New partnerships and new facilities highlight the University’s focus on sport
Hull has always had a strong tradition as a sporting city and the University has always worked hard to play its part in supporting this important part of local life. This year the University is investing close to £16 million in new sports facilities and forging ever-stronger links with the city’s sporting community.
The investment is part of a wider £200m campus investment and includes a £1.8m football facility with changing rooms, classrooms and a physiotherapy room, and 3G artificial grass pitch. The Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund awarded £500,000 to help create the new Football Hub. In addition, The Football Association awarded £20,000 towards hiring a Football Development Officer.
Work on the new sports facilities at the University got under way in September 2016. They will include a 12-court sports hall, strength and conditioning suite and 120-station fitness suite, among other facilities. These will be available for community use once complete. Phase one of the project includes refurbishment of all three artificial pitches at the sports ground, as well as the 3G pitch. Construction of the sports pavilion began before Christmas. In June 2017, work begins on the 12-court sports facility, including international-standard netball courts and bleacher-style seating for 700 to help make the University a regional hub for netball.
Last year the University became the official training partner of Hull City, offering the chance to make long-lasting links between the club and the University. This season, the University of Hull’s branding appears on Hull City’s first team training and bench wear along with the naming rights to the training ground in Cottingham. The University’s branding is appearing during in-game LED advertising and on media backdrop boards at the KCOM Stadium. The University also enjoys a high-profile partnership with Hull Kingston Rovers as the main shirt sponsor on the Robins’ 2017 home kits. Rovers have the chance to use state-of-the-art facilities at the University and can also take advantage of significant sports science expertise and the opportunity to work with the University’s sports psychologists.
Elite squash returns to Hull
One of the most prestigious tournaments in world squash brought the biggest names in the sport to the University of Hull.
The Allam British Open returned to the University for the fifth year in March, with more first round games than ever before. The PSA World Series Tournament, dubbed the ‘Wimbledon of Squash’, is the oldest and one of the world’s most sought-after titles. The championship is sponsored by Hull alumnus and honorary graduate Dr Assem Allam. Top player Nicol David (left) met some of the University’s Malaysian students.
University’s sporting elite
Alumni have reached the heights across the sporting world as competitors, administrators and journalists:
John Walsh – Rugby League World Cup winner in 1972 with Great Britain
Dr Clare Taylor – Women’s Cricket World Cup winner in 1993 with England
Stewart Regan – Chief Executive of the Scottish FA
Tony Galvin – Republic of Ireland international footballer who won two FA Cups and a UEFA Cup with Tottenham
Mark McCafferty – Chief Executive Officer of Premiership Rugby, the organisers of rugby union’s English Premiership
Adrian Durham – football journalist and presenter who hosts drivetime on TalkSport
David Scott – Rugby league international for Scotland, who played in the
2013 World Cup
Peter Drury – football commentator
Robert Elstone – Chief Executive of Everton FC
Danny Fullbrook – late chief football writer for the Daily Star newspaper. His legacy lives on with scholarships created in conjunction with the Danny Fullbrook Fearless Foundation to support young people for whom university is not an obvious choice.
