The department is one of three finalists in the Sports Department of the Year category.
Sport at BGU was praised in the shortlisting process for “a great partnership between students, BGU staff and professionals from Lincoln City FC”. The BGU logo sits proudly on the Lincoln City home shirt and BGU’s sponsorship of the club has brought about many benefits to students, the club and the city over the last year.
Sports students received coaching from City manager Danny Cowley in December, worked with players as they trained at BGU and learnt about the importance of data and research in preparing high-performing teams.
The FA Cup trophy made a memorable appearance on campus in March prior to the Imps’ historic quarter-final clash against Arsenal. The Imps’ FA Cup run attracted national and international TV coverage of the partnership which has helped to raise the profile of the Club, BGU and the city of Lincoln as a whole.
The Sports department also received praise for working with its partners and the wider community to provide more opportunities for people to become involved in sport and physical activity. The Sports Department, working with its FE College partners, has developed a new BSc (Hons) Sport, Coaching and Physical Education degree that will enable more people across the county to study the benefits of sport and physical activity. BGU’s Student Ambassadors are putting their coaching and teaching skills to good use supporting local primary schools to deliver sport and physical activity for young people.
The Cathedral Cup, an initiative developed jointly by students from both of the city’s Universities, was also highlighted as a particular success. Sports teams from BGU competed against teams from the University of Lincoln in October 2016, culminating in a showpiece football match, at Lincoln City’s Sincil Bank stadium, attended by thousands of sports fans from across Lincolnshire. The Cathedral Cup has become an annual charitable and community-focussed showcase for the city.
Dr Graham Basten, Head of School of Social Sciences at BGU, said, “I am absolutely delighted that the Sports Department at BGU has been shortlisted for the Lincolnshire Sports Award.
“That an independent panel has noted our sustained progress in developing community links, student engagement, our partnership with Lincoln City Football Club, and our new BSc Sport and Coaching is testimony to the great work of the academic and wider staff at BGU, our students and our partners.
“It was great to see our logo on the Imps football shirt worn by young and old, a real sense of pride in the city. I therefore hope that more students will be inspired to ‘Study Sport at BGU’”.
The Lincolnshire Sports Awards will take place at the Lincolnshire Showground on 2 November 2017.