| Melbourne University | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Names | |||
| Full name | Melbourne University Football Club | ||
| Nickname(s) | Students, Blacks, Blues, Mugars | ||
| Former nickname(s) | Varsity[1] | ||
| Club details | |||
| Founded | 1859 | ||
| Colours | Black Blue | ||
| Competition | VAFA: Senior men and senior women | ||
| Chairman | MUFC: Andrew M. Donald Blacks: Nick Carah Blues: Andrew Lowcock | ||
| Coach | Blacks: Cameron Roberts Blues: Guy Martin (Blues) | ||
| Captain(s) | Blacks: Bede Mahon Blues: Martin Gleeson | ||
| Premierships | VAFA Premier (Blacks) (14) VAFA Premier (Blues) (6) VAFA Premier (Mugars) (1) | ||
| Ground(s) | University of Melbourne Main Oval Crawford Oval Princes Park | ||
| Uniforms | |||
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| Other information | |||
| Official website | melbourneuniversityfc.com.au | ||
Melbourne University Football Club, often known simply as University, is an Australian rules football club based at the University of Melbourne. Founded in 1859, it is one of the oldest football clubs in the world. The club fields two teams, known as the "Blacks" and "Blues", who both compete in the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) in the William Buck Premier Division and the women's team (nicknamed the "Mugars") in the VAFA Women's.
The club achieved prominence by being a member of Victoria's elite competition in the early 20th century, the Victorian Football League (VFL, now AFL), between 1908 and 1914, departing after its strict policy of amateurism left it uncompetitive in an increasingly professional league.[2] It is one of only three clubs to leave the competition in its entire history. It is one of 13 clubs to have competed in both the VFA and the breakaway VFL competition prior to its expansion into a national competition. The women's team also competed at the highest level of women's competition, the Victorian Women's Football League (VWFL) and VFL Women's (VFLW) in 2016 prior to the formation of the national AFLW competition.
Although there are no records of its exact formation, University's first recorded match took place in the same month that the Castlemaine Football Club was formed, making it possible that University is the second-oldest club in Australia.
- ^ "UNIVERSITY F.C. BEAT COLLEGIANS F.C." The Herald. 30 August 1906. p. 4. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
- ^ Remembering football's forgotten club: 100 years since University by Daniel Cherny for The Age 23 August 2014