University Oval, Melbourne
University Oval is an Australian rules football and cricket venue located in the Melbourne suburb of Parkville. The ground is located within the main campus of the University of Melbourne.
, the ground is home to the Melbourne University Football Club in the Victorian Amateur Football Association and the Melbourne University Cricket Club in the Victorian Premier Cricket competition.
History
The University of Melbourne was established in 1853, with a cricket club formed in 1856 and a football club formed in 1859. In 1885, the University Football Club joined the Victorian Football Association, playing its home matches at the ground. The club went into recess at the end of the 1888 season.Between 1894 and 1896, the Carlton Football Club played its home matches at Royal Park and University Oval until moving permanently to Princes Park for the inaugural Victorian Football League season in 1897. The University Football Club briefly competed in the VFL from 1908 until the end of 1914, but instead played at the East Melbourne Cricket Ground and the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
After dropping out of the VFL, the club joined the Victorian Junior Football League with two teams – and – that both played at University Oval. By 1921, both teams had entered the Metropolitan Amateur Football Association, which was later renamed to the Victorian Amateur Football Association, and continued playing home matches at the ground.
University Oval was again used for state-level football in 2016 and 2017, when the Melbourne University Mugars competed in the VFL Women's.