| Assocname: | British Universities and Colleges Sport |
| Logosize: | 150px |
| Abbrev: | BUCS |
| Aff: | FISU |
| Region: | EUSA |
| Location: | 20–24 King's Bench Street London SE1 0QX United Kingdom |
| Patron: | Anne, Princess Royal |
| Replaced: | British Universities Sports Association (BUSA) University College Sport (UCS) |
| Url: | https://www.bucs.org.uk |
| Countryflag: | GBR |
| Jurisdiction: | United Kingdom |
| Membership: | 165 |
| Champions: | Loughborough University |
British Universities and Colleges Sport, commonly abbreviated as BUCS, is the governing body for higher education sport in the United Kingdom.
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]
| Sport | Competition(s) | [2] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's | Women's | |||||
| American football | align=center colspan="2" style="background:#ddd;" | None | ||||
| Archery | BUCS Archery Indoor Championships BUCS Archery Outdoor Championships | align=center rowspan=2 style="background:#ddd;" | None | |||
| Athletics | BUCS Athletics Indoor Championships BUCS Athletics Outdoor Championships | |||||
| Badminton | BUCS Badminton Championship | |||||
| Baseball and softball | BUCS National Baseball Championship BUCS National Softball Championship | align=center colspan="2" style="background:#ddd;" | None | |||
| Basketball | BUCS Basketball League | align=center rowspan="2" style="background:#ddd;" | None | |||
| Boxing | BUCS Boxing Championships | |||||
| Canoeing | BUCS Canoe Championships | |||||
| Clay pigeon shooting | align=center rowspan="3" style="background:#ddd;" | None | ||||
| Climbing | BUCS Climbing Championships | |||||
| Cricket | BUCS Cricket Indoor Championship BUCS Cricket Outdoor Championship | |||||
| Cycling | BUCS Cycling | |||||
| Dodgeball | BUCS Dodgeball League | align=center style="background:#ddd;" | None | |||
| Equestrian | BUCS Equestrian Championship | align=center colspan="2" style="background:#ddd;" | None | |||
| Fencing | BUCS Fencing Championships | align=center rowspan=4 style="background:#ddd;" | None | |||
| Football | BUCS Football League | |||||
| Futsal | BUCS Futsal League | |||||
| Gaelic football | British University Gaelic Football Championship | |||||
| Golf | BUCS Golf Tour | |||||
| Gymnastics | align=center rowspan="5" style="background:#ddd;" | None | ||||
| Handball | ||||||
| Hockey | ||||||
| Jiu jitsu | ||||||
| Judo | ||||||
| Karate | ||||||
| Korfball | British Student Korfball Nationals | align=center colspan="2" style="background:#ddd;" | None | |||
| Lacrosse | align=center style="background:#ddd;" | None | ||||
| Modern biathlon and pentathlon | ||||||
| Netball | align=center style="background:#ddd;" | None | align=center style="background:#ddd;" rowspan=2 | None | ||
| Orienteering | ||||||
| Para powerlifting | align=center style="background:#ddd;" colspan=3 | None | ||||
| Pool and snooker | ||||||
| Powerlifting | ||||||
| Rifle | ||||||
| Rowing | BUCS Rowing Championship | align=center style="background:#ddd;" | None | |||
| Rugby league | University and College Rugby League | align=center style="background:#ddd;" colspan=2 | None | |||
| Rugby union | BUCS Super Rugby | align=center style="background:#ddd;" | None | |||
| Sailing | align=center style="background:#ddd;" colspan=2 | None | ||||
| Snowsports | ||||||
| Squash | align=center style="background:#ddd;" rowspan=2 | None | ||||
| Surfing | ||||||
| Swimming | ||||||
| Table tennis | ||||||
| Taekwondo | BSTF National Taekwondo Championships | |||||
| Tennis | align=center style="background:#ddd;" | None | ||||
| Touch rugby | align=center style="background:#ddd;" colspan=2 | None | ||||
| Trampoline | align=center style="background:#ddd;" | None | ||||
| Triathlon | ||||||
| Ultimate | align=center style="background:#ddd;" rowspan=3 | None | ||||
| Volleyball | ||||||
| Water polo | ||||||
| Weightlifting | align=center style="background:#ddd;" colspan=3 | None | ||||
| Wheelchair basketball | align=center style="background:#ddd;" colspan=2 | None | ||||
| Windsurfing | ||||||
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) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's | Women's | Mixed | |||
| Darts | align=center colspan="2" style="background:#ddd;" | None | |||
| Hurling | British University Hurling Championship | ||||
| Ice hockey | BUIHA National Championships | align=center style="background:#ddd;" | None | ||
| Kart racing | align=center colspan="2" rowspan="2" style="background:#ddd;" | None | |||
| Underwater hockey | |||||
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. 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. As of 2023, no university has scored within 1000 points of Loughborough in the overall standings.
Both the 2019–20 and 2020–21 seasons were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.
| Season | Champions | Points | Margin | Third place | Fourth place | Fifth place | Results | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5,512 | 2,459.5 | Results | |||||||
| 5,585.5 | 2,213 | Results | |||||||
| 5,342 | 2,357.5 | Results | |||||||
| 5,133.4 | 1,648.9 | Results | |||||||
| 5,473 | 2,055 | Results | |||||||
| 5,331 | 1,765.5 | Results | |||||||
| 5,876.2 | 1,783.5 | Results | |||||||
| 5,773 | 1,692.5 | Results | |||||||
| 6,498 | 1,683 | Results | |||||||
| 6,230.7 | 1,209.7 | Results | |||||||
| 6,157.7 | 1,038.2 | Results | |||||||
| align=center colspan="8" style="background:#ddd;" | Season suspended and voided due to the COVID-19 pandemic | ||||||||
| align=center colspan="8" style="background:#ddd;" | Not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic | ||||||||
| 8,034.1 | 1,582.6 | Durham | Results | ||||||
| 9,341.5 | 1,426 | Durham | Results | ||||||
| Season | Champions | Points | Margin | Third place | Fourth place | Fifth place | Results |
| University | Titles | Top 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | 0 | 13 | |
| 0 | 7 | 11 | |
| 3 | 6 | ||
| 1 | 8 | ||
| 1 | 7 | ||
| Leeds Beckett | 1 | 4 | |
| 0 | 10 | ||
| 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 Sport 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 such bodies, with the aim of developing specific student sports.
The Football Association (FA) fund projects and positions within BUCS to help develop grassroots football. With their investment, BUCS set up 167 FA Grassroot Hubs to support football and futsal in the higher education sector, benefiting over 250 thousand participants.[5]
BUCS also collaborated with the FA to create the Women's Leadership Programme, providing female students with important skills and qualities to help them in their future careers. The first cohort of leaders graduated in 2020.[6]
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 | |||||
| Rugby union | |||||
| Football | |||||
| Golf | |||||
| Athletics | |||||
| Athletics | |||||
| Rowing | |||||
| Archery | |||||
| David Florence | Canoeing | ||||
| Table tennis | |||||
| Eric Liddell | Athletics Rugby union | ||||
| Athletics | |||||
| Swimming Paratriathlon | |||||
| Netball | |||||
| Rowing Cycling | |||||
| Rugby union | |||||
| Athletics | |||||
| Football | |||||