Heading into the final event, University of Canterbury was leading by two points, but a gold in the National Tertiary Netball Championships in Wellington helped their Auckland rivals clinch the title.

"Congratulations to Otago and Canterbury for finishing in the medals and being in the hunt for the win right up to the last tournament of the championship series," said University of Auckland spokesperson and associate director campus life Sean Smith.

"It is so good to have UTSNZ inter-tertiary sports tournaments back after a tough couple of years!

"University of Auckland - Waipapa Taumata Rau would also like to thank UTSNZ, on behalf of all NZ Universities, for their remarkable effort to deliver an exceptional National Tertiary Championship series this year. 

"Thanks to all students, athletes, coaches, managers, and sport staff for making the tournaments such a huge success. 

"We’d like to acknowledge all involved for supporting the tournaments when resources and time have been challenging."

University of Auckland won titles in badminton, ultimate and netball.

They finished runners-up in in women's futsal and men's basketball, apart from a bronze medal in the men’s futsal championship.

Massey University was given an award for displaying the best sportsmanship and for capturing the spirit of the national tertiary events over the course of the year.