
La Trobe University + Carlton Football Club
Partnered since 2016, La Trobe is the exclusive Higher Education Partner of Carlton Football Club. United by our connection to Melbourne’s North and excellence in sport, we’re working together to enhance education and community outcomes for the North and beyond.
Legends of the North
First-in-family to kick a footy or first to go to uni, La Trobe backs all Legends of the North. And that’s why we power the Adam Saad Pathways Program.
What is the Adam Saad Pathways Program?
Started by Carlton Football Club defender and Brunswick-born-and-raised legend, Adam Saad, the program helps multicultural kids from Melbourne’s North build life and football skills.
As part of the program, some of the North’s aspiring footy stars, who may not typically have a clear path into AFL otherwise, can access unrivalled coaching and facilities at Carlton Football Club.
So, why is La Trobe involved?
Since our Bundoora Campus emerged amongst the paddocks of Melbourne’s North nearly 60 years ago, La Trobe's been instrumental in serving and strengthening Northern communities with better access to education.
Today, we have one of Australia’s most diverse student cohorts, with almost half of our students first in their families to attend university. La Trobe continues to build infrastructure to support the North, too, like our state-of-the-art Sports Park used by 5000 community members each year, plus the Pathways Program’s Schools Cup.
So that’s why La Trobe’s a Supporting partner of the Adam Saad Pathways program, because we love helping create Legends of the North.
Adam Saad pathways program participants in action at the 2024 Schools Cup, held at La Trobe Sports Park.
Our partnership impact
Why study sport at La Trobe?
World-class sports research
La Trobe's research in human movement and sports science and in physiology is rated 'well above world standard'.
Australian Research Council, 2019, Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) Outcomes 2018
Top 50 globally
We’re ranked in the world’s top 50 for sport.
Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), 2025, QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025: Sports-Related Subjects