The wheels of academia can grind slowly, or at least those who determine their funding can. More than 18 months after The Herald had promoted the establishment of a dedicated Scottish sports university as overdue, and backed Stirling as front-running candidate, the vision became welcome reality yesterday.

First Minister Alex Salmond announced the move in a speech marking the first year of his government, but agreed that it would be "eclipsed" by last night's Uefa Cup final. For Stirling, however, being confirmed as Scotland's University for Sporting Excellence is a significant goal. It is also a milestone for Scotland in attempting to stem an exodus of talented sport competitors, notably to the universities at Loughborough and Bath, but also to the USA.

Stirling is to become the hub of a national network to support elite sport competitors studying at Scottish further education establishments. The Scottish Funding Council is to allocate £600,000 to help promote training and elite athlete support. That is a one-off payment, but the council confirm they will support an additional 20 sports scholarships worth a further £100,000 per year.

At present 51 students are on programmes including golf, swimming, tennis, curling, and triathlon, with new scholarships for football next session.

Recruitment of staff and elite competitors will be enhanced by the university's new status which sports professor Grant Jarvie said was good news for Commonwealth Games and Scottish sports.

Stirling has offered sport scholarships for 27 years, the first Scottish university to do so. Degree courses are flexible, and can be spread over an extra year, without compromise on entry qualifications or results.

The Stirling campus already houses national swimming and tennis centres, Scottish Institute of Sport, Scottish Commonwealth Games Council, the national bodies of swimming, gymnastics, tennis, triathlon, and Fitness Scotland, plus the SFA Central Area.

Stewart Maxwell, the sports minister, said it would ensure Scottish athletes are well prepared for the 2012 Olympics and Paralympic plus Glasgow's 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Professor Jarvie, the deputy principal who has a reputation as a visionary, said: "This will allow us to develop a niche specialty. Our duty is to provide Scots with the best appropriate opportunities, but we also have to look at what other countries offer - Singapore now has a sport university. I have always believed sport and education can make a significant difference to people's lives."