The University of Queensland is Australia's top-ranked sporting university after being crowned inaugural UniSport Nationals Div 1 champions.
Introduced in 2018, UniSport Nationals feature two flagship events – Nationals Div 1 and 2 – as well as a number of standalone competitions.
535 student-athletes competed for UQ at 2018 Nationals events, including Triathlon, Distance Running and Orienteering.
Team UQ won nine Div 1 champion pennants – the most of UniSport's 43 member universities – to be named overall champion.
UQ Sport chief executive Bryan Pryde said the achievement continues UQ's rapid improvement at UniSport-sanctioned events.
"Over the past three years, UQ has risen from finishing 20th overall at 2015 Australian Uni Games to now be the number one-ranked university in Australia," Mr Pryde said.
"The result is a tremendous achievement, and is testament to our commitment to grow and support student sport at UQ."
In addition to the nine pennants, UQ placed second in five sports, and was third overall in a further seven.
Mr Pryde said a significant number of elite-level student-athletes represented UQ at Nationals events.
"The team that competed at Nationals Div 1 event on the Gold Coast featured 35 EAFU-accredited (Elite Athlete Friendly University) athletes, including 19 UQ Sporting Scholarship recipients," Mr Pryde said.
"This group of elite student-athletes regularly contests state and national-level events, and certainly helped drive performances across a wide array of sports.
"I extend my congratulations to every student-athlete that competed for UQ in 2018, and look forward to Team UQ's continued success at Nationals events."
UQ is likely to field Nationals Div 1 teams in Basketball (Women's), Rugby Sevens (Men's) and Volleyball (Women's) in 2019 after earning promotion from the Nationals Div 2 competition.
2018 UniSport Nationals Div 1 – UQ Results
Champion Pennants (9):
Athletics (Men's & Women's)
Beach Volleyball (Women's Pairs & Mixed Fours)
Handball (Mixed)
Hockey (Men's)
Judo (Men's)
Squash (Mixed)
Touch Football (Mixed)
Second Placings (5):
Badminton (Men's)
Beach Volleyball (Men's Pairs)
Fencing (Men's & Women's)
Tennis (Women's)
Third Placings (7):
Cheer & Dance (Mixed)
Cycling (Men's)
Judo (Women's)
Rowing (Women's)
Sailing (Open)
Taekwondo (Men's)
Volleyball (Men's)
2018 UniSport Nationals Div 1 – Overall Rankings
Ranking |
University |
Pennants |
Second Placings |
Third Placings |
1 |
The University of Queensland |
9 |
5 |
7 |
2 |
The University of Sydney |
8 |
7 |
10 |
3 |
The University of Melbourne |
8 |
4 |
7 |
4 |
Monash University |
7 |
4 |
2 |
5 |
The University of New South Wales |
6 |
3 |
3 |
6 |
Queensland University of Technology |
5 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
University of Technology Sydney |
4 |
14 |
7 |
8 |
Griffith University |
3 |
3 |
6 |
9 |
RMIT University |
2 |
7 |
3 |
10 |
Australian National University |
2 |
3 |
1 |
11 |
Bond University |
2 |
1 |
1 |
12 |
Macquarie University |
2 |
1 |
0 |
13 |
Southern Cross University |
2 |
0 |
0 |
14 |
Federation University |
2 |
0 |
0 |
15 |
Victoria University |
1 |
2 |
0 |
