The chance to gain the National Lottery money comes as a new poll of 1,005 people indicates fewer than three in 10 students are playing sport at least three times a week but 72% claim they would like to do more.

Sport England is aiming to get 100,000 extra students playing three times as it says research shows students who play sport are far more likely to continue participating after leaving university.

Sport England's chief executive, Jennie Price, said: "There's already a strong tradition of competitive sport within universities but this is a big opportunity to increase participation through more informal and social formats."

Of those students questioned for the poll, about a third of those surveyed said they were too busy studying to play sport regularly but almost half (48%) did see sport as a way to make new friends.

Experts believe boosting participation in sport among students and reducing the number of people who drop out in their late teens and early 20s will help achieve the goal of getting a million people playing more sport by 2012-13, which is a key target of Sport England’s bid to make sure London 2012 leaves a lasting legacy.

Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw MP said: "We want to encourage young people to play sport for life, not give up on it the minute they leave school. This will help us deliver a lasting legacy in sports participation from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games."

The Active Universities fund opens for applications on 29 March and will close on 23 June 2010. Sport England is holding four pre-application workshops on 7 April in Bristol, 9 April in London, 15 April in Birmingham and 19 April in Manchester.

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