If you feel obligated to go to a UK uni but would rather spend your time jogging across a muddy field, then you’re in luck! Here’s a list of the best and worst UK unis for sport, according to match results from 2024 to 2025. These are the unis to aim for if you love sport (or the ones to avoid, if you couldn’t care less).
Lots and lots of Russell Group unis do really well at sport. This does make sense, if you think about it. Older, richer unis in the UK are more likely to have the money to splash on sports teams, plus more land where students can run about throwing balls.
The performance of Oxbridge sports teams is pretty underwhelming, compared to other Russell Group unis. The University of Oxford is only ranked 14th in the UK for sport, and the University of Cambridge is only 21st. Ouch.
British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) is the governing body in charge of over 50 different sports at 170 UK institutions. When athletes and teams from UK unis and colleges compete against each other, they win BUCS points. BUCS then collates all this data in a league table. You can find out about exactly how BUCS assigns all these points here. The higher the points, the better the teams from that uni or college have done this year.
Just as a heads up – apparently some of the points could still change slightly because of a review of the Swimming Team Championships. But these changes wouldn’t impact the overall rankings of the UK unis and colleges.
So, here are the best UK unis at sport, based on BUCS points from the 2024 to 2025 academic year:
1. Loughborough University – 9,872.0 points
2. University of Nottingham – 8,808.0 points
3. Durham University – 5,350.7 points
Uni sport is extra intense at Durham, because each college has its own sports teams too
4. University of Exeter – 5,186.5 points
5. University of Edinburgh – 4,500.83 points
6. University of Birmingham – 4,264.25 points
7. University of Bath – 3,882.5 points
8. Newcastle University – 3,588.4 points
9. Nottingham Trent University – 3,442.0 points
10. University of Bristol – 3,010.5 points
11. Cardiff University – 2,880.7 points
Cardiff students take rugby extra seriously
12. University of Stirling – 2,704.5 points
13. University of Warwick – 2,503.33 points
14. University of Oxford – 2,426.75 points
15. Imperial College London – 2,411.7 points
Plus, here are the 15 worst UK unis for sport in 2025:
1. University of Cumbria – 2.0 points
2. University of Suffolk – 5.0 points
=3. London Metropolitan University – 6.0 points
=3. Richmond American University London – 6.0 points
=5. Birmingham Newman University – 8.0 points
=5. Wrexham University – 8.0 points
7. University of West London – 11.5 points
8. University of Greater Manchester – 12.0 points
9. Leeds Trinity University – 21.5 points
Um, maybe Leeds Trinity students need to use these pitches more?
(Credit: Chemical Engineer)
10. Bishop Grosseteste University – 22.0 points
11. School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) – 28.0 points
12. Goldsmiths, University of London – 32.0 points
13. University of Wales Trinity Saint David – 35.5 points
14. Royal Agricultural University – 52.5 points
15. Royal Veterinary College – 53.5 points
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