The University of Uyo (UNIUYO) is set to introduce a comprehensive sports policy aimed at making sporting activities more sustainable and financially productive while ensuring that student-athletes are able to combine sports with their academic pursuits.
The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Christopher Ekong, disclosed this on Thursday during a press briefing in Uyo while responding to questions on the institution’s plans for sports development.
Ekong said his administration was seeking to move beyond ad hoc interventions in sports by establishing a structured policy that would institutionalise sporting activities and create a framework capable of benefiting both students and the university.
According to him, the objective is not simply to provide occasional support for individual athletes but to develop a sustainable system through which talented students can pursue sporting careers without compromising their education.
The Vice-Chancellor said the university would also seek ways of generating revenue from sports, explaining that funding athletes to pursue opportunities abroad without a sustainable institutional framework would not provide a lasting solution to sports development.
He stressed that student-athletes should be able to pursue their sporting ambitions while remaining committed to their academic programmes. The proposed policy, he said, would therefore address the need for a balance between education and sports.
Ekong also expressed concern about situations in which student-athletes could be discouraged from participating in sports because of misunderstandings surrounding the relationship between sporting activities and academic performance.
He said the new policy would seek to create broader institutional understanding that sports and education can operate together, with appropriate facilities and structures supporting students in both areas.
The proposed framework is expected to provide facilities and systems that would enable athletes to develop their sporting abilities while remaining enrolled in academic programmes. The Vice-Chancellor also said the university wanted to encourage athletes to see their sporting careers as having the potential to progress beyond the university level, including opportunities to represent Nigeria in international competitions.
Another major component of the plan is infrastructure development. Ekong acknowledged that the university does not currently have all the resources required to provide the sports infrastructure it needs and said the institution would therefore explore partnerships with development agencies and other organisations.
He disclosed that the South-South Development Commission had visited the university about two weeks earlier and provided a template for possible intervention. The university, he said, would continue to explore collaborations that could support the development of sports facilities.
The Vice-Chancellor emphasised that the institution was still working on the policy document and that further interventions would follow the completion of the framework.
He said the university wanted the policy to secure broad institutional support and establish clear structures before expanding its sports development activities.
The planned policy could therefore place greater emphasis on the relationship between sports development, student welfare, academic progression and institutional sustainability, while also creating a framework for partnerships and revenue generation.
For student-athletes, the proposed approach signals an attempt to provide a more structured pathway through which sporting talent can be developed without treating academic responsibilities as secondary.
Ekong said the university was committed to completing the policy document before proceeding with further major interventions, adding that the eventual framework would provide a comprehensive basis for the institution’s approach to sports development.
