Western Bulldogs Football Club

Image 100+ student placements in 2023
100+ student placements in 2023
Image VU students treat athletes
VU students treat athletes
Image 4 embedded PhD candidates
4 embedded PhD candidates

Our unique association with the Western Bulldogs Football Club began in the 1980s. It has grown to include all four teams (AFL, AFLW, VFL and VFLW), an innovative shared campus at Whitten Oval, and our brand new VU High Performance Centre.

Victoria University (VU) and the Bulldogs are deeply invested in our surrounding community, and embrace and celebrate its diversity. As the partnership continues to grow, so do the people – students, staff, athletes and the community. 

United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

This partnership addresses the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Benefits for students & courses

Each year, VU students from a variety of courses across university and TAFE have the opportunity to complete workplace learning with the Bulldogs. Courses that benefit from this partnership include: 

Research

VU’s sports science researchers work side-by-side with the Bulldogs' coaching, medical and performance teams in a structured research program.

Collaborative research topics have included:

Joint projects give our researchers the opportunity to work with an elite sports team and contribute to real-world advances in the sports industry. They also offer the Bulldogs access to sport-science expertise to help them improve their on-field performance and to develop their skills and fitness. This critical research is run out of our world-class sports facilities and the VU High Performance Centre at Whitten Oval