The 2025 European Universities Basketball Championship will be held in Bologna

The 2025 European Universities Basketball Championship was officially presented this morning at the Rectorate, in the presence of the Rector of the University of Bologna Giovanni Molari, the Mayor of Bologna Matteo Lepore, the Bologna City Councillor for Sport Roberta Li Calzi, the President of CUSB Piero Pagni, and EUSA (European University Sports Association) representative Francis Cirianni. Also attending were Maria Costi, Regional Councillor and President of the “Youth, School, Education, Work, Sport and Legality” Commission of the Emilia-Romagna Region, Andrea Dondi, Regional President of CONI Emilia-Romagna, Antonio Galli, President of the Emilia-Romagna Regional Committee of the Italian Basketball Federation (FIP), Gianluca Pavanello, CEO of Macron, Lorenzo Zitignani, Sales Manager at Technogym and General Director and Eco-Founder of Plastic Free, Orazio Iacono, CEO of the Hera Group, and Federico Gardumi, General Director of GTI.

The major sporting event, promoted by EUSA (European University Sports Association) and organised by the University of Bologna through its sports centre CUSB, will begin with the opening ceremony on Sunday 6 July (8 p.m.) in the Aula Magna of Santa Lucia (via Castiglione 37, Bologna): the 410 athletes from the 28 competing teams (16 men's and 12 women's teams from 16 countries) will parade. They will face off over seven days of matches on three courts (Centro Sportivo Universitario Record, Centro Universitario Sportivo Terrapieno-Palacus, and the Deborah Alutto Gymnasium), with free entry for the public.

On Sunday 13 July, the eight finalist teams (four men's and four women's) will compete for medals at the Palacus, from 11:45 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Giovanni Molari, Rector of the University of Bologna, officially welcomed the participants, thanking all the institutions, sponsors, and students involved in the organisation: “The University of Bologna is happy and proud to host the Championship, which will be played in Italy for the very first time. This recognition rewards the excellence of our University and our territory. It is a prestigious event that fits into a broader path of openness to the world – also through sport – and demonstrates the joint effort we are capable of making here among institutions, businesses, and local communities. The University of Bologna has always been committed to promoting sport. I hope this will be a week of sport, social interaction, and exchange, because that is the most valuable message we can give.”

The event is held under the patronage of the Emilia-Romagna Region, the Municipality of Bologna, Sport e Salute, CONI, FederCusi – the Italian University Sports Federation, the Italian Basketball Federation, Lega Basket Serie A, Lega Nazionale Pallacanestro, and the Women’s Basketball League. Media & Communication partners include Radio Nettuno Bologna Uno, NIMH Agency, and Laboratorio delle Idee.

The organisation will rely on 70 “BasketHeroes”, the volunteers supporting the successful delivery of the event.

PARTICIPATING UNIVERSITIES

MEN’S TOURNAMENT:

Technical University of Munich (GER)
University of Debrecen (HUN)
University of Bologna (ITA)
University of Zadar (CRO)
University of Zagreb (CRO)
University of Bordeaux (FRA)
University of Aveiro (POR)
Delft University of Technology (NED)
Polish Naval Academy of the Heroes of Westerplatte (POL)
University of Torino (ITA)
University of Romania (ROM)
Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NOR)
Vytautas Magnus University (LTV)
University of Liege (BEL)
University of Basel (SWI)
University of Valencia (ESP)

WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT:

University of Goettingen (GER)
Szechenyi Istvan University (HUN)
University of Bologna (ITA)
University of Zagreb (CRO)
University of Grenoble Alpes (FRA)
University of Aveiro (POR)
Delft University of Technology (NED)
Polytechnic University of Bucharest (ROM)
University of Vienna (AUT)
University of Valencia (ESP)
Prague University of Economics and Business
University of Toulouse (FRA)

COUNTRIES REPRESENTED: 16

Italy, France, Hungary, Norway, Croatia, Germany, Portugal, Romania, Lithuania, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Austria, Czech Republic.