The University of Tasmania has become the Tasmania Devils’ official higher education partner, with both organisations saying the deal will create study and career pathways linked to elite sport.
The partnership was announced on Monday at the university’s Inveresk campus in Launceston. It formalises more than two years of work between the university and Tasmania Football Club on education programs, professional development and shared resources.
The club said the partnership would focus on developing Tasmania’s future workforce, including education, career and industry opportunities connected to elite sport that “have not previously existed in our state”.
Tasmania Football Club general manager of commercial and partnerships James Creak said the partnership reflected the club’s purpose to “Honour the Map and Inspire the Future”.
“Our partnership with the University of Tasmania brings that purpose to life, connecting two organisations with a shared ambition to create opportunities for Tasmanians,” he said.
The university has supported the club’s Blundstone Tasmanian Academy of Leadership and Sport (TALS), which started in 2025.
Earlier this year, the two organisations announced an accelerated 2.5-year degree pathway for academy students, with graduates receiving 1.5 years of credit toward a Bachelor of Business.
The club said several students were already enrolled and it expected the pathway to grow.
University of Tasmania executive director of global marketing and recruitment Michelle Weir said the partnership would let students explore careers in the sports industry.
“There is an entire workforce behind an elite sporting organisation and this partnership gives our students the opportunity to explore those careers and build connections to an industry that is growing here in Tasmania,” she said.
Weir said five students had recently presented on their placements with the Devils, where they helped design new mascots, worked on social media strategies and interpreted data from games.
She said placements would let Tasmanians stay in the state and “be inspired to be able to go and do something that they might have never considered doing before”.
University senior lecturer in exercise and sports science Aaron Pitchford said students had told him they wanted to stay in Tasmania.
“Our students wanna be able to stay in their home state and be involved in their preferred profession, whether that be directly within the high performance sporting area or broader sporting context across Tasmania,” he said.
Pitchford said he could not give an exact number of students who would benefit, but the partnership would “inflate the opportunities available to students”.
Exercise and sports science student Billie Roger, who did a placement with the Devils, said being able to do it without leaving the state was “something that I was wanting to do from the start”.
“And actually getting to do that opportunity was great,” Roger said.
