11 September 2024 Sports Scholarship allowed Kyle Jamieson to continue his passions

Without a sports scholarship at Lincoln University, Black Cap Kyle Jamieson thinks he may never had got the education he wanted.

Kyle is one of the many Lincoln University alumni to come through the Sports Scholarship programme, which is celebrating 25 years in October.

The 29-year-old cricketer was just 18 when he moved from Auckland to Lincoln to study Commerce and feels his life would have gone very differently without the opportunity he was given.

Back then Kyle played for the New Zealand Under 19 team. It was not until his second year that he hit the professional stage, which meant he had to pull back his studies.

“Cricket kind of took over,” he said.

Kyle had to prioritise his sport. It took another four years to finish the degree.

“I genuinely think if I was at any other university I wouldn’t have been able to finish.”

Kyle said Lincoln was incredibly generous in catering to his needs. From his lecturers to his scholarship advisor, everybody was happy to make his situation work.

Everyone was so accommodating. They made it easy as.

Other players on his team studying elsewhere ended up pausing or cancelling their studies, but he always felt comfortable continuing to work at his degree knowing he had support.

“When I was finishing high school I didn’t really know what I wanted to do for a career, but I knew I wanted to continue with cricket and give that a crack.

“The sports scholarship allowed me to carry on with both. I didn’t have to shut a door on either path.

“I don’t know if I ever would have gone to uni or finished a degree if it had been any other way.”

He picked Commerce as it would give him a diverse qualification, then honed in on Supply Chain Management and International Business as majors when he discovered what he enjoyed the most.

Lincoln is such a strong foundation for any athlete coming out of high school.

“You almost get a semi-professional programme developed for you as an athlete, but you also tend to the education and get that university experience as well.”

He recommended the sports scholarship programme as the best path a budding cricketer could take.

“The only way you get access to anything like what Lincoln provides is if you’re a professional. It’s a luxury that not many kids coming out of high school get.

“You’re either so good coming out of high school that you start playing professional straight away, or fall back into the pool with everyone else playing club sport and try to make your way that way.”

He believed he would have joined that “melting pot” of club sport if it had not been for Lincoln.

“It would have been a way harder battle to get to where I am now.

“The whole scholarship structure gives you the ability to keep pressing forward and keep evolving. You don’t really get that anywhere else.”

Buy tickets for the 25 Years of Sports Scholarship Celebration here