DEACON Blue drummer and celebrated broadcaster Dougie Vipond has been awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Stirling.
Vipond received the award at Stirling’s spring graduation ceremony, which took place on Friday, March 22. He was recognised for his outstanding contribution to music, broadcasting, and community.
Originally from Renfrewshire, Vipond now lives in Bridge of Allan and is a strong advocate for the university and its elite athletes. He is a regular on campus and is often spotted with his University of Stirling Sport water bottle when on tour with Deacon Blue.
Vipond is one of the founders of the internationally successful Scottish pop rock band, Deacon Blue, and is now a celebrated broadcaster.
Vipond said: “I am flattered and humbled by this award. I shed a few tears when I opened the letter and discovered I was to be given an honorary doctorate.
READ MORE: Major dance and music festival considers Scotland for 2026 host
“The University of Stirling is an extraordinary centre of excellence and for them to think I’m worthy of this is unbelievable. I would like to thank the university for this recognition.”
Vipond is a former student of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, now Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. He played drums with Deacon Blue while studying classical music at the world-renowned centre of excellence for the performing arts.
In 1987, Deacon Blue’s first single, Dignity, propelled them to stardom and the band has since made 10 studio albums and sold more than seven million records, with their first three albums going platinum.
The band split in 1994, when Vipond was only 27, and he decided to change direction - pursuing a career as a television presenter. He began his career in broadcasting at Scottish Television, presenting NB - the award-winning arts listings programme - and went on to front the extreme sports series The Adventure Show for the BBC, taking part in a variety of thrilling outdoor sports and competitions.
His love of sport is reflected in the myriad of roles he took on for the BBC. He was an anchor for Reporting Scotland and BBC Scotland’s flagship football programme, Sportscene, and a presenter of a plethora of other sports including rugby, curling and athletics.
He was the first Scottish presenter of rugby for Premier Sports and Viaplay and even enjoyed a short stint as co-host of ITV’s This Morning.
Vipond is currently the presenter of long-running farming and countryside programme, Landward, where he can often be seen traversing the length and breadth of Scotland in his wellies, reporting on rural issues.
Vipond received the award alongside hundreds of Stirling students at a ceremony on campus.
Professor Sir Gerry McCormac, principal and vice-chancellor of the University of Stirling, said: “Dougie Vipond’s achievements in music and broadcasting are inspiring.
“His success with Deacon Blue and as a versatile broadcaster makes him a fantastic role model for our students. Everyone at the University enjoyed celebrating with Dougie, our latest cohort of graduands, and their families and friends.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel