at the Ohio State 32 yard line. Two plays into Alabama's next drive, Derrick Henry ran 25 yards untouched into the endzone for a touchdown, giving the Crimson Tide their first lead of the game, 7–3.


2015 Sugar Bowl, Game summary
Ohio State drove into the Alabama redzone, but once again had to settle for a field goal, cutting the Alabama lead to 7–6. However, the Crimson Tide responded with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Blake Sims to Amari Cooper, increasing the Tide's lead to 14–6. After back-to-back punts by each team, Cardale Jones threw an interception to Cyrus Jones that was returned to the Ohio State 15 yard line. From there, Alabama cashed in with a 2-yard touchdown run by T.J. Yeldon to make the score 21-6 Crimson Tide.


2015 Sugar Bowl, Game summary
The next drive for the Buckeyes started with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty by Alabama on the succeeding kickoff, giving them the ball at their own 29 yard line. With several big plays during the drive, Ohio State scored a touchdown with Elliott taking it in from 3 yards out to cut the Tide lead to 21–13. After Alabama punted on their next possession, Ohio State took over with 1:32 remaining in the half.


2015 Sugar Bowl, Game summary
With several big plays, including a big run by Jones which set up the Buckeyes in the redzone, Ohio State scored right before the half on an end around touchdown completed with Wide receiver Evan Spencer throwing to wide receiver Michael Thomas in the endzone. Replays showed Thomas making an unbelievable catch along the sidelines by keeping his foot in bounds while maintaining possession of the ball. The touchdown was reviewed and upheld on replay, and Alabama's lead was cut to 21–20 at halftime.


2015 Sugar Bowl, Game summary
Despite trailing by 1 at the half, Ohio State dominated the statsheet, outgaining Alabama 348-139 and being 7/10 on 3rd downs and Alabama being only 1/7. Out of Ohio State's 7 3rd down conversions in the first half, 6 of them were conversions of 8+ yards, the most allowed by Alabama in a decade.


2015 Sugar Bowl, Game summary
In the second half, Ohio State got the ball first to begin quarter 3. The drive was completed with Cardale Jones throwing a 47-yard touchdown pass to Devin Smith to give Ohio State a 27–21 lead. After back-to-back punts by each team, Blake Sims threw an interception that was returned by Steve Miller 36 yards for a touchdown, increasing the Buckeyes lead to 34–21. Sims' pick 6 was the first pick 6 thrown by an Alabama quarterback since 2007.


2015 Sugar Bowl, Game summary
The Crimson Tide, however, were able to go down the field and score a touchdown of their own, cutting the lead to 34–28, which was the score heading into the final quarter. After a long scoring hiatus that saw the 2 teams punt back and forth to each other, Ohio State managed to increase its lead with an 85-yard touchdown run by Ezekiel Elliott, the longest play from scrimmage Alabama had allowed all season. The 2 point conversion was successful, giving the Buckeyes a 42–28 lead.


2015 Sugar Bowl, Game summary
However, the Crimson Tide did not go quietly, scoring quickly to cut the lead to 42–35. After Ohio State was forced to punt on their next drive, the Tide got the ball back with no timeouts, needing to score a touchdown to force overtime. However, it was not to be, as Blake Sims last second hail mary pass was intercepted in the endzone by Tyvis Powell, ending the game and sending Ohio State to the national championship game for the first time since 2008. Sims finished with a career high 3 interceptions.


2015 Sugar Bowl, Aftermath
With the huge win, the Buckeyes advanced to their first national championship game since 2007, and played the Rose Bowl champion Oregon Ducks, whom they defeated 42-20 for their eighth national championship. This was Ohio State's first win over Alabama in four tries. The loss by Alabama was the Southeastern Conference's second straight loss in a major bowl game to the Buckeyes, along with Arkansas's loss in the 2011 Sugar Bowl. Alabama's loss meant that 2015 was the first national championship to not feature an SEC team since 2005, when USC and Texas played in that season's Rose Bowl.


2015 Sugar Bowl, Aftermath
The loss also assured the Crimson Tide a second straight season without appearing in the national championship, the first time that Alabama has missed the national championship in back to back seasons since 2007 and 2008. Ohio State's 15-point comeback over the Tide is the largest ever comeback against a Nick Saban-led team in a bowl game and the second largest comeback against the Crimson Tide under Saban all time, with the largest being Auburn's 24-0 comeback in 2010. The loss by Alabama also dropped them to 0-3 under Saban in Sugar Bowls.


2015 Sugar Bowl, Aftermath
However, they would eventually win a Sugar Bowl in 2018, beating Clemson 24–6. This was the third time in the Saban era that Alabama had blown a lead of 14 or more points, with each of the other losses to Auburn in 2010 and 2013. Alabama would return to the playoffs the next year, and would win the Cotton Bowl over another Big 10 team, Michigan State, 38–0, and championship over Clemson, 45–40.


2015 Sugar Bowl, Aftermath
As of 2020, Alabama appeared in the playoffs in each season from 2014 to 2018, until missing it in the 2019 season after losing to LSU and Auburn, and has been to four national championships, winning two and losing two. Ohio State would return to the playoffs again in 2016, 2019, losing to Clemson 0-31 and 23-29, with both meetings occurring in the Fiesta Bowl, and again in 2020, beating Clemson 49-28 in the Sugar Bowl. These teams would meet again in the 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship, with a home and home series also scheduled for 2027 and 2028, with the 2027 game being in Columbus and the 2028 one in Tuscaloosa.


2015 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup
The 2015 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup was the 24th edition of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. It was held from 5 April to 12 April 2015 in Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia.


2015 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup
New Zealand won the tournament for the second time after defeating Australia 1–3 on penalties, after the match ended in a draw at 2–2, in the final.


2015 Sultan of Johor Cup
The 2015 Sultan of Johor Cup was the fifth edition of the Sultan of Johor Cup. It was held in Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia from 11 to 18 October 2015.


2015 Sultan of Johor Cup
The number of teams for this year’s cup is the same compared to the previous tournament where six teams competed. New Zealand who competed previously, will not join this edition and Argentina had been invited.


2015 Sultan of Johor Cup
Great Britain defeated India 4–3 in a penalty shootout after being tied 2–2 in the final match to win the cup.


2015 Sumatra Indonesian Air Force C-130 crash
On 30 June 2015, a Lockheed KC-130B Hercules belonging to the Indonesian Air Force with 12 crew and 110 passengers on board, crashed near a residential neighborhood shortly after taking off from Medan, Indonesia, en route to Tanjung Pinang. All aboard were killed, along with 17 people on the ground.


2015 Sumatra Indonesian Air Force C-130 crash
At the time of the crash, the aircraft was transporting military personnel and their families, and possibly some civilian passengers.


2015 Sumatra Indonesian Air Force C-130 crash
Shortly after the crash, the Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Air Force grounded their entire C-130 fleet for inspection at Abdul Rachman Saleh Airport, from which the aircraft involved originated.


2015 Sumatra Indonesian Air Force C-130 crash, Accident
The plane took off at 12:08 p.m. (0508 GMT) from Soewondo Air Force Base, after refuelling and taking on passengers. It crashed near Djamin Ginting Road in Medan about two minutes later. The crash site was approximately 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from the base. According to Indonesian Chief of Staff of the Air Force Marshal Agus Supriana, before crashing, the pilot had requested permission to return to base.


2015 Sumatra Indonesian Air Force C-130 crash, Accident
According to eyewitnesses and Indonesian media, after the pilot indicated the aircraft would return to base, it drastically rolled to the right. An eyewitness reported that after the aircraft rolled, it then clipped a radio tower belonging to Joy FM, dove and then exploded. After it dove, multiple explosions were heard from as far as 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) away. The aircraft became inverted, and the nose clipped the Golden Eleven Hotel. It then struck three other buildings, one of which was a crowded massage parlor, at a nearly perpendicular angle. It finally exploded in what onlookers described as "a hell-like scene", with bodies ejected onto the street.


2015 Sumatra Indonesian Air Force C-130 crash, Accident
It was the deadliest C-130 Hercules crash in Indonesian history, surpassing the 1991 Hercules crash in East Jakarta, the third-deadliest air disaster in the province of North Sumatra, after Garuda Indonesia Flight 152 and Mandala Airlines Flight 091, and the second air disaster in Indonesia within six months, after Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 in December 2014. The crash occurred only 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) away from the 2005 Mandala Airlines crash, in a residential area in Medan, and also occurred minutes after takeoff. Both happened on the Djamin Ginting Road.


2015 Sumatra Indonesian Air Force C-130 crash, Passengers and crew
The aircraft was transporting military personnel and their families for duty rotations. The passengers included those who boarded the aircraft from Malang, Jakarta and Pekanbaru; the aircraft was scheduled to continue to Tanjung Pinang, Natuna, and Pontianak before returning to Malang. Such flights are common in Indonesia, and it is common for families to be transported together in military aircraft.


2015 Sumatra Indonesian Air Force C-130 crash, Passengers and crew
There were 110 passengers and 12 crew members on board. At least 7 people on the ground were reported missing and feared dead.


2015 Sumatra Indonesian Air Force C-130 crash, Passengers and crew
The son of the former Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a young army officer and acquaintance of the pilot, claimed that the captain of the aircraft, Sandy Permana, was very experienced and "one of the best pilots in the Indonesian Air Force".


2015 Sumatra Indonesian Air Force C-130 crash, Passengers and crew
Identification of the victims started on 1 July 2015. The National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS) stated that around 100 bodies were found in the crash site, along with 60 body parts. The bodies were transported to Adam Malik Hospital in Medan for identification. By 4 July, at least 119 bodies had been identified and returned to their families.


2015 Sumatra Indonesian Air Force C-130 crash, Crash site
The crash took place in a crowded residential neighborhood in Medan, Indonesia's third-largest city. The aircraft took off from Soewondo Air Force Base, formerly Polonia airport. Polonia had been the city's main commercial airport until it was replaced by Kualanamu International Airport in 2013, partly due to concerns arising from its proximity to urban areas (2 km from the city center). Soewondo now serves as the headquarters of the Air Force's Western Surveillance Wing.


2015 Sumatra Indonesian Air Force C-130 crash, Crash site
Moments after the crash, onlookers began searching through the wreckage for survivors. Thousands of local residents attempted to approach the site. Crowds attempted to bring hoses to the site while soldiers also aided in the search. At least four people survived the initial impact and were later admitted to the nearest hospital for serious burn injuries. These were later confirmed as "survivors on the ground", not passengers or crew. All 122 people on board died in the accident.


2015 Sumatra Indonesian Air Force C-130 crash, Investigation
Because the aircraft was not fitted with a flight recorder, the Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee primarily relied on the wreckage pattern and the pilot's flight history for the investigation. On 1 July 2015, all of the ammunition and two engines from the aircraft were successfully removed from the crash site.


2015 Sumatra Indonesian Air Force C-130 crash, Investigation
The Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) said that they would pay the insurance claims, which totaled Rp 2.25 trillion (roughly US$170 million). The investigation was expected to be completed in two weeks. The preliminary report was not made public.


2015 Sumatra Indonesian Air Force C-130 crash, Investigation
The aircraft was one of ten C-130Bs given to Indonesia by the United States in exchange for an imprisoned CIA pilot, captured during Sulawesi rebellion 1957–1961. The aircraft suffered from a shortage of spare parts after the US enacted an embargo (9 September 1999 – 22 November 2005) on Indonesia over their part in the 1999 East Timorese crisis. In view of the aircraft's age, the crash sparked public outcry over the state of the Indonesian Air Force Hercules fleet. However, Indonesian officials denied that the aircraft's age was a factor in the crash, and insisted it was in "good condition".


2015 Sumatra Indonesian Air Force C-130 crash, Investigation
On 3 July 2015, it was reported that the number four engine propeller had malfunctioned before the aircraft hit the tower, indicating a mechanical failure. All four of the aircraft's engines have been recovered from the crash site as part of the investigation.


2015 Sumatra Indonesian Air Force C-130 crash, Investigation
Roughly 90% of witnesses reported that the aircraft struck a cellphone tower before it crashed. The tower itself was found to be illegal, according to an Indonesian official. As a result, the Indonesian People's Representative Council advised that "illegal towers" anywhere in Indonesia had to be removed, as they were "ugly" to the scenery and "dangerous" for safety. President Joko Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla agreed to the need to retire old aircraft in the Indonesian Air Force's fleet, to prevent a similar tragedy.


2015 Summer European League of Legends Championship Series
The 2015 Summer European League of Legends Championship Series (2015 Summer EU LCS) was the first split of the third season of the European League of Legends Championship Series. It was won by fnatic, their fifth split title. The spring split began with a rematch of the 2015 EU LCS Spring playoff finals between Unicorns of Love and fnatic. Most matches were played at a film studio in Adlershof, Berlin. The finals were played at the Hovet Arena Globentorget, Arenatorget in Johanneshov, Stockholm, Sweden.


2015 Summer Transplant Games
The 2015 Transplant Games (Spanish: Juegos Mundiales para Transplantados) were a multi-sport event held from 23 to 30 August 2015 in Mar del Plata, Argentina. They were the 20th edition of the World Transplant Games.


2015 Summer Transplant Games
The Games were organized by the World Transplant Games Federation (WTGF), the Ministry of Social Development and the Ministry of Health of Argentina.


2015 Summer Universiade
The 2015 Summer Universiade, officially known as the XXVIII Summer Universiade, was held in the city of Gwangju, South Korea. It took place from July 3 to July 14, 2015.


2015 Summer Universiade, Bid selection
The cities of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; Taipei, Taiwan; and Gwangju, South Korea were in contention for the Games. On May 23, 2009, FISU awarded the hosting rights to Gwangju.


2015 Summer Universiade, Identity, Mascot
The official mascot of the 2015 Summer Universiade is an angel of light named Nuribi. The name Nuribi is a combination of the Korean words ‘nuri’ for world and ‘bi’ for fly. It is described as the messenger of light, symbol of Gwangju Universiade vision and bridge of communication of world's youth which spreads hope of creation to deliver light to the world.


2015 Summer Universiade, Identity, Slogan
The slogan of the 2015 Summer Universiade is "Light Up Tomorrow" which represents the city’s identity derived from its name Gwangju, the town of light, its position at the center of 21st-century high-tech industry era, the challenging spirit and passion of the world’s youth especially university student athlete at the Universiade, expectations for better performance of athlete, Gwangju’s effort to help brighten the future of the world through the Universiade, city’s intention to create momentum for sustainable development toward a better future, and will of Guangju to set new standards for universiade.


2015 Summer Universiade, Identity, Logo
The logo of the 2015 Summer Universiade is the "Wings of Light". Its unique 'U' letter shape resembles the Universiade Games. Overall, it represents the passion of athletes compete against all odds beyond limits, the dynamic atmosphere of sport, and the harmony of nations around the world, and Gwangju's vision to reach worldwide recognition and admiration. 5 blue wings represents the world's oceans and 6 Red wings represents the world's six continents. The overlapping light denotes the harmony and friendship among the world’s youth especially university student athlete in the Universiade. The soaring U-shaped wings emitting light symbolize Gwangju as a global city and aiming for greater heights during the universiade.


2015 Summit League Baseball Tournament
The 2015 Summit League Baseball Tournament took place from May 20–23. The top four regular season finishers of the league's six teams met in the double-elimination tournament held at Sioux Falls Stadium in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Oral Roberts won the tournament and earned the Summit League's automatic bid to the 2015 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.


2015 Summit League Baseball Tournament, Seeding
The top four finishers from the regular season—not including Omaha, which is ineligible for the tournament as the 2015 season is the last in its transition from Division II to Division I—will be seeded one through four based on conference winning percentage. The teams will then play a double-elimination tournament.


2015 Summit League Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2015 Summit League Men's Basketball Tournament was the post-season men's basketball tournament for the Summit League. The 2015 tournament took place March 7–10 at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota for the first time after previously being played at Sioux Falls Arena. With Oral Roberts rejoining the league, the tournament went back to eight teams. The tournament champion received an automatic bid to the 2015 NCAA Tournament.


2015 Summit League Men's Soccer Tournament
The 2015 Summit League Men's Soccer Tournament was the 10th edition of the tournament. It determined Summit League's automatic berth into the 2015 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship.


2015 Summit League Men's Soccer Tournament
The Denver Pioneers won the tournament, defeating the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles in the championship match.


2015 Summit League Men's Soccer Tournament, Qualification
The top four teams in the Summit League based on their conference regular season records qualified for the tournament.


2015 Summit League Men's Soccer Tournament, Tournament Best XI
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2015 Summit League Softball Tournament
The 2015 Summit League Softball tournament will be held at Ellig Sports Complex on the campus of the North Dakota State University in Fargo, North Dakota from May 7 through May 10, 2015. The tournament winner will earn The Summit League's automatic bid to the 2015 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament. All games will be streamed online on gobison.com/watch.


2015 Summit League Women's Basketball Tournament
The 2015 Summit League Women's Basketball Tournament was a post-season women's basketball tournament for The Summit League. The tournament took place March 7–10 at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Top 8 teams in the final standings will qualify for the tournament. Omaha's transition into Division I basketball has deemed them ineligible from postseason play and instead of the top 8 teams qualify for the Summit League tournament it will be the 8 teams eligible for the tournament will play. South Dakota State defeated South Dakota to win the Summit League Tournament title to receive an automatic bid into the 2015 NCAA Tournament.


2015 Sun Belt Conference Baseball Tournament
The 2015 Sun Belt Conference Baseball Tournament will be held at Riddle–Pace Field on the campus of the Troy University in Troy, Alabama from May 20th to May 24th, 2015. The tournament will again use a double-elimination format. The winner of the tournament will earn the Sun Belt Conference's automatic bid to the 2015 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.


2015 Sun Belt Conference Baseball Tournament, Seeding
The top eight teams (based on conference results) from the conference earn invites to the tournament. The teams will be seeded based on conference winning percentage, and will then play a two bracket, double-elimination tournament. The winner of each bracket will play a championship final.


2015 Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2015 Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Tournament was held in New Orleans, Louisiana from March 12 to March 15 at Lakefront Arena. The tournament winner received an automatic bid into the 2015 NCAA Tournament. Opening round games were televised on ESPN3, with the championship game on ESPN2, on Sunday March 15.


2015 Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Seeds
Only the top eight teams advanced to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. If a team ineligible for the NCAA Tournament should finish in the top eight, its seed would fall to the next eligible team. Teams were seeded based on conference record with a tie breaker system used to separate teams who are tied. The top two seeds received a double bye, and the third and fourth seeds received a single bye.


2015 Sun Belt Conference Men's Soccer Tournament
The 2015 Sun Belt Conference Men's Soccer Tournament was the 13th edition of the tournament, and the second since the conference reinstated the sport in 2013. It determined the Sun Belt Conference's automatic berth into the 2015 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship.


2015 Sun Belt Conference Men's Soccer Tournament
The Hartwick Hawks won the tournament, defeating the Georgia State Panthers in the championship match.


2015 Sun Belt Conference Men's Soccer Tournament, Qualification
The top five teams in the Sun Belt Conference based on their conference regular season records qualified for the tournament.


2015 Sun Belt Conference Softball Tournament
The 2015 Sun Belt Conference Softball tournament will be held at the Bobcat Softball Complex on the campus of the Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas from May 6 through May 9, 2015. The tournament winner will earn the Sun Belt Conference's automatic bid to the 2015 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament. Day one of the tournament acts as a single elimination tournament, while Day 2 begins a double elimination format among the remaining 4 teams. The championship game will be winner takes all. Days 1 & 2 of the tournament will be streamed via . Days 3 and 4 of the tournament (semifinals & championship) will be televised on ESPN3.


2015 Sun Belt Conference football season
The 2015 Sun Belt Conference football season was the 15th college football season for the Sun Belt Conference. During the 2015 season, eleven schools competed in Sun Belt football: Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Georgia State, Georgia Southern, Idaho, Louisiana–Lafayette, Louisiana–Monroe, New Mexico State, South Alabama, Texas State and Troy.


2015 Sun Belt Conference football season
On September 1, 2015, it was announced that Coastal Carolina will join the Sun Belt Conference. They will compete in SBC football starting in 2017.


2015 Sun Belt Conference football season, Previous season
The conference title was won by Georgia Southern, in its first year as both a Sun Belt member and an FBS program. The Eagles became only the third team to win a conference championship in their first FBS season. The other two schools to accomplish this feat were Nevada, Big West Conference champions in 1992, and Marshall, which won the Mid-American Conference crown in 1997. Georgia Southern also became the first team ever to go unbeaten in conference play in its first FBS season (both the 1992 Nevada and 1997 Marshall teams lost once in conference play).


2015 Sun Belt Conference football season, Previous season
Louisiana–Lafayette, South Alabama, and Arkansas State were all invited to bowl games. The SBC went 1–2 in bowls with the Ragin' Cajuns winning their 4th straight R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.


2015 Sun Belt Conference football season, Preseason, Award watch lists
The following Sun Belt players were named to preseason award watch lists:


2015 Sun Belt Conference football season, Preseason, Sun Belt Media Day
Sun Belt Conference Media Day was held on July 20, 2015 in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.


2015 Sun Belt Conference football season, Coaches
Note: Stats shown are before the beginning of the season


2015 Sun Belt Conference football season, Regular season
All dates, times, and TV are tentative and subject to change.


2015 Sun Belt Conference football season, Regular season
Rankings reflect that of the AP poll for that week until Week 10 when the first CFP Poll is released.


2015 Sun Belt Conference football season, Bowl games
The Sun Belt had 4 guaranteed bowl tie-ins starting in 2015 with the addition of the Cure Bowl in Orlando, FL. Arkansas State, Appalachian State, Georgia Southern, and Georgia State represented the Sun Belt during the 2015–16 bowl season; for the latter three teams, it would be their first bowl game.


2015 Sun Belt Conference football season, All-Sun Belt/American Team
Honorable Mention: Appalachian State: Barrett Burns, Taylor Lamb, Doug Middleton, Devan Stringer; Arkansas State: Darion Griswold, Khari Lain, Robert Mondie, Dijon Paschal; Georgia State: Donovan Harden, Shawanye Lawrence, Alonzo McGee, Chandon Sullivan; Georgia Southern: Ironhead Gallon, L. A. Ramsby, Antwione Williams, Caleb Williams; Idaho: Buck Cowan, Matt Linehan, Elijhaa Penny, Jordan Rose ; Louisiana-Lafayette: Octravian Anderson, Elijah McGuire, Otha Peters, Chris Prater; Louisiana-Monroe: Trey Caldwell, Marcus Green, Michael Johnson, Colby Mitchell; New Mexico State: Stody Bradley, Isaiah Folasa, Anthony McMeans, Tyrian Taylor; Texas State: Adrian Bellard, Ryan Melton, Ryan Carden, Tyler Jones; South Alabama DeMarion Harper, Kalen Jackson, Xavier Johnson, Aleem Sunanon; Troy: Brandon Burks, Rashad Dillard, Antonio Garcia, Brandon Silvers.


2015 Sun Bowl
The 2015 Sun Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game played on December 26, 2015 at the Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso, Texas. Played under snowy conditions, it marked the first time the game was played in snowy weather since the 1987 Christmas Day game with West Virginia and Oklahoma State. The 82nd edition of the Sun Bowl featured the Miami Hurricanes of the Atlantic Coast Conference against the Washington State Cougars of the Pac-12 Conference. It began at noon MST and aired on CBS. It was one of the 2015–16 bowl games that concluded the 2015 FBS football season. Sponsored by South Korean automotive manufacturer Hyundai Motor Company's American subsidiary, the game was officially known as the Hyundai Sun Bowl. Washington State won 20–14 over the University of Miami.


2015 Sun Bowl, Teams
The game featured the Miami Hurricanes against the Washington State Cougars.


2015 Sun Bowl, Teams, Miami Hurricanes
The Hurricanes finished 3rd in the ACC Coastal Division. After finishing their regular season 8–4, bowl director Bernie Olivas extended an invitation for the Hurricanes to play in the game, which they accepted.


2015 Sun Bowl, Teams, Miami Hurricanes
This was the Hurricanes' second Sun Bowl; they had previously played in the 2010 Sun Bowl, losing to Notre Dame by a score of 33–17.


2015 Sun Bowl, Teams, Washington State Cougars
The Cougars finished 3rd in the Pac-12 North Division. After finishing their regular season 8–4, Olivas extended an invitation for the Cougars to play in the game, which they accepted as well.


2015 Sun Bowl, Teams, Washington State Cougars
This was the Cougars' second Sun Bowl; they had previously won the 2001 Sun Bowl over Purdue by a score of 33–27.


2015 Sundance Film Festival
The 2015 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 22 to February 1, 2015. What Happened, Miss Simone?, a biographical documentary film about American singer Nina Simone, opened the festival. Comedy-drama film Grandma, directed by Paul Weitz, served as the closing night film.


2015 Sundance Film Festival, Awards
The awards ceremony was held on January 30, 2015 at  the Basin Recreation Fieldhouse in Park City, Utah. The ceremony was hosted by comedian Tig Notaro.


2015 Sundance Film Festival, Awards
Additional awards were presented at separate ceremonies. The Shorts Awards were presented January 28, 2015 at the ceremony in Park City, Utah.


2015 Sundance Film Festival, Juries
Jury members, for each program of the festival, including the Alfred P. Sloan Jury, which also took part in the Science in Film Forum Panel, were announced on December 18, 2014. Presenters of awards are followed by asterisks:


2015 Sundance Film Festival, Juries
Others who presented awards included Adam Scott, Kevin Pollak, Kevin Corrigan, Patrick Fugit and Trevor Groth.


2015 Sundance Film Festival, Films
For a full list of films appeared at the festival, see List of films at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival.


2015 Sundance Film Festival, Festival theaters
The number of seats available at the festival theaters, where films were shown is listed below:


2015 Sunderland City Council election
The 2015 Sunderland City Council election took place on 7 May 2015 to elect members of Sunderland City Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections, and the 2015 General Election.


2015 Sunderland City Council election, Background
There had been one by-election held in the period since the previous local elections in 2014 which saw Labour hold the Washington East ward in November 2014 following the resignation of their incumbent councillor in October.


2015 Sunderland City Council election, Election results
The election saw Labour gain three seats, increasing the party's majority on the Council. Labour gained from the Conservatives in Barnes and Fulwell, and from an Independent, Colin Wakefield, in Houghton.


2015 Sunshine Ladies Tour
The 2015 Sunshine Ladies Tour was the 2nd season of the Sunshine Ladies Tour, a series of professional golf tournaments for women based in  South Africa.


2015 Sunshine Ladies Tour, Schedule
The season consisted of 9 events, all held in South Africa, played between October and March.


2015 Sunshine Ladies Tour, Order of Merit
This shows the leaders in the final Order of Merit, the Chase to the Investec Ladies Cup. The winner was awarded R250,000 from a R600,000 bonus pool.


2015 Sunshine Tour
The 2015 Sunshine Tour was the 16th season of professional golf tournaments since the southern Africa based Sunshine Tour was relaunched in 2000, and the 9th since the tour switched a calendar based season in 2007. The Sunshine Tour represents the highest level of competition for male professional golfers in the region.


2015 Sunshine Tour
The tour is based predominantly in South Africa with other events being held in neighbouring countries, including Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Zambia and Mauritius.


2015 Sunshine Tour, Schedule
The table below shows the partial schedule of events for the 2015 Sunshine Tour season.


2015 Sunshine Tour, Schedule
Prize funds shown do not count directly towards the Order of Merit. The number in brackets after each winner's name is the number of official money Sunshine Tour events he had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for Sunshine Tour members.


2015 Sunshine Tour, Order of Merit
Andy Sullivan (2.7 million) did not play the minimum number of tournaments required (seven) to be ranked.


2015 Super 8 Twenty20 Cup
The Cool & Cool presents Haier Super 8 T20 Cup 2015 was the fourth season of the Haier Super 8 T20 Cup. It was played between May 11, 2015 and May 18, 2015 at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad.


2015 Super 8 Twenty20 Cup
Sialkot Stallions won the 2015 Super 8 T20 by 74 runs. They beat Lahore Lions in the final.


2015 Super 8 Twenty20 Cup, Venue
All of the matches in the tournament will be played at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad.


2015 Super 8s
This is the current revision of this page, as edited by John of Reading (talk | contribs) at 16:18, 13 April 2020 (→Super League: Typo fixing, replaced: teams points → team's points). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this version.


2015 Super 8s
After 23 games the league table is frozen and the teams are split up into 2 of the 3 "Super 8's". Teams finishing in the top 8 will go on to contest "Super League" and will all retain a place in the competition for the next season, as they go on to play 7 more games each, as they compete for a place in the Grand Final. Teams finishing in the bottom four (9-12) will be put alongside the top 4 teams from the  Championship, in "The Qualifiers" Super 8 group. Where these teams will reset their season standings to 0 and also play 7 extra games each, as they attempt to earn a place in the following Super League competition.


2015 Super 8s, Super League
The Super League Super 8s sees the top 8 teams from the Super League play 7 games each. Each team's points are carried over and after 7 additional games the top 4 teams will contest the play off semi-finals with the team in 1st hosting the team in 4th, and the team finishing 2nd hosting the 3rd placed team; the winners of these semi-finals will contest the Super League Grand Final at Old Trafford. Teams finishing 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th after the 7 additional games will take no further part in the 2015 season but will play in Super League again in 2016.


2015 Super 8s, The Qualifiers
The Qualifiers Super 8s sees the bottom 4 teams from Super League table join the top 4 teams from the Championship. The points totals are reset to 0 and each team plays 7 games each, playing every other team once. After 7 games each the teams finishing 1st, 2nd, and 3rd will gain qualification to the 2016 Super League season. The teams finishing 4th and 5th will play in the "Million Pound Game" at the home of the 4th place team which will earn the winner a place in the 2016 Super League; the loser, along with teams finishing 6th, 7th and 8th, will be relegated to the Championship.


2015 Super 8s, The Qualifiers, Standings
(Q) = Qualified for Super League XXI (S) = Secured spot in one off play-off game for Super League XXI (R) = Relegated to the Championship for 2016


2015 Super 8s, Championship Shield
The third of the three "Super 8" groups sees teams finishing 5th to 12th in the regular Championship table. Like the Super League 8s, these teams retain their original points and play 7 extra games, with the teams finishing in the top 4 places after these extra games contesting play-offs similar to Super League, with 1st v 4th and 2nd vs 3rd, with the winners contesting the Championship Shield Grand Final.


2015 Super 8s, Championship Shield
The two teams finishing at the bottom of this Super 8s group (7th and 8th) will be relegated to League One and be replaced by two promoted sides.


2015 Super Formula Championship
The 2015 Japanese Championship Super Formula season is the 29th season of premier Japanese open-wheel motor racing and the third under the name of Super Formula. The season began on 19 April and will end on 8 November after seven rounds.


2015 Super Formula Championship
The 2015 season was also the last season that Bridgestone, who had been the series' only tyre supplier since 1997, supplied tyres to all teams, as Yokohama took over the tyre contract for 2016.


2015 Super Formula Championship, Race calendar and results
A provisional calendar for the 2015 season was released on 8 August 2014. All races are scheduled to be held in Japan. To avoid a clash with the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship season, the date for the first round in Suzuka was rescheduled for 19 April, and to avoid a clash with the 2015 Formula One season, the SUGO race was also rescheduled to 18 October.


2015 Super GT Series
The 2015 Autobacs Super GT Series was the twenty-third season of the Japan Automobile Federation Super GT Championship including the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) era, and the eleventh season under the name Super GT. It marked the thirty-third season overall of a Japanese professional sportscar championship dating back to the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship. The season began on April 5 and ended on November 15, after 8 races.


2015 Super GT Series, Schedule
A provisional calendar was released on August 8, 2014. An updated calendar was released on January 19, 2015, which saw the Autopolis race move from May to November, the Chang race move from October to June and SUGO from July to September.


2015 Super League Grand Final
The 2015 Super League Grand Final was the 18th official Grand Final and conclusive and championship-deciding match of the Super League XX season. It was held on Saturday 10 October 2015, at Old Trafford, Manchester, with a 6pm kick-off time. The sellout crowd of 73,512 at Old Trafford set a new Super League Grand Final attendance record, eclipsing the previous record of 72,575 established at the 2006 Super League Grand Final. British indie rock band The Charlatans headlined the pre-match and half-time entertainment.


2015 Super League Grand Final
The Leeds Rhinos were crowned champions after defeating the Wigan Warriors by 22-20. This meant that Leeds completed the treble by winning all of the major English domestic trophies - The Challenge Cup, the League Leaders' Shield and the Super League Grand Final.


2015 Super League Grand Final, Background, Route to the Final, Wigan Warriors
Wigan finished the regular Super League season in second place after beating Castleford 47-12 at the DW Stadium, as Leeds winger Ryan Hall scored a try on the hooter in a 20-16 victory over Huddersfield to claim the 2015 League Leaders' Shield. Wigan then hosted Huddersfield in the Super League play off semi-final and defeated them 32-8 to reach their third consecutive Super League Grand Final.


2015 Super League Grand Final, Background, Route to the Final, Leeds Rhinos
Leeds finished the regular Super League season on top of the table to claim the League Leaders' Shield. In the Super League play off semi-final, Leeds hosted St. Helens at Headingley and won 20-13 to reach their first Super League Grand Final since 2012.


2015 Super League Grand Final, Match day, Pre-game
The match was a rematch of the 1998 Super League Grand Final, the first ever, where Wigan won the trophy.


2015 Super League Grand Final, Match day, Pre-game
Before the match, 7 players of the field were playing their last game for their club. For Kevin Sinfield, Jamie Peacock and Kylie Leuluai (Leeds) it was their last game of professional rugby league before retirement. For Matty Bowen it was his last game for Wigan before leaving the club as a free agent. Rugby League legend Kevin Sinfield (Leeds) was also leaving the code to switch to rugby union next year, while Joe Burgess (Wigan) was heading off to the NRL and Larne Patrick (Wigan) would return to the Huddersfield Giants next season after his loan spell would finish. So it was a question in the media as to which team would farewell their players with happy memories, Leeds? Or Wigan?


2015 Super League Grand Final, Match details, First half
In the 4th minute, Wigan played the ball 29 metres out from their own goal-line on the fourth tackle, when they decided to shift the ball using their players that were outnumbering the Leeds right side defence. Two passes behind, the decoy running prop forwards then found Liam Farrell who managed to find a gap, running at Hardaker, and then passed the ball just as soon as Hardaker was about to tackle him. the ball then hit a flying Burgess, who broke out of a desperate dive from a trailing Kallum Watkins, to opening the scoring in the match like they have in their past six matches.


2015 Super League Grand Final, Match details, First half
Right from the next kickoff, Matty Smith dropped the ball 11 metres away from his own team's try line. From the resulting scrum, Leeds would eventually score off a Kevin Sinfield grubber kick, that Danny McGuire delightfully dived on cleanly to score Leeds' first points in the final.


2015 Super League Grand Final, Match details, First half
In the 28th minute, possibly for some, it was a controversial try, because a long Video Referee decision showed visuals that was difficult to tell if Danny McGuire lost the ball, as it illustrates 'unconvincingly' on some camera angles and lost it sideways 'unconvincingly' on others. However, Video Referee(s) Phil Bentham and Richard Silverwood were initially told that it was a TRY when Ben Thaler sent it upstairs for them to check. There was no problem with Joel Moon's simple run in grounding though. Finally, after 2 minutes and 40 seconds the two video referees couldn't see 'conclusive' evidence to overturn Ben Thaler's initial decision to disallow the T-R-Y, and the TRY was awarded.


2015 Super League Grand Final, Match details, First half
In the 35th minute, Leeds played the ball on halfway, on the 4th tackle and went on to make a line break out wide after Cuthbertson did what he does best, which is creating second phase play. His offload found Burrow who quickly gave it on to McGuire, who fired a ball over the top out wide to Briscoe, who was in acres of space after Burgess was standing way too far back.


2015 Super League Grand Final, Match details, First half
He ran it at Burgess and then passed the ball to Watkins, who would then pass the ball back inside, when he realised he was caught behind from a defender. The man running back inside was McGuire who would go over to score his second try of the game, making him the highest scorer of tries in Super Leagues Grand Finals.


2015 Super League Grand Final, Match details, Second half
Wigan started this half the better as well as they scored first this time 5 minutes in. The ball was played on the far left hand wing 2 metres out. Burgess passed the ball from dummy half to the five-eighth Williams who was having an off game so far but made amends when he ran at the defensive line stepped one defender and flicked the ball out the back perfectly to O'Loughlin who put up a high bomb to Ryan Hall's wing. Hall caught the ball in mid air but had it stripped by Dom Manfredi before landing on the ground. Manfredi went on to dive over the line for a try, converted by Bowen. 16-12 to Leeds.


2015 Super League Grand Final, Match details, Second half
Wigan look the fresher and up the tempo. Leeds forwards now start to show tiredness, Walters on.


2015 Super League Grand Final, Match details, Second half
On the 49th minute Wigan played the ball 20 metres out from the Leeds try-line. Matty Smith ran at the defence before passing it behind to Matty Bowen who was slowly tingling his feet and then he performed magic, weaving his way through the Leeds line, creating gaps and breaking tackles which would make him go on to score under the sticks on what the Wigan faithful would hope to be the fairy tale moment for him and his Wigan team in the Grand-Final, converted by Bowen. Wigan hit the front again 16-18. Keinhorst on.


2015 Super League Grand Final, Match details, Second half
In the 61st minute Wigan were awarded a penalty, McIlorum deliberately throws the ball into a crouching offside Watkins - Gamesmanship. 31 metres out and directly in front of the posts, Shaun Wane decides that his team should go for the two-pointer. Matty Bowen converts to continue his 100% record with the boot on the night. Wiganners were now beginning to think "Bowen for the Harry Sunderland Trophy".


2015 Super League Grand Final, Match details, Second half
In the 64th minute Leeds played the ball 23 metres out from Wigan's goal-line. It was the last tackle so McGuire hoisted a kick high towards Dom Manfredi. Ryan Hall jumped and knocked it backward to Joel Moon who popped the ball over defender John Bateman to youngster Jimmy Keinhorst who delivers a pass to 20 year old Josh Walters to score what turns out to be the match levelling try 10 metres from the posts, he'll remember that for the rest of his life, Walters off with a hamstring injury.


2015 Super League Grand Final, Match details, Second half
Kevin Sinfield then makes the crucial conversion, extending his record of most points in Super League Grand Finals, to put Leeds back in front with less than 16 minutes still left to play. In the end it proved decisive as Leeds went on to win by 22 points to 20. Peacock finishes his career as a player with a record of most tackles, most carries, most metres, most appearances & most wins in Grand Finals. The play was temporarily halted after 66 minutes when a male streaker ran onto the pitch and was promptly dealt with and ejected.


2015 Super League Grand Final, Match details, Post-match
Leeds' victory meant that they completed the treble of winning all of the major English domestic trophies - The Challenge Cup, League Leaders' Shield and the Super League Grand Final. They are the first team to achieve this feat since St Helens in their successful 2006 season.


2015 Super League Grand Final, Match details, Post-match
It was the Leeds' trio who were given the fitting farewell with a Grand Final victory.


2015 Super League Grand Final, World Club Series
By winning this match the Rhinos had qualified for the World Club Series Final, to be played on Sunday 21 February 2016 at Headingley Carnegie against the winners of the 2015 NRL Grand Final, the North Queensland Cowboys. Wigan, as the runners up, will play  2015 NRL Grand Final runners up Brisbane Broncos on Saturday 20 February 2016 at the DW Stadium. The third team to enter the World Club Series will see 2014 champions St. Helens take on Sydney Roosters at Langtree Park on Friday 19 February 2016.


2015 Super League of Malawi
The 2015 TNM Super League was the 30th season of the Super League of Malawi, the top professional league for association football clubs in Malawi, since its establishment in 1986. It started on 18 April 2015 and ended on 24 December 2015.


2015 Super League of Malawi
Bullets FC was the defending champions of the 2014 season.