“It’s just an incredible experience that will stay with you forever” What makes varsity so special for university sports teams

Across the country, universities will be partaking in varsity events. At the University of Sunderland, it’s the event everyone has been looking forward to for the past year.

The Sunderland University futsal team sit in the locker room enjoying a moment of calm before the storm. They are used to playing in front of sparse crowds, no more than a few friends or family watching. It’s hard to fully contain their nerves. They know what is coming.

Their coach has admitted that he treats varsity like “no other fixture.” “knowing that you can bring the varsity trophy home adds a level of pressure and motivation that you don’t get in regular Sunday fixtures.”

Outside a cauldron of noise is waiting to greet them. This is the last game of Clash of the Minsters (COTM), the team’s varsity event against York Saint John (YSJ). With the scores tight, this match is likely to decide who wins the event overall. 

Those who had participated in the 26 earlier events have now packed into the tiny sports barn at YSJ’s campus. On Sunderland’s sideline men dressed as hot dogs sing ‘York are falling apart again.’ YSJ’s fans have gone for a slightly different facade, they wear suits and ties, but their chants are equally loud and vicious.

The time has come for the teams to come out. The players take one last deep breath, and head out to the court for the biggest game of their season.

A Sunderland Netball player looks for a pass whilst York Saint John fans watch in the background

Since Oxford and Cambridge organised a cricket match in 1827, universities across the UK have organised varsities with each other. A varsity typically consists of all of one university’s sports teams facing off against another university’s teams. 

Oxford and Cambridge have plenty of viewership for their competition. Their boat race has been broadcast live on the BBC for years before moving to Channel 4 this year. Most varsities don’t get this notoriety though. Very few people who weren’t participating in COTM will even know it happened. But this doesn’t mean the lesser known competitions lack value.

Poster for 2026 Clash of the Minsters

“I think it’s quite a rare event in the calendar,” said Chris Thornley. He has seen almost every iteration of the event after playing in it as student and now helping to organize it with Sunderland’s sport office.

“It’s basically the one and only time of the year where all teams are playing on the same day, playing close by so that you can all support each other. You can just see how much it means to people to have that kind of culture of belonging… It’s just an incredible experience that will stay with you forever.”

It’s not just the “culture of belonging” that makes it special though. Patrick Crombie, who plays as a goalkeeper for Sunderland’s football and futsal teams highlighted that you “get the full day with your teammates.

“(at BUCS fixtures) you see each other for a couple of hours, then you go home. Whereas tomorrow… we’re getting a full day to be together as a club. It’s a once a year time to spend with your friends and family and people on your teams.”

Watch Sunderland win Clash of the Minsters in 2025: (4) Instagram

At this year’s COTM, buses left Sunderland at 6:15 in the morning, to start playing games in York at 8:30. The York student union had its bar open from 11 AM till the end of the night when it hosted the afterparty and trophy presentation. Chris was very proud to see “in the clubs afterwards, a lot of teams were having drinks with their opposite number.”

Of course, no varsity would be complete without the elaborate costumes and signage made by the teams. It has become a common sight to see people dressed as aliens, hot dogs, old ladies, or any other goofy costume one can think of. It has become so much a tradition that the Sunderland sports office now has an annual award for the best outfit.

Sunderland fans at Clash of the Minsters 2025

For all these reasons, no one bats an eye at the organisational headache or the monetary cost of varsity. There is plenty to do in the lead up to the occasion. Transport has to be organised from one university to another. Venues have to be booked (not every sport takes place on campus). Chris has to organise the media side of things, ensuring journalists and photographers are present, and that information about the event gets out in advance. 

“I think you just see the impact it has on the students, and you see the celebrations when we’ve won. It’s fantastic” he said. 

Ultimately to view the occasion by the time spent or the money lost misses who it’s really for, the students.

Two Sunderland athletes arms around each other

No one put it better than Laura Hockaday, who helped to create COTM in 2013. “I think the student experience is the main thing for me. Seeing all the students really get behind each other on the day and really sort of belong to something… I think that’s worth its weight in gold.”