Editing University of Galway (section)

===Connacht Rugby===
In 2013, the university announced it would sponsor [[Connacht Rugby]], the nearby professional Pro12 (now [[United Rugby Championship|URC]]) rugby union team, for the following three years and would put in place a "High Performance Education Partnership" that would give players from the [[Connacht Rugby Academy]] and age-grade teams the chance to educated there. At the time of the announcement 17 members of Connacht's squad were either attending the university as students or were graduates.<ref>{{cite news|first=Linley|last=MacKenzie|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/connacht-rugby-and-nui-galway-combine-in-pursuit-of-excellence-1.1515150|title=Connacht Rugby and NUI Galway combine in pursuit of excellence: Players to avail of education at college in addition to mentoring and development|newspaper=The Irish Times|date=4 September 2013|access-date=4 September 2013}}</ref>

Within a few years of the start of the university's sponsorship of the Connacht Rugby Academy, the team had won, what was then the [[2015–16 Pro12]] title, for the first time by defeating [[Leinster Rugby|Leinster]] in the [[2016 Pro12 Grand Final]]. Seven players from the Connacht Rugby Academy played 55 times for their team during that campaign, with others in that squad also graduates of the Connacht Rugby Academy.<ref name=cc_autumn2016_16-19>{{cite news|first=John|last=Fallon|title=Sport: A new direction|work=Cois Coiribe|date=Autumn 2016|pages=16–19|quote=Developing partnerships with sports organisations, particularly at elite level, will be a key component of the strategy, with the success of Connacht Rugby in winning the Guinness Pro12 title in May - the province's first trophy in its 131 year history - a good example of what can be achieved. NUI Galway is the main sponsor of the Connacht Rugby Academy, which has helped develop players for the professional game over the last few years. Seven players from the academy last season - Sean O'Brien, Peter Robb, Conor McKeon, Conan O'Donnell, James Connolly, Shane Delahunt and Rory Parata - played 55 times for Connacht during that historic Pro12 campaign, while several other members of the squad were academy graduates. Many of the academy players also study at NUI Galway, while there are a number of areas where the University and Connacht Rugby exchange expertise.}}</ref>

The deal was renewed in 2017, covering the period until 2019.<ref>{{cite news|first=Declan|last=Rooney|url=https://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/connacht-rugby/nui-galway-renew-deal-with-province-36265387.html|title=NUI Galway renew deal with province|newspaper=Irish Independent|date=27 October 2017|access-date=27 October 2017|quote=NUI Galway became Connacht's Academy and University partner in 2013, and since then 19 Connacht players have graduated, or are about to graduate, from NUI Galway including current senior squad members Denis Buckley, Eoin Griffin, Eoin McKeon, Andrew Browne, Dave Heffernan, Jack Carty, Darragh Leader, Eoghan Masterson, Seán O'Brien and Conor McKeon.}}</ref>