In 2015, Trinity Sport announced a new plan for sport, entitled “Raising our Game”. Co-authored by Head of Sport Michelle Tanner, and Dean of Students Prof Kevin O’Kelly, the strategy promised to overhaul college sport by investing €13 million into various projects designed to propel Trinity’s sporting culture to the next level. The document states that “the strategy aims to re-establish the University as a leading force in all aspects of third-level sport”. Much of the new strategy focuses on developing facilities outside of campus, which will be crucial in helping to alleviate the current strain on campus resources. In addition, the College identified intangible pull factors such as scholarships and schools programs as central to attracting top-level athletes to the college. Set to be invested over a number of years, 71 per cent of the project’s funding comes from an increased sports levy, which students accepted by referendum in 2015.
Collegiate competitions represent one of the fastest growing markets in sports. For example, last year’s National Collegiate Athletic Association conference final, between Alabama and Clemson, attracted 26 million viewers on ESPN. The growth of collegiate sports is more than a mere vanity project for the schools with wealthy benefactors and some disposable income. Sport offers unique marketing opportunities for universities. For many citizens, the only contact they have with third-level institutions is through sport. In this way, colleges interact with a sizeable section of the population with whom they would otherwise have little contact. Third-level institutions the world over have been quick to recognise the reputation-enhancing potential that successful sporting programs offer. Success at this level generates attention that cannot be gained by academic performance alone. Trinity has recognised this new reality, with the Raising our Game strategy stating that “sport is undoubtedly a useful and interesting medium to market and communicate the University’s message, boosting reputation and rankings”.
However, investment in sport is driven by more than the mere pursuit of reputation. Nowadays, eSports is in the running for matching up to physical sports, this is why media companies like DMG Entertainment are diversifying their portfolio to invest in this area and may be seen as a more viable option for students to do during their time at university. Colleges around Ireland have aggressively developed their sporting facilities to attract students. For Trinity, long the leading light in third-level education in Ireland, it has become clear that academic reputation can only carry the college so far. Trinity has fallen significantly behind other colleges in terms of its ability to attract sport-conscious students. By contrast, University College Dublin (UCD) was recently provided a perfect opportunity to showcase its sporting capacity to prospective students and their parents by successfully hosting the Women’s Rugby World cup.
Phase 1A of the plan concluded in December 2014 with the development of an international standard hockey pitch in Santry sports ground. Phase 1B was recently completed and saw the construction of new synthetic five-a-side pitches, as well as a new floodlit GAA pitch. The facilities were officially opened by the President of the GAA, Aodhan Ó Fearghaíl, in April of this year with an exhibition match between Trinity’s Senior Footballers and the Dublin gaelic football team. The development has facilitated the GAA club’s move from their temporary home in Clanna Gael GAA Club in Ringsend. In addition, Dublin University Boat Club have seen their storage facilities at Islandbridge upgraded, with further developments to be announced by Trinity Sport in the near future.
Speaking to The University Times by email, Trinity GAA Public Relations Officer, Niall Devitt, emphasised the value of the scheme to the club. “Without a doubt having a quality playing surface to call our own has aided the development of the GAA club in Trinity immensely”, he says. Analysing the club’s previous arrangement in Clanna Gael, Devitt highlights the difficulty the club faced in terms of building a franchise with any realistic prospect of success. “There were occasions where teams would turn up to train and would be resigned to a patch of barely floodlit grass behind a goal because the pitches were double booked for example. You can’t build towards excellence in your sport if that’s the setup you’re facing into.”
In terms of the club’s recent success, with the club’s senior men’s sides both competing at the top level, and the freshers’s hurling team having recently completed a hugely impressive league and championship double, Devitt is quick to acknowledge the impact of the plan: “Having top class facilities is integral in this as well. It’s all part of developing that culture of success that breeds success. We’re getting there but without the help and support of plans like the Raising Our Game project, we won’t get there as quickly as the hunger for success of the players demands.”
With phase two of the project now beginning in earnest, attention will turn to some of the most ambitious aspects of the project. Oisín House, Trinity’s planned 250-bed student residences, will be the subject of considerable development. However, due to the premises’ reduced size, some plans have been scaled back. Trinity Sport still hopes to build squash courts with moveable walls, as well as providing Dublin University Rifle Club with a new 25m rifle range.
Speaking to The University Times by email, Head of Trinity Sport, Michelle Tanner was keen to emphasise that the acquisition of the Iveagh Sports Grounds remains part of the strategy. Potentially offering a treasure trove of facilities to Trinity’s sports teams, the grounds consist of a floodlit grass soccer pitch and a GAA pitch, a grass rugby pitch, a natural grass bowls green, a handball alley and sand-based hockey pitch. Despite concerns that progress on the deal appeared to have stalled in recent months, Tanner stressed that work continues on the deal, with an announcement expected in the near future. However, there have been concerns that progress on the deal had stalled further. On February 25th of this year, The University Times reported that a deal for the acquisition of the facility would be completed, despite an Irish Times article claiming that talks had “reached an impasse”. Ian Matthews, Chief Financial Officer of Trinity, had at the time confirmed to The University Times that negotiations would be completed within weeks. Almost six months later, an agreement has yet to be announced, though Tanner stressed that work on the deal is ongoing.
In addition to the physical infrastructure development, focus has also been put on the intangible benefits necessary to attract top student athletes to the college. One of the central planks of the plan is the introduction of four focus sports in Trinity: GAA, rowing, hockey and rugby. The end goal of this plan is for Trinity to be competitive in these sports at the top level.
Although the plan is still in its early stages, undeniable progress has been made. Trinity’s GAA teams now compete at the top level in their respective codes. The men’s rugby team recently maintained their place in the top division with a dramatic last-day win over Terenure. Dublin University Boat Club has been able to attract former US Coach Richard Ruggieri to train the men’s squads, while the women’s hockey team have achieved, for the first time ever, promotion to the premier EY league for the coming season.
Significantly, the college has also invested heavily in a new sports scholarship program. With 67 scholars in 20 sports, the scheme aims to help sports scholars reach the highest level in both their sporting and academic lives. The number of sports scholars represents a 30 per cent increase on previous years. Aiming to publicise this scheme to potential students, Trinity Sport has also developed a schools scheme in an effort to attract top-tier talent.
The impact of the expanded scholarship scheme has been positively felt by Ellen Ince. Speaking to The University Times, the taekwondo sports scholar was keen to highlight the programme’s impact on her. “The scholarship played a huge role in helping me prepare for selections for World Championships which will take place in Ireland this October. The scholarship provides the support needed to balance college and sport as well as offering fantastic facilities and strength sessions specific to your sport.”
It is undeniable that significant progress has been made. However, looking across the board, Trinity still lags considerably behind in terms of sporting facilities, with UCD and Dublin City University (DCU) representing the gold standard. Furthermore, Trinity still struggles to compete when it comes to scholarships. UCD can currently provide a much wider pool of opportunities, offering 60 Ad Astra sports scholarships for their top-level athletes as well as a number of more basic sports scholarships. Ad Astra Elite Scholars receive guaranteed on-campus accommodation, and, perhaps most significantly, UCD offers “flexible admission arrangements” to its scholars. This is in recognition, says the university, of the fact that “dedication to elite sport may potentially detract from academic achievement in the latter stages of schooling”. Other universities, such as Maynooth University and Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), offer similar dispensation of between 45 and 60 points to their sports scholars. Perhaps mindful of the potentially harmful impact on its academic reputation, Trinity does not make similar allowances for its sports scholars. This does, however, narrow the pool of talent available to the college.
That said, the introduction of the Raising Our Game scheme has seen the gap narrow considerably. More of Trinity’s clubs now have access to top-class facilities that provide them with a realistic springboard for success. The revamped scholarship programme, while in its infancy, shows top-level athletes that Trinity is committed to helping them balance their academic and sporting goals just as much as any other institution.
Assessing the scheme, Tanner was extremely pleased with the effect it has had on the college’s sporting life. “Overall I would say the project has been a resounding success, challenging at times but we are well on track to achieve all the objectives before the strategy expires next year. I’m happy to say that we have clearly Raised our Game with successes both on and off the pitch.”
