British Universities and Colleges Sport

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.

History
BUCS was formed in 2008 by a merger of British Universities Sports Association (BUSA) and University College Sport (UCS).

Sports
As of 2024, BUCS organise competition across 54 sports.

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:

Competitions and events
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.

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.

Over the year, BUCS runs over 120 events for both individual and team sports.

BUCS Points
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.

International representation
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.

National governing body involvement
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.

Partnership with the Football Association (2016–present)
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.

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.

Board
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

Hall of Fame
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.