BUAC holds a special relationship with the track and field teams of four prestigious Ivy League Universities tracking back nearly 60 years. So much so that the Universities hold an exchange where the student athletes visit each other on a rotation. BUAC visits the universities (Yale, Harvard, Penn, and Cornell) every four years, with the American student athletes travelling to the UK in the years in between.
The tradition began in 1962 thanks to Professor Michael Hayes, an academic member of staff at the University of Birmingham, who began Birmingham’s part in the exchange relationship. Since then, the exchange has grown from strength to strength, with many Birmingham and Ivy League student athlete alumni regarding it as a highlight of their university careers.
BUAC will be travelling to the East Coast in 2024 where they will compete against the best athletes the Ivy League has to offer, whilst making life-long friends and learning more about life as a student athlete in the US. In addition to being hosted by the student athletes at the Ivy league Universities, the team will also travel to explore the sightseeing opportunities in New York City and Niagara Falls.