Sports Friendly Campus Awards
May 14, 2025 / Rize
Sports Friendly Campus Awards were presented at a ceremony held at Recep
Tayyip University. In addition to CoHE President Erol Özvar, Minister of
Youth and Sports Osman Aşkın Bak, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the
İlim Yayma Foundation Bilal Erdoğan, Rize Governor İhsan Selim Baydaş, CoHE
Executive Board members Prof. Naci Gündoğan and Prof. Arif Bilgin, rectors
of the universities entitled to receive the title of Sports Friendly Campus
and guests attended the ceremony.
In his speech at the ceremony, Erol Özvar stated that within the scope of
the Sports Friendly Campus Project, which was launched last year as a
reflection of the holistic approach adopted for the youth, they gave Sports
Friendly Campus awards for the first time this year. He noted that they
want sports to become more visible as an educational element in the entire
higher education system, and pointed out that 83 percent of university
students adopt a sedentary lifestyle. He emphasized that they designed the
Sports Friendly Campus initiative not only as an awareness campaign but
also as a corporate transformation strategy that integrates education,
health and social responsibility.
Özvar stated that the applications made to the Sports Friendly Campus
Project were carried out precisely on 45 criteria, including “Sports Vision
and Strategy”, “Participation in national and International Sports Events”,
“Physical Infrastructure”, “Activities to Combat Addiction and Support
Mental Health”, “Access to Disabled and Disadvantaged Individuals”,
“Keeping Traditional Sports and Games Alive”. 98 campuses of 83
universities applied for the title. Stating that the Sports Friendly Campus
title is not just an award, but the product of a systematic quality
assurance process and a sustainable sports culture, Özvar said that the
evaluations will be valid for three years.
Minister of Youth and Sports Osman Aşkın Bak stated that Türkiye has hosted
and will host major sports organizations in many fields.
Bilal Erdoğan, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the İlim Yayma
Foundation, said that he believes universities that have passed the
sports-friendly campus threshold will guide young people in making the
right university choice.
After the speeches, the award ceremony was held. The awards were presented
to the universities that won the title of Sports Friendly Campus by Erol
Özvar, President of the Council of Higher Education, Bilal Erdoğan,
Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the İlim Yayma Foundation, and Recep
Tayyip Erdoğan University Rector Prof. Yusuf Yılmaz.
While Erciyes University ranked first, Hacettepe University ranked second,
Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University ranked third, Zonguldak Bülent Ecevit
University ranked fourth and Ankara University ranked fifth.
Other universities that were awarded the title of Sports Friendly Campus
are as follows:
Abdullah Gül University, Ağrı İbrahim Çeçen University, Aksaray University,
Amasya University, Atatürk University, Balıkesir University, Bandırma
Onyedi Eylül University, Bayburt University, Boğaziçi University, Burdur
Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, Çukurova University, Ege University, Erzincan
Binali Yıldırım University, Eskişehir Technical University, Gazi
University, Hasan Kalyoncu University, İbni Haldun University, Bilkent
University, İnönü University, İstanbul Okan University, İstanbul Technical
University, İstanbul University Cerrahpaşa, İzmir Katip Çelebi University,
Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey University, Kastamonu University, Kocaeli University,
Kütahya Health Sciences University, Manisa Celal Bayar University, Mersin
University, Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, Niğde Ömer Halisdemir
University, Ondokuz Mayıs University, Middle East Technical University,
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University, Selçuk University, Sinop University,
Süleyman Demirel University, Tekirdağ Namık Kemal University, Tokat
Gaziosmanpaşa University, Uşak University, Yozgat Bozok University.