Full name | Stirling University Football Club |
---|---|
Founded | 2008 |
Ground | Forthbank Stadium, Stirling |
Capacity | 3,808 (2,508 seated) |
Manager | Shelley Kerr |
League | Lowland League |
2015–16 | Lowland League, 3rd |
Stirling University Football Club are a football club based in Stirling, Scotland. They are associated with the University of Stirling and have played in the Lowland Football League since 2013. The club operates six teams which compete in a combination of British university competitions and in senior and amateur leagues across Scotland. The university deliver a High Performance Football Programme which provides players to the first team. As part of this programme, students can be offered football scholarships to study for a degree and play football at the university. The football scholarship programme is named after Craig Gowans, a talented Falkirk player who died in 2005 while training at the university.
The club was admitted to the First Division of the East of Scotland Football League in 2008, after Berwick Rangers withdrew their reserve team. The 2009–10 season was one of great success for the students, as they won the First Division title in only the team’s second season in the East of Scotland League. They also won the Scottish Universities Championship and reached the King Cup final, losing to East of Scotland Premier Division champions Spartans 0–2 at Ferguson Park, Rosewell. In the 2010–11 season, in their first season in the East of Scotland Premier Division, the students secured a second-place finish and also suffered defeat in the King Cup final at the hands of Spartans at the Falkirk Stadium. They were successful in the Alex Jack Cup, winning the final 7–0 against Lothian Thistle at the Falkirk Stadium.
In 2012, Stirling University again won the Alex Jack Cup, beating Gretna 2008 in the final. In March 2012, the university's first year scholar Stephen Hoyle left the program to sign for ASB Premiership side Hawke's Bay United in New Zealand. Stirling University had a remarkable 2011–12 season, bringing three trophies back to the university, including the East of Scotland Premier Division title for the first time.