Melbourne University Sport was the most successful of the institutions thanks to representatives Joel Rimes and Clifford and Lightning Netball Club (MUL) all walking away with honours.

Griffith University’s Fox achieved Most Outstanding Performance by a Student-Athlete following her women’s gold in the women’s canoe and bronze in the women’s kayak at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Fox is a three-time Olympian, four-time Olympic medallist and eight-time individual world champion.

Clifford was recognised for the Most Outstanding Sporting Performance by a student-athlete with a disability after winning silvers in the 5,000 metres T13 and marathon T12 events and bronze in the 1500m T13 at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.

Rimes, the 2021 Most Valuable Player for the Men’s University Basketball League Australia (UBL), was acknowledged as Male Student-Athlete of the year where he acted as his side’s captain and team manager.

MUL completed the trio of awards for Melbourne with the Club Leadership Award in recognition of promoting the LGBTQIA+ community through the Pride Rounds initiative, which was launched in 2016.

"I am thrilled with the recognition of our student-athletes and the work of the Melbourne University Lightning club," Time Lee, the director of sport at Melbourne University Sport said.

"It is testament to the great work of our staff and volunteers across the organisation to receive this national acknowledgement."

Rugby sevens athlete Caitlyn Costello won Most Outstanding Sporting Performance by an Indigenous Student-Athlete following her role in Bond University’s title winning campaign in the Women’s Uni 7s National Championship.

University of the Sunshine Coast’s Katja Dedekind secured the Female Athlete of the Year after winning multiple golds at the 2021 UniSport National Swimming Championships.

Edith Cowan University Sport and Fitness and the University of Sunshine Coast jointly won Most Outstanding Sport Project/Programme for their individual initiatives.

Edith Cowan University created a five-day sport-networking event while the University of Sunshine Coast developed Sport for Thought to aid disadvantaged high school students.

The Most Outstanding Contribution by a Student Volunteer was given to Belinda Rutherford of the University of Adelaide following her dedication to Sport Social and Intervarsity schemes.

The University of Western Australia’s Tyler Miller, who refereed at the rugby sevens event at Tokyo 2020, was named Official of the Year and The University of Sydney’s water polo teams were awarded with Team of the Year.

The two teams won the Kap 7 Cup and the Sydney Super League titles in addition to six athletes competing for Australia at the Olympics.