Kian Gadsby and Ollie Stevenson
BUCS Big Wednesday is the biggest event of the university sporting calendar, as teams from all over the country flock to Loughborough for the finals and compete for glory.
With 19 teams, UoN have the strongest contingent going, and with the third-largest squad ever taken they will be looking to get their hands on as many titles as possible. Last year they emerged with 11 National Championships and 16 titles overall, and they will be hoping to eclipse that tally this year.
Every team has worked phenomenally hard to get to this point and will have to work harder yet to come away with silverware. However, with so much success it can be very overwhelming to keep track of everything that’s going on.
To make that easier, we have trawled through the records and compiled a full list of every team playing and all the key storylines that will define what promises to be a fascinating day of sporting action.
Will Badminton Avenge Last Year’s Final Defeats?
Open 1 vs Loughborough 1, National Championship, 15:00
Open 2 vs Loughborough 2, National Trophy 9:30
Starting the preview with a bang, as there are scores that need settling in Badminton.
UoN Open 1’s lost the Championship final to Loughborough 6–2 last year and have spent the season trying to close the gap. In league terms, they largely did, finishing second behind Loughborough in the Open Premier and dropping just two matches, both to Loughborough.
They arrive via a thumping 8-0 quarter-final win over Durham, before winning 6-2 away at Bath in the semis. The gap between these two sides is smaller than last year’s scoreline suggested, and Nottingham will fancy their chances of reversing the result when it matters most.
Heading into the trophy final and it’s another Nottingham-Loughborough rematch with another score to settle.
UoN Open 2 fell 6–2 to Loughborough 2 in last year’s Trophy final and are back for a second shot at glory. Their route to the final has been solid, wins over Warwick, Loughborough 3rd, Southampton, and Surrey, but Loughborough 2nd went unbeaten through the Midlands Tier 1 league, only conceding a remarkable 6 rubbers, finishing above Nottingham in the table.
This is the toughest assignment of any UoN side on the day, and Nottingham will need to be at their absolute best to flip the script.
Can Fencing Women’s 1 Complete an Unbeaten Season with a Double?
Women’s 1st vs Edinburgh 1st, National Championship, 14:30
Mixed 2 vs Manchester 1st, National Trophy, 11:00
Twelve months ago, UoN Mixed 2’s lifted the Trophy after beating Exeter 128-118. They have looked like defending champions ever since, going unbeaten and averaging 134 points per match out of a possible 135 across the season.
Their trophy run included dismantling Oxford, Cambridge, Bath, and LSE in the knockout rounds without ever being seriously troubled, with the Green and Gold winning each tie by a margin of at least 33 points. Now they face Manchester 1st with the chance to go back-to-back.
It will be the toughest test of their cup run, as Manchester have enjoyed an equally impressive unbeaten run this year, but the evidence of this season suggests this is a challenge that they will relish.
Meanwhile, the Women’s 1’s, who were also champions in 2025, arrive as the most dominant side in the country. The Green and Gold enjoyed a perfect season, including ten wins from ten in the Premier North, and convincingly saw off St Andrews (132-88) and Durham (135-97) in the knockout rounds on the way to the final.
Edinburgh, who finished fourth in the same division, face a Nottingham side that has simply not dropped a match all year.
At the heart of this side is Ada Niculai, a third year Psychology student and reigning BUCS Individual Women’s Epee Champion, arriving in Loughborough in the form of her life.
This is about as close to a formality as Big Wednesday gets, but UoN will know better than to take anything for granted with a national title on the line.
Will Football Avenge Last Year’s Heartbreak?
Men’s 1 vs Stirling, National Championship, 16:00
Women’s 1 vs Northumbria, National Championship, 19:30
For the second year running, both the men’s and the women’s 1’s teams will be contesting the National Championship final.
Last year ended in heartbreak, as both sides were beaten by narrow margins to fall short of the trophy. The Men missed a plethora of chances, including a penalty, in a 1-0 loss to Loughborough, while the Women were unable to complete a late comeback as they lost 2-1 to St Andrews.
This year they want revenge, and both sides will fancy their chances of getting their hands on the crown.
The men play first, and they take on Stirling University in a game that promises to be a titanic tussle. Nottingham won the first duel between the sides back in November, but a thumping 5-1 victory on the final game of the Premier North season saw the Scottish side snatch the league title away from the Green and Gold.
UoN have rebounded well since that defeat to make the National Championship final. They scored a dramatic injury time equaliser to take the quarter-final against Exeter to extra-time, before a gritty performance saw them come away from Hartpury with a 1-0 win. These results showed the strong character and ‘never-say-die attitude’ of the team, which may be a defining characteristic if they are to beat Stirling and get over the line with the trophy.
Turning over to the Women’s team, and after getting revenge for last year by beating St Andrews to the Premier North league title and again in the semi-final, UoN will be hoping to complete the turnaround by lifting the National Championship trophy against Northumbria.
They come into this game as the favourites, having won the league title with eight wins from ten, scoring the most goals and conceding the least. This record includes two wins over their opponents, with a superb 5-2 victory early over Northumbria early into the season setting the tone for the rest of the campaign.
However, Northumbria have recovered from their disappointing start to find themselves in form heading into the game, having only lost once since that match in October (a 1-0 defeat against UoN). Their stellar run features thumping 5-0 victories over St Andrews on the final day of the league season and Cardiff Met in the cup quarterfinals, before they held off a late Loughborough fightback to win 3-2 and book their place at BUCS Big Wednesday.
Both UoN teams have tricky tests in store, but they have every opportunity to rectify last season’s wrongs and get their hands on the National Championship trophy.
Can Women’s Hockey 1’s Secure Five-In-A-Row?
Women’s 1 vs Loughborough, National Championship, 14:30
Four-time champions and they are back for more. UoN Women’s Hockey arrive in Loughborough with a dynasty to defend having claimed four consecutive national titles, including last year’s final against this exact opponent.
That match was a nervy one: Loughborough had topped the regular season table and fancied their chances, but Maddie Axford and Tilly O’Dea combined for the opener before Sienna Dunn converted a penalty corner to put UoN two in front. Jess Dyson, Loughborough’s England U21 international, pulled one back late on, but it was not enough.
Loughborough return to their home pitch on Wednesday with unfinished business and a point to prove, and home advantage in a final of this magnitude is not nothing. But a UoN programme that has made a habit of winning this fixture will not be rattled by the occasion.
Five in a row is within reach, and this squad know exactly what it takes to get there.
Can Lacrosse Cap Dominant Season with a Double?
Women’s 1’s vs Exeter 1’s, National Championship,16:30
Men’s 1’s vs Durham 1’s, National Championship 19:15
The Lacrosse finals start with a rematch, as the Women’s 1s look to defend their National Championship title.
The Green and Gold dismantled Exeter 12-3 in last year’s final and have shown no signs of slowing down, seeing off Birmingham (21-3) and Nottingham Trent (13-6) to reach the showpiece again.
Exeter will be relieved that the two players responsible for 7 of the 12 goals last year, Emma Savage and Rachael Ball, have graduated. However Nottingham have the experience of winning this exact fixture, and the results this season suggest they are in the form to go all the way and get their hands on a fourth National Championship trophy in five years.
Looking towards the Men’s game and on paper UoN are firm favourites. Nottingham topped the Men’s Premier with 28 points from ten games, amassing nine wins, one draw, and scoring 159 goals while conceding just 30.
Durham will be a tough opponent, as they finished five points adrift with 23 points and a 118-44 goal record. These two sides met twice in the league this season, an 8-8 draw for the only blemish on UoN’s record at Durham in October, before Nottingham won 12-5 in the return home fixture.
In the knockouts, the Green and Gold have been devastating: 19-4 against Loughborough, then 14-1 against local rivals, and last year’s Championship winners, Nottingham Trent in the semis.
Durham may be the only team to have taken points away from Notts this season, but despite this, this side is in ruthless form and deserves to be heavy favourites to claim the Championship.
Will Table Tennis peak when it matters most?
Women’s 1st vs Durham 1st, National Championship, 12:00
Men’s 1st vs Sheffield Hallam 1st, National Championship, 14:00
Women’s 2nd vs Women’s 3rd, National Trophy, 12:00
UoN Women’s Table Tennis 1st arrive at the Holywell Fitness Centre having dominated this competition for the better part of a decade. Built under the guidance of Head Coach Kelly Sibley they have eleven national titles and counting, an achievement Sibley described as “incredible to have spent a decade at the top.”
That kind of institutional consistency is almost unheard of in university sport, and nothing about this season suggests the dynasty is about to end.
At the heart of this side is Jiaqi Meng, who announced herself as the most complete player in university table tennis at the 2025 BUCS Individual Championships. She did not drop a single game en route to the Women’s Singles title, before going on to claim Women’s Doubles alongside Sophie Earley and Mixed Doubles with Hanming Lin.
Durham have earned their place in this final and deserve credit for getting here, but they face a Nottingham side that has turned winning this title into an annual tradition. Sibley’s squad are clinical, deep, and led by a player in the form of her life. The question on Wednesday is not whether UoN can win; it is whether Durham can find anything to stop them.
Turning over to the Men’s 1, who are also the defending champions and so far this year they have looked every bit like it.
They beat Swansea 17-0 and Imperial 16-1 in the knockouts, both scorelines that tell their own story. In the Men’s Premier, Nottingham finished second with four wins from six, comfortably ahead of Sheffield Hallam in third, who managed three.
This does not, however, tell the whole story. Nott’s last league showdown against Hallam saw them defeated 7-10, and the final game of the season resulted in a 6-11 defeat to local rivals Nottingham Trent means they head into Big BUCS Wednesday without the momentum they would want.
This recent slump tarnished an otherwise perfect season, and will give Sheffield Hallam a reason to believe, but UoN will still back themselves to bounce back when it matters most.
The final game is arguably the headline fixture of the day for a different reason entirely: this is an all-UoN final. Before a single ball is hit, Nottingham have already secured the Women’s Trophy.
Women’s 2nd edged through via emphatic wins over Loughborough (5-0), Lancaster (5-0), and Newcastle 2nd (3-0) not conceding a point in the competition so far. The Women’s 3rd overcame Nottingham Trent (3-2) in the tightest result of either run, before seeing off Bristol (4-1) and KCL (3-0) to reach the final.
Whoever wins, it is green and gold going home with silverware – a testament to the sheer depth of table tennis at Nottingham.
Can Tennis Establish Control in Stirling Rivalry?
Men’s 1 vs Stirling 1, National Championship, 15:30
Men’s 3 vs Stirling 3, National Trophy, 10:30
Last year, UoN Men’s 1 ended a 71-year-long hiatus to become National Champions by defeating Stirling in the final.
Little did they know that their rise to the top of men’s tennis, a culmination of years of hard work and dedication, would spark a fierce rivalry with Stirling University. Their victory on that day denied the Scottish side a third straight National Championship title and left them desperate to enact their revenge.
They had a little taste of vengeance in the Premier National, where Stirling won two convincing victories over the Green and Gold on the way to their fourth title in the past ten years. Even the 2’s were not safe, as in the National Vase Stirling 2 bested Nottingham in a semi-final shootout to ensure that it is they, not UoN, who have contenders for all three men’s finals.
However, they will not stop there. Stirling want the big prize, and Nottingham will have to be at the top of their game to stop them and defend their crown when they renew rivalries in the National Championship game yet again.
Having avoided Stirling until this point, the UoN 3’s have enjoyed a stellar season and come into BUCS Big Wednesday in flying form.
A perfect record of 10 wins from 10 matches in the Midlands Tier 1 saw them clinch the league title, before a scintillating run through the National Trophy saw them annihilate Loughborough 4’s, Trent, Cardiff Met and UCL on their way to the showpiece.
The Green and Gold will have to be at their best if they are to walk away from these games with silverware, but if they can deliver then they have every opportunity to establish dominance in this budding rivalry.
Can Volleyball Cap Phenomenal Campaign with Glory?
Men’s 1st vs Newcastle 1st, National Championship, 17:30
This is a side that operates at a level most university programmes simply cannot reach. UoN Men’s Volleyball 1st compete in the NVL Super League – the topflight of English club volleyball – rubbing shoulders with professional and semi-professional outfits week in, week out.
That exposure breeds a standard of performance that BUCS competition alone cannot replicate, and it showed this season when they beat reigning Super League champions London Giants in the league.
Their most recent Super League outing told you everything you need to know: a composed 3–0 win away at Leeds Gorse, with Finley Bullivant earning MVP honours after serving three aces, making seven kills from ten attempts. Bullivant is the player to watch on Wednesday evening – a big-game performer with the individual quality to take a final by the scruff of the neck.
That victory also clinched UoN’s place in the Super League Final 4 meaning they head into Big Wednesday with serious momentum and the knowledge that their season has already delivered beyond BUCS.
In the BUCS competition itself, they have been equally dominant – unbeaten through the league season with ten wins from ten, dropping just three sets all year.
Newcastle is the only side to have taken a set off them, which will give the north-east outfit a degree of belief heading into Wednesday’s final. That result shows Newcastle have the tools to compete at this level, but sustaining that pressure across a full match against a squad hardened by Super League competition, and led by a player of Bullivant’s quality, is a very different proposition.
This is a UoN side ready to add a BUCS title to what is already shaping up to be a memorable season.
Water Polo Renew Rivalry with Durham in Crunch Finals
Open 1 vs Durham 1’s, National Championship, 14:45
Female 1 vs Durham 1’s, National Championship, 16:45
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the two powerhouses of Water Polo collide in the National Championship finals as UoN meet Durham in both the Female and the Open categories.
Both of these matches are repeats of the fixtures from last year, and the Open team will be hoping to get revenge after they suffered a devastating 12-11 defeat in last year’s showpiece.
If their league results are anything to go by, then this year’s final might be an equally tight affair. Notts scored the most and conceded the least of any team in the Premier North and only dropped two games all year. But both of those were against Durham, a team that seems to have their number when it comes to getting over the line in narrow games, meaning they fell down to second place in the league and come into this final as slight underdogs.
The Female 1’s league season was almost an identical story, as they too held the record for both the best attack and the best defence in their league but were unable to overcome Durham. A pulsating 12-12 draw back in December shows how evenly matched the teams are, but it was not enough to overcome defeat in the North-East that consigned them to second place.
Despite being defending champions, this team is a relatively inexperienced one, as only three players from last year’s National Championship victory featured in their 24-10 semi-final victory over Bristol. They will be hoping to defeat Durham in the final for a third year in a row to make sure the title remains in Green and Gold hands.
These games will also carry an extra vendetta, as both Nottingham 2 teams were eliminated from Trophy contention by their Durham counterparts. The 1’s will be desperate to get their hands on the National Championship title and enact the perfect revenge.
Table Topping Titans Clash in Wheelchair Basketball Final
Mixed 1st vs Loughborough 1st, National Championship, 14:30
Defending champions, and they know exactly what it takes to win this. Twelve months ago, UoN claimed the national title with a 59-49 victory over this same Loughborough side in a final that went down to the wire, a result that marked their second championship in five years having won the inaugural title back in 2021/22.
The road to Wednesday’s rematch has been equally emphatic from both sides. UoN brushed aside East London 70-44 in the semi-final, while Loughborough demolished Cardiff Met 75-26, scorelines that confirm these two programmes are in a different class to everyone else.
A third title in five years is within reach for Nottingham, but Loughborough arrive on home turf with a score to settle and the crowd behind them.
Last year’s nine-point margin flattered neither side, this was a close, physical final decided by fine margins, and Wednesday’s rematch will be no different.
UoN have the experience and the pedigree of a side that has been here before and knows how to win it. Whether that is enough against a Loughborough outfit playing in front of their own fans, hungry for revenge, is the defining question of the 14:30 tip-off.
Further Details
Livestreaming: All matches will be streamed live on the BUCS YouTube channel, meaning anyone who cannot make the trip across the midlands can still catch the action.
Kian Gadsby and Ollie Stevenson
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