How do uni's decide which sports to invest in?

[weddenstay]

DD will be heading to uni in 2022. She is torn between one that does the academic course she wants to do and one that has training facilities for the sport she plays at national level. It's a relatively niche sport (hence not naming it), but growing in popularity. It is closely related to another sport that has much wider participation and which is already popular at this uni. If people are lucky enough to have access to facilities for both sports they do tend to do both, but facilities for the niche variety are few and far between in the UK. If she chose the academic uni she would have limited access to training facilities over an hour away by car. We've been musing about whether, if she chose that option, she could try to persuade the university to build a training facility for her sport on site - it would be possible for around £30k, and they do seem to have enough space. There are already some niche sports with fantastic facilities there. If universities have money to spend on sport facilities, how do they decide which sports to invest in? Do they consult students?

DD played a popular sport and in her first year was encouraged by teammates to join them for a minority sport. (OK football and futsal.)

Trouble is that so few Universities had teams that matches were miles away and so a fixture involved a whole day trip. After a day on a coach (Bristol to Brighton and back) she gave up and gained new appreciation for trips across the Severn bridge.

We would be more able to help if you say what the sport is. There may be people here with children at the university who may know if they have been a discussion or demand for the facility in the past and how it was received.
There’s been discussions on here before as to which universities have beach volleyball courts for example.

I think it’s a decent Q, I chose my uni based in the proximity to mountains and coast as I was very into climbing at that time. I was studying geology though!

@weddenstay

Thanks all. Please don't go off at tangents speculating about which sport though. Its an outdoor facility, so doesn't need a building, and can be set up quickly (days) and easily on a temporary or permanent basis without planning permission if the conditions are right.

But if you're asking unis to spend 30k plus it will not be a quick process. They just don't work like that.

If your DD is competing at national standard in her sport, wouldn’t she be better off speaking to the governing body of that sport, rather than the university age might attend for a few years?

Or adapt her degree choice to go to the university with there intriguing facilities.

Or stay at home/go to local uni/open university/distance learning/get a job/not go to university yet and continue to use the facilities she has been.

But if you're asking unis to spend 30k plus it will not be a quick process. They just don't work like that

The question was aimed at finding out more about how they do work.
We realise money and time will be issues. However if she is there 4 years and manages to persuade the uni to build something by the time she leaves then she will at least have benefited those who come along afterwards. As i said, its a growing sport. It would almost certainly be used by a local club as well as the university club, and could be used by local children for holiday camps etc, as well as attracting more adults to the sport.

Some local authorities have set up facilities, but space is usually the issue. This uni has lots of space.

Thanks for all the helpful info everyone.

*age = she

I would not be sure the university has "lots of space". People believe the university where I work has space that could be used for all kinds of things, but actually a lot of the space they refer to can't be built on because it is part of the university's flood control system.

Most universities have completely stopped any capital spending on things like new buildings/facilities unless completely necessary, while they deal with the financial impact of COVID.

Once they restart this spending (which could take 3 to 5 years depending on the institution), the priority will be teaching and learning space, then accommodation, then everything else.

What I mean to say is, in the current climate trying to convince unis to build a 30k sports facility when they're currently making redundancies is a complete non starter.

Ok. The uni itself won't pay or do any sort of costing or committee approval. The SU sports society would be the people to do that.

If they perceive this sport is likely to be popular (is there a uni league - that would help) they might be prepared to do all the work that would be involved (talking to uni Director of Estates, local authority, sport England etc). They may well decide to focus their efforts elsewhere of course.

But as others have said these things take a long time, and while it's laudable she'd like to do it for others in the future, it's unlikely she would actually benefit herself.

If there is a local club , do they have facilities or are perhaps better placed to lobby the uni to support the sport. Has she asked the SU if there is a related society or interest in establishing one? I think these Olympics have demonstrated what can be achieved in spite of limited access to purpose built facilities.

This uni has lots of space.

This always makes me laugh. People assume universities have lots of space and rooms but usually it's more complicated than that and that space might be used for something at certain times of the year which would make building sports facilities impossible.

I know we aren’t meant to be speculating but I’m guessing Lacrosse and she her preferred course isn’t run at Exeter.

I think it depends where your DD sees her future going and also the longevity of athletes in the sport.

Does she want to take a shot at the Olympics? Are athletes finished by 25ish? If the answer is yes to both of those, she should go to the university that already caters for the sport.

If she does not want to go to the top in the sport, she should go to the university with the course she wants and pursue the sport more casually.

If she wants the sport at an elite level but it's a sport where athletes can still compete at the top level into their 30s she could do the course she wants and pick up elite training afterwards.

Is she under a high performance manager (etc.)? That person would probably be the best one to go to for advice.

In answer to the main question, no I really doubt the university would build the facility in time to be of use.

Is it something to do with rifles/ laser runs? (Sorry, couldn't help having a guess )

Is it a sport that is played in the US? If so performance coaches often have contacts with US colleges, and generous scholarships might be available.

Otherwise I would suggest a gap year or two, in part to get it out of her system.

We know someone who did that and played semi-pro in another country for a couple of seasons, long enough to realise that he was not going to make to the absolute top. He did select his University based on the sport, but it was a good one anyway and has kept playing since.

Ditto another child who took a year or two off to train full time, and is now at the University that hosts the national performance training centre for her sport. But again a good University, well known for sport.

@weddenstay

But if you're asking unis to spend 30k plus it will not be a quick process. They just don't work like that

The question was aimed at finding out more about how they do work.
We realise money and time will be issues. However if she is there 4 years and manages to persuade the uni to build something by the time she leaves then she will at least have benefited those who come along afterwards. As i said, its a growing sport. It would almost certainly be used by a local club as well as the university club, and could be used by local children for holiday camps etc, as well as attracting more adults to the sport.

Some local authorities have set up facilities, but space is usually the issue. This uni has lots of space.

Thanks for all the helpful info everyone.

But if she's prepared to wait 2 or 3 years before she gets to do her sport at Uni (assuming all the funding/approvals etc etc are rushed through) then can't she wait until she's finished Uni?

Are there any local clubs that she could train at?

Also, if they are facilities that can be set up in a few days at 'little' cost then what is it about them that she needs elite level facilities?

I am gagging to find out what this sport is...you said she 'plays' the sport so I'm guessing it's not something like skiing or skateboarding or shooting - you 'do' those rather than 'playing' them.

Tell us, tell us, tell us!!

It's obviously up to her to choose what she wants to do, based on all the info available - I didn't come here to ask advice on her decision, and only gave the personal info for context. But thanks to those who have given some insight on how universities decide what to invest in.

There's 140 universities in the country, perhaps look at other institutions?

If it's Loughborough that has the facility then it's not a fair comparison because they are sports specialists

Dd chose her university because it was on the coast, she had an offer for Cambridge

I really can't see how it can be that outing to tell us which sport. I've said my son does race walking, and that's a really small sport!

If it is Exeter, forget it. They've just evicted the local parkrun from the bit of the course that goes through their land, although they've been able to reroute it. They won't be spending £££ on facilities for a niche sport.

I was also going to ask if it's something that is offered in the US - or Ireland?

I'm going with Quidditch.

There is a Quidditch society at my university. The Golden Snitch is a person, apparently, and the rules allow them to get on a bus to escape capture (or so a student told me, they might have been making it up).

@MoreRainThanAnyYet

I'm going with Quidditch.

Op says it’s an Olympic sport.

I'd watch Olympic Quidditch.