So far this academic year I’ve witnessed the growing popularity of BUCS Super Rugby which has entered its 10th season for men and second for women.
And this trend has been noted in the media too. Telegraph commentator Charlie Morgan highlighted the increasing trend of large crowds across university campuses at Wednesday fixtures.
“The finest rugby union match in England last week was not contested between two professional teams, though it did attract almost 9,000 people to one of the sport’s most distinguished venues…
But across the sector, the evidence is growing – both quantifiable and anecdotal – that students, regardless of their sporting ability or participation level, are spending their Wednesday afternoons and evenings watching their peers in one of the 55 sports that BUCS offers.
So far this season alone, more than 28,000 spectators have attended BUCS Super Rugby fixtures staged in stadium venues, while regular men’s BUCS Super Rugby fixtures hosted on university campuses are frequently attracting crowds in excess of 500 students.
Upping the attendance
Bath’s attendances for their yearly fixture at The Rec have grown from 4,500 to close to 9,000. The bi-annual “Cardiff Clash,” pits local rival institutions Cardiff University and Cardiff Met University against each other and has twice seen crowds of 8,000 pack out the famous Arms Park ground in 2025.
The trend is spearheaded by BUCS Super Rugby, but across the BUCS programme, my colleagues and peers in the higher education sport industry have widely noted an increase in students following games in a range of sports – everything from hockey to volleyball and American football.
This has been mirrored at institutional level too. At Newcastle, for example, we have seen significant crowds attending intra-mural (IM) rugby fixtures – student-run competitions played outside the BUCS structure. There’s a growing appetite for live university sport.
BUCS also recorded record ticket sales across the 16 sports that make up BUCS “Big Wednesday” in March last year. This is an event that takes place at Loughborough that signals the culmination of many of its league and knockout competitions.
Great, you might think, but why does that matter to institutions?
Reaping the benefits
While there are potential financial benefits from hosting these fixtures and in some instances, selling tickets, this isn’t the primary focus for institutions.
Putting on ticketed fixtures, often at professional, externally owned stadia, comes with its own financial implications around ground hire, stewarding and other overheads, and ticket prices must reflect the student market they are targeting. The value of sport as an extra-curricular part of higher education can appear hard to quantify, but recent research from the University of Edinburgh calculated that for every £1 invested, £5.69 was generated in economic impact and social value.
However, there are tangible benefits for institutions that go beyond the field of play.
High on any institution’s risk register will be retention rates among students – particularly those at the beginning of their higher education journey.
The 2024-25 BUCS student survey gives us solid evidence that those who compete in BUCS’ competitions and events feel a stronger sense of belonging to their institution, with 94.4 per cent of respondents agreeing.
A further 91.9 per cent of those said they felt pride in representing their university.
While those competing in BUCS organised competition constitute a small percentage of the current UK student population, it’s even harder to calculate those who now “participate” in student sport by supporting their peers in action.
However, for these students, attending matches offers more than just entertainment, it creates shared experiences, social connection and a sense of being part of something bigger.
In an environment where loneliness and isolation remain significant challenges, turning up to support university sport can play a meaningful role in helping students build community, strengthen identity and feel connected to campus life.
These findings point to an opportunity for students’ unions and the wider sector to think more intentionally about spectatorship as a form of participation in its own right. If the benefits of belonging and retention are to be realised at scale, fixtures need to be visible, accessible and embedded within the rhythms of campus life – from timetabling and transport, to promotion through communities, residences and societies.
There is also a strong case for viewing attendance at university sport through an access and inclusion lens, welcoming students who may never compete, but who are seeking ways to connect. Building a stronger culture of participation may therefore mean investing not only in teams and talent pathways, but in atmosphere, storytelling and shared traditions – ensuring that supporting university sport becomes an expected, inclusive and celebrated part of the student experience.
And as I look forward to another busy term of activity for Newcastle University’s sporting stars and Wednesday warriors, it brings me great joy to know that they will be cheered on and appreciated from the sidelines by an ever growing army of fans.
