Nottingham Trent University named Sports University of the Year 2026
Nottingham Trent University (NTU) has been named Sports University of the Year in the Daily Mail’s 2026 University of the Year awards.
By Sarah McLeod | Published on 14 August 2025
Categories: Press office;
Announced as part of the Daily Mail University Guide 2026, NTU was named as Sports University of the Year not only for its position in the top 10 in the British Universities and Colleges Sport rankings over the past four years, but also for its work in engaging a large number of students in sport and exercise at all levels contributing to student mental health and wellbeing.
Alastair McCall, editor of the Daily Mail University Guide, said:
“NTU has established itself as the premier modern university for sport over a period of several years.
“It has ranked in the top 10 among allcomers in the British Universities and Colleges Sport inter-university rankings for the past four years, claiming numerous notable scalps in the process. Finishing ninth in the overall points table and seventh in the table of individual medal winners in 2025 with 16 golds, 17 silvers and 22 bronzes is no mean achievement. Elite level athletes thrive here and are well supported.
“However, what clinched the Sports University of the Year award for NTU was its ambition to make sport part of the daily life of its students more generally. With 60 sports clubs on campus, there are more than enough opportunities for social sportsmen and women to enjoy themselves.
“Innovations such as the NTU Moves app also encourage students to get involved with exercise and to keep fit and healthy by tracking their activities. For its efforts to make sport part of daily life for students of all abilities, NTU was the standout candidate to be Daily Mail Sports University of the Year 2026.”
Steve Denton, Vice-Chancellor at Nottingham Trent University said:
“It is a huge honour for NTU to be awarded the Daily Mail Sports University of the Year and a brilliant recognition for the work of our colleagues and students. The award not only recognises our elite-level performance in the BUCS rankings but our work to engage a large and diverse number of students in sport and exercise as a way to improve student mental health and wellbeing. Can I congratulate everyone involved in NTU Sport for this outstanding achievement.”
Notes for Editors
Press enquiries please contact Sarah McLeod, Corporate Communications Manager, on telephone +44 (0)115 848 8735, or via email.
About Nottingham Trent University
Nottingham Trent University (NTU) has been named UK ‘University of the Year’ five times in six years, (Times Higher Education Awards 2017, The Guardian University Awards 2019, The Times and Sunday Times 2018 and 2023, Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2023) and is consistently one of the top performing modern universities in the UK.
It is the 3rd best modern university in the UK (The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023). Students have voted NTU 1st in the UK for student employability (Uni Compare 2025)
NTU is the 5th largest UK institution by student numbers, with over 36,000 students and more than 4,400 staff located across six campuses. It has an international student population of over 6,000 and an NTU community representing over 160 countries.
NTU owns two Queen’s Anniversary Prizes for outstanding achievements in research (2015, 2021). The first recognises NTU’s research on the safety and security of global citizens. The second was awarded for research in science, engineering, arts and humanities to investigate and restore cultural objects, buildings and heritage. The Research Excellence Framework (2021) classed 83% of NTU’s research activity as either world-leading or internationally excellent.
NTU was awarded GOLD in the national 2023 Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) assessment, as it was in 2019.
NTU is a top 10 for sport (British Universities and Colleges Sport league table 2025).
NTU is the most environmentally sustainable university in the UK and second in the world (UI Green Metric University World Rankings, 2024).