| Melbourne University | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Names | ||
| Full name | Melbourne University Football Club | |
| Nickname(s) | Students, Blacks, Blues, Mugars | |
| Club details | ||
| Founded | 1859 | |
| Colours | Black Blue | |
| Competition | VAFA: Senior men and senior women | |
| Chairman | Andrew M Donald (MUFC) Nick Carah (Blacks) Andrew Lowcock (Blues) | |
| Coach | Cameron Roberts (Blacks) Guy Martin (Blues) | |
| Captain(s) | Bede Mahon (Blacks) Martin Gleeson (Blues) | |
| 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 | ||
| ||
| 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. 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.
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.[1] 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 club has also, since the 1990s, fielded a women's team (nicknamed the "Mugars") that 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 after the Melbourne Football Club, although Geelong Football Club asserts it is the second-oldest club.
- ^ Remembering football's forgotten club: 100 years since University by Daniel Cherny for The Age 23 August 2014