03 September 2024 Andrew Ellis grateful for Lincoln's flexibility and facilities

The former Black Cap now acts as regional manager High Performance Sport New Zealand, but came through Lincoln on his path to cricket success.

Straight out of Shirley Boys' High School at the turn of the millennium, 18-year-old Andrew received a three-year scholarship which he used to study business management.

His sporting career was already on a solid path and he was playing for the Canterbury men’s team at the time, but having all his needs available to him in one place made a big difference in being able to practice while gaining and education.

“Using the facilities was a big part. The gym out there, even before it was redeveloped, was still a very good gym.

“The fact that I was out there going to uni meant that I could incorporate it as part of my day, just to get into those habits.”

He lived on the east side of Christchurch at the time, so only having one commute between his different responsibilities was a big benefit to him.

“It was a nice experience to have a bit of a one-stop-shop at that time of my life.”

As an alumus, Andrew felt grateful for the flexibility Lincoln offered him as a busy young athlete, whether it was finding time for his sport or adjusting his requirements.

“The nature of the uni was so personable and flexible.

“I could go on my cricketing tours in the summer. They fit in pretty good with uni, but there were times when things did clash.

“The ability to have good relationships and manage those situations was really useful.

“I don’t know how that would have gone somewhere else.

“I know some of our athletes at other universities do struggle with managing those times. Big universities can be less sympathetic.

“They just took the barriers away really.”

During his studies Andrew ended up failing one of his papers, which posed a serious issue to his cricketing career.

“There was an expectation you would pass all your papers to keep your scholarship. You had to do summer school if you failed one of your papers. I couldn’t do summer school because of the cricket tours.

“They let me away with it. I came back and redid that paper at the back end and finished things off.

“It was that type of flexibility that they showed that was appreciated.”

He was grateful for the scholarship and was pleased to see it still going strong after 25 years.

Andrew also supported the development of academic sports science programs, which had advanced significantly since his time. The facilities and support for athletes had also come a long way.

“It’s way more advanced than it was back then.”

Buy tickets for the 25 Years of Sports Scholarship Celebration here