The University of Nottingham has done the double – by being named Sports University of the Year by two influential national university league tables.
Nottingham has been crowned the best university in the UK for sports by The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024, published today (Friday 15 September) – the third time the university has been awarded the accolade by the publication since 2018.
It comes just days after also being named Sports University of the Year by the Daily Mail University Guide – in the first year that the national newspaper has produced its own UK university rankings and awards.
Welcoming the honours, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nottingham Professor Shearer West said: “I am incredibly proud of the hard work and dedication of our sports colleagues and our talented athletes, so I am delighted that this has been recognised with remarkable achievement of two Sports University of the Year 2024 accolades. These awards reflect our continued commitment to sporting excellence and the importance of sports as part of a university student experience."
Health and wellbeing are a huge part of life at the University of Nottingham and the university has a proud history of sporting success across all levels. It has invested more than £50 million in sports and fitness facilities over the last decade, including a recent £1.4 million refurbishment of the aquatic facilities at its flagship venue, the David Ross Sports Village. The university offers an unrivalled health and fitness provision across three campus venues, more than 150 weekly classes, swimming, climbing and more.
Students have priority access through the university’s sport and fitness membership or award-winning Active Living package. A collaboration between the university’s Accommodation, Residential Experience and University of Nottingham Sport departments, the package is included with all university-owned halls, offering students access to the extensive benefits of university sport and fitness membership and a schedule of exclusive sport and fitness events.
Excellent sporting opportunities
A huge range of sporting opportunities, including social sports sessions, campus leagues and more than 70 different sports clubs means that students can find the right fit for them to stay active. Its inclusive sport programme, supporting disabled students and those with long-term medical conditions, leads the Higher Education sector. Impactful initiatives include supported fitness sessions, a project focussed on men’s mental health and new work to engage with black students.
Nottingham invests in a world-class programme of coaching, scholarships, and student-athlete support and is the number one university for team sport in the UK, with 16 national titles and 43 league victories last season alone. Its individual athletes also recorded more than 100 podium finishes leading to a record point score and a second-place finish in the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) overall table.
On the international stage, Nottingham’s teams finished top of the rankings at this summer’s European Universities Association (EUSA) championships and more than 50 University of Nottingham students have represented their country at senior international level in the last 12 months.
Robert Carmichael, a BSc Sport and Exercise Science student and member of the Rugby Union England U20s squad said: “I’m so thankful to the University of Nottingham for providing me with this opportunity to study and play as a dual-career athlete. The programme here has allowed me to focus on and enhance many areas of my game and during my time here at University I have been able to compete internationally for my country. With all the additional work and commitment of my training, the University has been extremely supportive.”
Off the pitch, Nottingham students continue to make a real impact in the local community. The university’s Leadership Academy volunteers worked with more than 1,300 local schoolchildren last year to inspire them to try new sports, consider their higher education options and to drive positive change in their community.
Powerhouse of university sport
The Daily Mail University Guide highlighted Nottingham’s investment into its sport facilities and its strong ranking in this year’s British Universities and Colleges Sport championship. It also paid tribute to Nottingham students Barney Webber and Grace O’Malley Kumar whose passion for their sport and representation for their institution typified the university’s sporting excellence.
Alastair McCall, Editor of the Daily Mail University Guide, said: “Nottingham are one of the teams to beat in any inter-university sports contest. Whatever the sport, whatever the occasion. The university has become one of the powerhouses of university sport, fuelled by heavy recent investment in outstanding facilities, excellent coaching – and, of course, talented student sports stars.
“This award recognises the key place sport has in university life. Specifically, it recognises Nottingham’s supreme achievements as a university across multiple sports and the achievements of two special students, in particular, and the university teams that stood in memory of them.
“Some students go on to achieve great things in sport, while others simply enjoy the thrill and release of playing sport at a decent level alongside a professional career doing something else. The point is that the facilities, coaching, and camaraderie offered by university sport - when done well, as at Nottingham - make both outcomes a desirable and attainable proposition. It all adds up to a compelling case for Nottingham to be the Daily Mail Sports University of the Year.”
Nottingham was ranked 4 in the Midlands and 32 nationally by The Times & The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 and 27 overall by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
For all media enquiries, please contact our Sports Marketing and Communications Manager(s) Kate Rothery on kate.rothery@nottingham.ac.uk or Mark Bullock on mark.bullock@nottingham.ac.uk.
Posted on Tuesday 19th September 2023