British_Universities_Sports_Association
British Universities and Colleges Sport, commonly abbreviated as BUCS, is the governing body for higher education sport in the United Kingdom.
| Sport | University sport in the United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | BUCS |
| Founded | 2008; 16 years ago (2008) |
| Affiliation | FISU |
| Regional affiliation | EUSA |
| Location | 20-24 King's Bench Street London SE1 0QX United Kingdom |
| Replaced |
|
| Official website | |
| www | |
 | |
BUCS is responsible for organising 54 inter-university sports in the United Kingdom, as well as representative teams for the FISU World University Championships and the FISU World University Games.
BUCS is a membership organisation of over 165 universities and colleges, with six thousand teams competing across 850 leagues. Anne, Princess Royal is currently patron of BUCS.
BUCS was formed in 2008 by a merger of British Universities Sports Association (BUSA) and University College Sport (UCS).
As of 2024, BUCS organise competition across 54 sports.[1]
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Non-BUCS sports
Certain university and college sports are not governed by BUCS for various reasons. The following is a partial list of these sports and respective competitions:
| Sport | Competition(s) | Champions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's | Women's | ||
| Darts | UDUK Nationals |  Sheffield | |
| Hurling | British University Hurling Championship | ||
| Ice hockey | BUIHA National Championships |  Nottingham |
 Caledonia |
| Kart racing | British Universities Karting Championship |  Reading | |
| Underwater hockey | BOA Student Nationals |  West Yorkshire | |
Team sports compete in BUCS leagues, with the majority of league fixtures taking place on Wednesday afternoons, which is commonly referred to as BUCS Wednesday. Wednesday afternoons are generally free from lectures to allow students to compete in sport. There are 850 leagues, with institutions across the country competing against each other to avoid relegation or win the league and gain promotion to higher leagues.
The finals of the Championship and Trophy are played at BUCS Big Wednesday. This annual single-day event showcases the Championship and Trophy finals across 16 league sports. As of 2023,[update] Big Wednesday will take place at Loughborough University.[3]
BUCS Nationals is an annual multisport event that takes place across three days. As of 2023, indoor athletics, swimming, badminton and climbing are the sports represented at BUCS Nationals. The event is held in Sheffield.[4]
Over the year, BUCS runs over 120 events for both individual and team sports.
BUCS Points are awarded to institutions based on their finishing positions in leagues and events under the BUCS marquee. The accumulation of these points determines the overall BUCS champion.
Loughborough University have topped the overall BUCS standings in each of the 13 years since its founding, including the 2022–23 season.
Both the 2019–20 and 2020–21 seasons were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.
By year
| Season | Champions | Runners-up | Third place | Fourth place | Fifth place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008–09 |  Loughborough |
 Bath |
Leeds Beckett |  Birmingham |
 Edinburgh |
| 2009–10 | Loughborough |
Leeds Beckett | Birmingham |
Bath |
Edinburgh |
| 2010–11 | Loughborough |
Birmingham |
Leeds Beckett |  Durham |
Bath |
| 2011–12 | Loughborough |
Durham |
Birmingham |
Bath |
Leeds Beckett |
| 2012–13 | Loughborough |
Durham |
Birmingham |
Bath |
 Exeter |
| 2013–14 | Loughborough |
Durham |
Birmingham |
Bath |
Edinburgh |
| 2014–15 | Loughborough |
Durham |
Edinburgh |
Bath |
Birmingham |
| 2015–16 | Loughborough |
Durham |
Edinburgh |
Nottingham |
Exeter |
| 2016–17 | Loughborough |
Durham |
Edinburgh |
Nottingham |
Exeter |
| 2017–18 | Loughborough |
Durham |
Edinburgh |
Nottingham |
Bath |
| 2018–19 | Loughborough |
Nottingham |
Durham |
Edinburgh |
Exeter |
| 2019–20 | Season suspended and voided due to the COVID-19 pandemic | ||||
| 2020–21 | Not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic | ||||
| 2021–22 | Loughborough |
Nottingham |
Durham |
Edinburgh |
Exeter |
| 2022–23 | Loughborough |
Nottingham |
Durham |
Exeter |
Edinburgh |
By university
| University | Titles | Runners-up | Top 5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loughborough |
13 | 0 | 13 |
| Durham |
0 | 7 | 11 |
| Nottingham |
3 | 6 | |
| Bath |
1 | 8 | |
| Birmingham |
1 | 7 | |
| Leeds Beckett | 1 | 4 | |
| Edinburgh |
0 | 10 | |
| Exeter |
6 | ||
Members of both FISU (International University Sport Federations) and EUSA (European University Sports Association), BUCS is responsible for sending a cohort of students to international events including the World University Summer & Winter Games and the European Universities Games. The British international team goes by the name of GB Students.
BUCS applies for annual funding from Sports England to support the delivery of student sport across the country. They also work with national governing bodies to develop sports within the student sector and some posts within BUCS are funded by governing bodies, with the aim of developing the specific sport for students.
The Football Association fund projects and positions within BUCS to help develop grassroots football. With their investment, BUCS set up 62 Football Grassroot Hubs to support Football and Futsal in the higher education sector, benefiting just under 70,000 participants. BUCS and The FA also joined to create the Women's Leadership Programme, providing students with important skills and qualities to help them in their future careers whether that is in the football and sporting sector or not. The first cohort of leaders graduated in 2020.
The BUCS Board is responsible for leading strong governance and strategic leadership within the sector. The Board is made up of the chair, five independent directors and four BUCS directors - two representing students and two representing the staff of the membership.
Chair of the Board: Vacant
Commercial Director and Senior Independent Director: Russell James
Sport and Competition Director: Katy Storie
Finance Director: Simon Wilson
EDIA Director: Vacant
Legal and Governance Director: Carrie Stephenson
Chair of BUCS Senior Managers Executive: Cathy Gallagher
Chair of BUCS Advisory Group: Chris Anthony
Student Director: Ella Williams
Student Director, Welfare Lead: George Christian
In 2019, BUCS introduced the Hall of Fame to celebrate the centenary of university sport in the United Kingdom. The Hall of Fame acknowledges individual dedication to and achievements in sport.
As of 2024, 18 athletes have been inducted into the BUCS Hall of Fame.
| Inductee | University | Sport(s) | Season(s) | BUCS | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Alison Odell CBE |
Birmingham Leicester |
Administrator | |||
 Alun Wyn Jones OBE |
 Swansea |
Rugby union | |||
| Bill Slater CBE |
Birmingham |
Football | |||
| Catriona Matthew OBE |
 Stirling |
Golf | |||
| Christine Ohuruogu MBE |
 UCL |
Athletics | |||
| Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill DBE |
Sheffield |
Athletics | |||
| Dame Katherine Grainger DBE |
Edinburgh |
Rowing | |||
| Danielle Brown MBE |
Leicester |
Archery | |||
| David Florence |
Nottingham |
Canoeing | |||
 Deng Yaping |
Nottingham |
Table tennis | |||
| Eric Liddell |
Edinburgh |
Athletics Rugby union |
|||
| Jonathan Edwards CBE |
Durham |
Athletics | |||
| Lauren Steadman MBE |
 Portsmouth |
Swimming Paratriathlon |
|||
| Liz Nicholl CBE |
Nottingham |
Netball | |||
| Rebecca Romero MBE |
 St Mary's |
Rowing Cycling |
|||
| Sir Gareth Edwards CBE |
 Cardiff Met |
Rugby union | |||
| Sir Roger Bannister CH CBE |
 Oxford |
Athletics | |||
| Sophie Ingle OBE |
Cardiff Met |
Football | |||
- "BUCS Sports". British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS).
- "BUCS 2022–23". BUCS. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- "Big Wednesday". BUCS. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- "Nationals". BUCS. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
