The opening ceremony for the 2026-2027 academic year of Gazi University's Faculty of Sports Sciences was held on October 8, 2026, in the Rectorate's Architect Kemaleddin Hall.

Our Rector, Prof. Dr. Uğur Ünal, the university's senior management, academic and administrative staff, alumni who have achieved significant success in Turkish sports, and students who have won medals in international championships and games in the past year attended the ceremony.

The presence of our faculty alumna, Olympic bronze medalist and world champion Deputy General Manager Yasemin Adar Yiğit, and Deputy General Manager Hakan Bebek, as well as high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Youth and Sports and federation presidents, added value to the ceremony.

The ceremony began with a moment of silence and the National Anthem. Our Turkish champion Folk Dance Ensemble presented a Seymen performance from the Ankara region. Our Dean, Prof. Dr. Halil İbrahim Cicioğlu, spoke about the history of our faculty, dating back to 1932, and the importance of scientific knowledge in sports education. Our Rector, Prof. Dr. Uğur Ünal, evaluated the contributions of our faculty to Turkish sports and expressed his pride in the achievements of our student athletes.

As part of the opening program, an academic insignia ceremony was also held for our faculty members who received academic titles.

Certificates of achievement were presented to our students Eylül Akarçeşme Yatgın, Muhammed Furkan Özbek, Enes Özdemir, Nisanur Erbil, İlayda Nur Çürük, Sude Nur Çakır, Beren Aşkar, Nurullah Saraç, Burak Özdemir, Zeynep Berre Ocakoğlu, Ebru Acer, and Ebrar Keskin, who successfully represented our country and university in international championships and games.

On the same day, at a meeting held in the Rectorate Senate Hall, our Rector, Prof. Dr. Uğur Ünal, met with our national athletes and academics. During the meeting, where the success stories and student memories of our athletes were shared, the importance of passing on Gazi University's sports tradition to future generations was emphasized. The meeting concluded with a commemorative photograph.

The gathering of past Olympic and world champions and today's successful student athletes under one roof at Gazi University's 100th anniversary added meaning and excitement to our opening ceremony of the new academic year.

We thank our alumni, students, institution and federation representatives, and all our guests who enriched our ceremony with their participation; and we wish our students and academic community a productive and successful 2026-2027 academic year.