GAA make higher education championship draws
The draws for the 2011 Ulster Bank Higher Education Football and Hurling Championships, including the draw for the centenary Sigerson Cup, were made at UCD's Astra Hall this afternoon.
Host college UCD, the winners of the inaugural Sigerson Cup title in 1911, have been handed a bye to the quarter-finals, where they will face the winners of the IT Sligo v NUI Galway tie.
UCD will be captained by Kildare All-Star Peter Kelly this season as they bid to claim their first Sigerson Cup since 1996.
Reigning champions DCU will have a home tie against St. Mary's Belfast, while league finalists UCC are at home to GMIT and DIT host UL.
Meanwhile, the Fitzgibbon Cup Hurling Championship continues with the round robin format that it has been accustomed to in recent years. The tournament will be held in Waterford IT in March.
Four groups of three teams make up the structure for the round-robin stages, with the two top in each group qualifying for quarter-finals.
Last year's champions NUI Galway have been placed in Group B with Cork IT and DIT. Competition hosts WIT are paired with UCD and Limerick IT in Group A.
Group C pairs St. Pat's-Mater Dei, UUJ and GMIT together, while Group D includes University of Limerick, UCC and DCU.
Meanwhile, British Universities Hurling champions Napier College have been included in the Ryan Cup second tier competition for the first time ever.
The Edinburgh outfit claimed a facile victory over Dundalk IT in last year's Fergal Maher Cup (tier 3) decider, and as a result have been promoted for 2011 and beyond.
2011 ULSTER BANK SIGERSON CUP DRAW:
All matches throw-in at 2pm unless otherwise stated (extra-time if necessary) -
Round 1 (February 17):
A. UUJ v Cork IT
B. DIT v University of Limerick
C. UCC v GMIT
D. IT Carlow v Athlone IT
E. IT Sligo v NUI Galway
F. DCU v St. Mary's Belfast
G. NUI Maynooth v Queen's University Belfast
Quarter-Finals (March 3):
H. Winners E v UCD
J. Winners F v Winners C
K. Winners G v Winners B
L. Winners D v Winners A
Semi-Finals/Final (March 4):
Winners H v Winners J
Winners K v Winners L
Final (March 5)
2011 ULSTER BANK FITZGIBBON CUP DRAW:
All matches throw-in at 2pm unless otherwise stated (extra-time if necessary) -
Group A: WIT, UCD, Limerick IT
Group B: NUIG, Cork IT, DIT
Group C: St. Pat's-Mater Dei, UUJ, GMIT
Group D: UL, UCC, DCU
Round Robin (January 27):
WIT v UCD, NUIG v Cork IT, St. Pat's-Mater Dei v UUJ, UL v UCC
Round Robin (February 2):
Limerick IT v WIT, DIT v NUIG, GMIT v St. Pat's-Mater Dei, DCU v UL
Round Robin (February 8):
UCD v Limerick IT, Cork IT v DIT, UUJ v GMIT, UCC v DCU
Quarter-Finals (February 15):
K. Winners Group A v Runners-up Group B
L. Winners Group B v Runners-up Group C
M. Winners Group C v Runners-up Group D
N. Winners Group D v Runners-up Group A
Semi-Finals (February 25):
Winners K v Winners M
Winners L v Winners N
Final (February 26)
