Scholars graduating to football stage with honours
University teams are climbing higher and higher up game’s ladder against all the odds, writes Chris Evans
A flurry of clubs are turning heads throughout their leagues
When Duncan Watmore stepped on stage in Newcastle back in 2015, dressed head to toe in black and white, he became part of an exclusive club.
The Sunderland striker might have been committing North-east sacrilege by donning the colours of the club’s sworn enemy, but he did not care. He was joining a group so select that former Leeds United defender David Wetherall was the only other member: it was Watmore’s graduation day and he was becoming only the second Premier League footballer to receive a first-class honours degree.
While Watmore’s special day, as he collected his bachelor of arts in economics and business management from Newcastle University, might have been a rare occurrence for a top professional footballer in Britain, it could soon become a more common sight. As a new academic year looms large, Britain is seeing a surge in university teams competing higher and higher up the football pyramid.
It is a marriage that would seem alien to many wannabe pros, although the trend of combining a university degree and an on-pitch education appears to be growing.
Other elite sports, including rugby and athletics, already enjoy a healthy relationship with some of our country’s best universities, while in the United States, the college system is seen as the route for young sports stars to hone their talents. So why couldn’t it happen in football, too?
For years, the misconception has been that the standard of university football is not high enough to warrant considering, but that is starting to change. Earlier this year, Welsh Premier League side Cardiff Met FC came within a Europa League play-off defeat by Bangor of becoming the first university team to qualify for European competition. That came a season after Stirling University finished third in the Highland Football League – two positions away from a place in a play-off to reach the Scottish Football League.
Do not expect to see similar success stories in England, despite a flurry of clubs, including Loughborough University and Team Northumbria, turning heads in their leagues. In the wake of Team Bath reaching the Conference South in 2008, the FA placed a cap on university teams to stop them progressing beyond the eighth tier due to their ownership structures – a draconian rule given the owners at some Football League clubs in recent years.
Loughborough is the focal point of an almost full-time football programme that offers training facilities to trump most professional clubs. With alumni such as former Charlton midfielder Bradley Pritchard showing what can be achieved, the potential is there for all to see. So, while it might be a little far-fetched to expect the likes of Harry Kane to join Watmore in a cap and gown, the face of grassroots football could be changing.