When I started university, I never intended to see it through – it was only ever a backup option for me.
I was first in my family and didn’t have a clue about university life, but I knew exactly about sport because it’s the only thing that I consistently enjoyed through my education journey.
At university I didn’t expect to spend hours every week at training sessions or to build friendships through my sports club that would carry me through my degree.
But that’s exactly what happened.
Joining a sports team transformed my university experience. It gave me a community, a structure, and a way to cope when things got tough.
It helped me manage stress, boosted my confidence, and literally kept me going at university when I would have otherwise given up.
I’m not alone. Across the UK, thousands of students have similar stories. Sport isn’t just about winning matches or athletic performance.
It’s about the friendships, sense of belonging, and the soft skills you pick up along the way. And yet, from where I sit now as a sabbatical officer, it feels like the people making decisions in universities don’t get that.
More than just a game
When university felt overwhelming, sport gave me something to balance it out. The weekly matches and training sessions were the highlight of my week above everything else.
It wasn’t the lectures or the late-night study sessions that grounded me—it was the teammates who became friends and the sense of belonging that came with it.
BUCS’ first ever national student sport survey provides some standout metrics from the student respondents – like the 88.7 per cent of students who agree taking part in BUCS has helped support their mental wellbeing, the 50.4 per cent of students who agreed sport had prevented them from dropping out of university and the 93.5 per cent of students who agreed that being involved in sport gave them a sense of belonging to their institution and its community.
Sport has given me, and so many other students, far more than just a sense of belonging or a way to stay active. The most valuable soft skills to be gained at university like leadership, teamwork and initiative aren’t developed in a lecture hall but instead learnt through responsibilities such as organising fixtures, running club meetings, fundraising, sponsorship acquisition and more.
These are the skills that set graduates apart in the job market, yet universities still fail to see sport as a meaningful part of their employability strategies.
Taking sport seriously?
Now that I sit on the other side of the table, I see the frustrating reality. As well as a Sabbatical Officer I am involved in elements of delivering BUCS nationally.
What strikes me is that when universities talk about student retention or well-being, sport barely gets a mention or at least not in the way I feel recognises its impact.
Across the country, university sports departments are continually gathering evidence to highlight the impact of sport on student success.
Reports like the value of university sport and activity show that students who participate in sport are more likely to complete their degrees, achieve higher grades, and develop key employability skills.
It also shows the impact sport has on students’ choice of university as well as the transition/retention rates for existing students. This is just one document that further outlines sport’s contributions to student recruitment, retention, well-being, and graduate outcomes.
Despite these clear benefits, sport is not always fully integrated into university strategies, meaning its potential to enhance student experience and institutional success is sometimes overlooked.
This is prevelant accoriding to BUCS data collected in partnership with Complete University Guide where it was reported that out of the 96 institutions that responded to the survey, only 27% responded yes when asked if sport or physical activity features in their institutional strategy.
There is some change. I have had a great experience at Northumbria and been involved in some of these conversations. The most recent report from BUCS, demonstrating the value of higher education sport, shows case studies from universities such as Leeds Beckett, Herriot Watt and UEA who linked sports participation to graduate employment outcomes, highlight sport’s role in student well-being and proving the impact sport has on continuation rates in students.
These examples set a precedent for institutions looking to position sport as a strategic asset rather than just an extracurricular offering distinct from the core provision. The challenge now is to ensure that these insights translate into long-term institutional commitment, embedding sport into university priorities in a way that reflects its true impact.
Sat on the sidelines?
The real issue isn’t just that sport doesn’t fit neatly into traditional university metrics like league tables, NSS scores, or graduate employment data.
It’s that many higher education institutions still don’t seem to see it as a strategic asset at all.
As someone who has lived experience, I know that trying to then translate that to university staff is extremely difficult as I often feel that in whatever way I try to articulate it, it doesn’t do the experience justice.
This disconnect is also reflected in how funding decisions are made. Some universities invest heavily in performance sport because it brings visibility like trophies and league rankings which are easy to promote. But the biggest impact isn’t just in elite teams – it’s in the accessible programs that provide students with structure, community, and a sense of belonging.
The evidence is there. Sport improves student well-being, supports retention, and builds the skills graduates need to succeed. And yet, in too many universities, it’s still seen as a bonus rather than a core part of the student experience and as a cost rather than a saving or investment.
As the sector faces unprecedented financial pressures, for me and others, the challenge now isn’t proving sport’s value but ensuring universities act on what we already know. For students like me, sport was the reason I stayed at university, and I know the same can be said for plenty of other students.
If universities truly want students to succeed, then when considering funding, sport needs to be considered a lot more in ongoing conversations, not as an afterthought, but as a crucial factor in student well-being and achievement that all universities aspire to and does so in a cost-effective way.
Otherwise, the risk is that it is seen as an affordable “luxury” and investment cut, leading to worsening student experience and pushing demand on other services that has not been considered.
This is a challenge for SUs as well. In many institutions sport sits within the university but its benefits and impact should be recognised and championed by the students’ representative body as much a core part of their commitment to student wellbeing and achievement as any service delivered by the union.
That’s the commitment I’m looking to leave with Northumbria Students’ Union as I approach the end of my sabbatical.
