Sport – WEST | Alumni Blog

Alumni Join the Tartan Army Ranks in Boston

18Jun

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Alumni Stories

Alumni Join the Tartan Army Ranks in Boston

With World Cup fever well underway, we reached out to some alumni that have made Boston their home to find out what the locals make of the famous Tartan Army! Modern Languages Teacher Chris Hegarty, who graduated with a PGDE in 2023 and moved to Boston in 2025, was at Scotland’s first game against Haiti and has tickets for Scotland’s next opponents Morocco on Friday 19th June. “The Tartan Army have been completely infectious here and Bostonians are falling in love with them. Here at the British International School of Boston, we had members of the SFA in this week giving an assembly to our lower and middle school students, teaching them songs like "Ye Canny Shove Yer Granny Aff A Bus" and "Yes Sir I Can Boogie". It was an incredible assembly, and it left a big mark on our young stude...

Scotland Players Train at UWS’ Extreme Environments Chamber

12Jun

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News

Scotland Players Train at UWS’ Extreme Environments Chamber

Some of Scotland’s World Cup stars visited University of the West of Scotland’s (UWS) Lanarkshire campus recently to experience training in demanding temperatures. The university’s Extreme Environments Chamber – one of only two in the country and the only one in the West of Scotland can replicate environmental extremes for athletes. Professor Vish Unithan from UWS said: “If you can have this acclimation eight, nine, ten days, then it can help to maintain the sort of sprint distances that these footballers need to maintain. It can also hopefully prevent any decline in the sort of high-speed running over prolonged distances that the players are going to have to cover.” Watch the piece on STV news: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzjwXvjPXK0

ITV Announce UWS Graduate as Reporter For World Cup

12Jun

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Alumni Stories, Featured

ITV Announce UWS Graduate as Reporter For World Cup

ITV Sport has included a University of the West of Scotland (UWS) graduate as part of their line-up for the FIFA World Cup 2026. Connie McLaughlin, a well-respected presenter and journalist known for her work reporting across BBC, ITV, Premier Sports and TNT Sports, will be reporting pitch-side at the tournament for ITV. A graduate from the postgraduate degree in broadcast journalism at UWS, Connie will be taking a break from her presenting duties on BBC Radio Scotland’s Mornings phone-in show to follow and report on the Scotland men’s team as they take on Haiti, Morocco and Brazil in the World Cup. Connie commented on social media: “Still pinching myself…but so excited to be part of the team covering the World Cup 2026 for ITV Sport. "I’ll be following Scotland out in North Ca...

Radio and TV Presenter Giving Behind the Scenes Look at the Scotland Camp

3Jun

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Alumni Stories

Radio and TV Presenter Giving Behind the Scenes Look at the Scotland Camp

A University of the West of Scotland (UWS) alumnus is working with the Scotland National Team to create exclusive content, record player interviews and give fans a peek behind the scenes at the World Cup. Broadcast journalism graduate Gordon Duncan, who is well known as the host of the long running Clyde 1 Superscoreboard football phone in show and as a presenter on Sky Sports, has been working with the Scottish FA to produce content for its YouTube channel and social media channels. Gordon Duncan PgDip Broadcast Journalism (2012) Gordon has been giving viewers an insight into the Scotland camp with his daily round-up series and the activities that take place in between training and games. He has also interviewed Scotland captain Andy Robertson, John McGinn, Lawrence Shankland and...

Sport Graduate Lands Role with FIFA and Swedish National Team

3Jun

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Alumni Stories

Sport Graduate Lands Role with FIFA and Swedish National Team

A graduate from the Sport Coaching degree programme at University of the West of Scotland (UWS) is working at the FIFA World Cup 2026 tournament as a liaison officer for Sweden men’s national football team. Ross Keenan BSc Sport Coaching (2014) Ross Keenan, who has been based in the USA since graduation from UWS in 2014, is relishing the temporary role. “Living in Atlanta, the opportunity to go watch the world's biggest football tournament was an exciting prospect, however I could never have imagined that I would have been this closely involved in the World Cup and essentially part of a European team’s delegation!” commented Ross. The Liaison Officer role is something Ross has previous experience of when he was living and studying in Scotland. “I actually used to do this type of r...

24Apr

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Honorary Graduates

UWS Hosts Women’s Football Panel Event

The University has hosted an event that included expertise and opinion from across the women’s game to discuss how to build resilience in women’s football in Scotland, at a critical time as the game grows both nationally and globally. The event, which took place on Tuesday 21 April, at UWS Paisley campus, was hosted by UWS Principal & Vice-Chancellor Professor James Miller and included a fantastic panel featuring two UWS honorary graduates, Rose Reilly and Erin Cuthbert; Jane Dougall (BBC broadcaster and journalist); and Vivienne MacLaren (Chair of Scottish Women's Football). We've received a great response and feedback from guests - drawn from across the professional and amateur game - who joined colleagues from the University at the event held in Chancellor’s Hall. You c...

Alumna Strikes Gold at European Championships

14Apr

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Alumni Stories, Featured

Alumna Strikes Gold at European Championships

A University of the West of Scotland (UWS) graduate has picked up gold at the European Badminton Championships in Huelva, Spain, and become the first British woman to win a singles title in 40 years. Kirsty Gilmour, who graduated from UWS in 2015, beat Line Hojmark Kjaersfeldt of Denmark in the final to win gold after previously placing second in the 2016, 2017, 2022, 2024 and 2025 finals. In a story of resilience and determination, Kirsty overcame injury to win a European Championship gold medal for the first time against the opponent who beat her in the final last year. “Being able to call myself European Champion after so many near misses feels better than I could’ve ever dreamed. It’s certainly made for a great story,” commented Kirsty on social media. https://www.yout...

Sport Graduate Named Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Fordham University

3Apr

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Alumni Stories, Featured

Sport Graduate Named Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Fordham University

Following a national search, Fordham University has announced that a University of the West of Scotland (UWS) graduate will become its new head women's basketball coach, taking the reins of the school's 55-year-old program. Neil Harrow, BSc Sport Coaching 2010 Sport coaching graduate Neil Harrow joins Fordham after a standout season at Long Island University, where he orchestrated a 20-win season in his debut year as head coach. His arrival at Rose Hill follows a decorated coaching career, including a successful stint as the associate head coach at James Madison University from 2022 to 2025 "I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to lead Fordham women's basketball," said Neil. "I want to sincerely thank President Tetlow and Athletic Director Charles Guthrie for their faith i...

Alumnus Picks Up Olympic Silver with Team GB Curlers

24Feb

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Alumni Stories, Featured

Alumnus Picks Up Olympic Silver with Team GB Curlers

A University of the West of Scotland (UWS) graduate has collected a silver medal as part of Team GB’s men’s curling team at the Winter Olympics. Kyle Waddell, who graduated from the BSc (Hons) Sport Development degree at UWS, made his Olympic Winter Games debut at PyeongChang 2018 for Team GB in Curling and returned to the Olympic stage for the first time in eight years at Milano Cortina 2026. Kyle Waddell BSc (Hons) Sport Development 2016 Team GB - Bruce Mouat, Grant Hardie, Hammy McMillan, Bobby Lammie and alternate Kyle Waddell - arrived in Cortina as world champions and favourites, but were beaten 9-6 by Canada in the final. https://www.instagram.com/p/DVCSoCgDb8O/ Graduating in 2016 Kyle won a Silver medal at the European Championships in St Gallen in 2017 before join...

20Feb

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Featured, Profiles

UWS Graduate is All In For Glasgow 2026

As a University of the West of Scotland (UWS) Sport Graduate, Gary Grieve has always had a passion for supporting sport in communities, believing that it can be transformative in young peoples' lives and a force for good. His career has taken him to Copenhagen, London, Loughborough and now, Glasgow. Here he tells us how he's All In for the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games. How did studying at UWS prepare you for a career in the Sport Industry? My course had a variety of modules including Event Management, Sports Development, Sports Coaching and Sports Tourism, to name a few. The variety of modules provided me with a greater understanding of the wider sport, physical activity, culture and health sectors whilst also getting hands on experience. As part of my course, I complet...