page_title: University College Dublin
section_title: Sport
hierarchical_section_title: University College Dublin / Student life / Sport
caption_attribution_description: English: UCD Student Centre 2012
context_page_description: University College Dublin is a research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. It has over 1,482 academic staff and 32,000 students, and it is Ireland's largest university, based on 2017/18 student enrolments. UCD originates in a body founded in 1854, which opened as the Catholic University of Ireland on the Feast of Saint Malachy and with John Henry Newman as its first rector; it re-formed in 1880 and chartered in its own right in 1908. The Universities Act, 1997 renamed the constituent university as the "National University of Ireland, Dublin", and a ministerial order of 1998 renamed the institution as "University College Dublin – National University of Ireland, Dublin".
  Originally in locations across Dublin city, all faculties have since relocated to a 133-hectare campus at Belfield, four kilometres to the south of the city centre.
  The 2020 U.S. News & World Report rates UCD as the highest globally ranked Irish university, and the 2019 QS World University Rankings rate UCD as 1st in Ireland and 78th in the world for employability and reputation.
context_section_description: UCD has over 60 sports clubs based on campus with 28 sports scholarships awarded annually.
  UCD competes in the most popular Irish field sports of Gaelic Games, Hurling, Soccer and Rugby Union. UCD is the only Irish university to compete in both the major Irish leagues for rugby and soccer with University College Dublin A.F.C. and University College Dublin R.F.C. competing in the top leagues of their respective competitions. UCD GAA have won the most Sigerson Cup (Gaelic Football) whilst they have the second most Fitzgibbon Cup (hurling) wins, both the major University competitions in the sports in Ireland.
  UCD sport annually compete in the Colours Match with Trinity College Dublin in a range of sports, most notably in rugby. The rugby side has won 35 of the 57 contests. UCD RFC has produced 13 British and Irish Lions as well 70 Irish Rugby International and 5 for other nations.
  In 1985, UCD drew with Everton F.C. in the 1st round of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, which Everton went on to win.
  Other notable team sports in the college basketball side, UCD Marian, victors in the 2012 Irish Basketball Superleague.
  The Belfield campus is home to a wide range of sports facilities. Facilities include the National Hockey stadium (which has previously hosted the Women's Hockey World Cup Finals and the Men's Hockey European Championship Finals) and UCD Bowl a 3,000 capacity stadium used for rugby and soccer. UCD has one of the largest fitness centres in the country, squash courts, tennis courts, an indoor rifle range, over twenty sports pitches (for rugby, soccer and Gaelic games), an indoor climbing wall and two large sports halls. The Sportscenter was added to in 2012 with the competition of an Olympic-size swimming pool, a tepidarium and a revamped fitness center as part of the re-development of the UCD Student Centre.
  UCD hosted the IFIUS World Interuniversity Games in October 2006.
caption: UCD Student Centre 2012
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