Elite athlete Emily Burke in a purple and silver leotard stands with her arms raised, smiling beneath stage lights after completing her routine.

Support for elite athletes

Unlock your sporting potential with our sports scholarships and the Sports Performance Programme.

Scholarships

We offer undergraduate and postgraduate sports scholarships to high-performing student athletes from a range of different sports. 

The scholarship programme ensures our elite athletes receive support to excel in their academic and sporting endeavours whilst studying at the University.

Learn more about the sports scholarships and how to apply.

Scholarship applications for 2025 are now open and will close on Friday 5 September.

Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS)

The University of Southampton is a proud supporter of the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS) programme and we are a TASS Dual Career Accredited institution. Through TASS, we help athletes over the age of 16 years to balance sport, training, education and overall personal development.

Team programmes

Performance Sport Teams  

We support higher performing sports teams who have the ambition to achieve promotions through the British Universities and College Sports (BUCS). Performance Sport staff support teams to achieve greater success during the season through:

  • working collaboratively with the Performance Sport Teams throughout the academic year
  • a robust strength and conditioning training plan for all team members
  • a determined mindset from each player to achieve promotion
     

Pathway Teams

Each year we select Pathway Sports teams from the University's sports teams who show commitment and ambition to adopt a performance culture. The Pathway Sports team work directly with the Performance Sport team to improve their performance in BUCS.

Learn more about Performance Sport and Pathway Teams