Coimbra Academic Association

[4][5][6] In rugby (Portuguese Rugby Union Championship), volleyball (Portuguese Volleyball Championship) and basketball (Portuguese Basketball League (LCB)) top flight competitions, through the Associação Académica de Coimbra (rugby union), the Associação Académica de Coimbra (volleyball) and the Associação Académica de Coimbra (basketball) departments, the AAC has also been represented at the highest level in the Portuguese major competitions across its history, as well as in several olympic sports ranging from athletics to martial arts disciplines.

The Associação Académica was founded on the base of the student dramatic society, the Academia Dramática de Coimbra (1849-1887).

[7][8] In 1971, student protests against policies of the Estado Novo regime led to the Associação Académica being closed down, preceding a round of repression.

[13] Since the late 1990s inside the AAC structure have been created several local student unions, representing courses, departments or sometimes faculties/colleges.

There are also rehearsal halls, a medical centre, academic services, extensive indoor gardens, a theatre-cinema with approximately 1,000 seats (Teatro Académico de Gil Vicente), and a café–restaurant where many students meet up and enjoy a wide selection of foods.

All the cultural sections of AAC are open to the entire society, promoting respected events, workshops and courses, both for students and the city community.

Among the autonomous organisations of AAC there are also some well reputed theatre groups with a vast curriculum of acclaimed performances and playing a critical part in the city's cultural life.

The Festa das Latas, a smaller-scale event is the freshman's week of the University of Coimbra, also organised by the AAC.

Before the current logo, the AAC used to be represented by a black cape to reflect the university's traditional students' uniform.

The logo of the Associação Académica de Coimbra has a stylized drawing of the tower of the university and the acronym AAC.

It is almost 34 metres high, and has a narrow and circular staircase which leads to a belvedere with remarkable views over the university, the historical part of the city centre and the river Mondego.

AAC main entrance in 2008, with one of the AAC vans parked outside the building.
Students in robes (for the first week of the class year), University of Coimbra
A view of the southern top of the University Stadium and Sports Complex of the University of Coimbra near the Mondego river .
View of the main entrance and the main building of AAC in 2006. To the right, the building has the offices of dozens of sports departments (called sections; secções in Portuguese) and cultural organizations (also called sections) ranging from chess, several martial arts and diverse ball game sports to radio, cinema, philately, astronomy and theatre, among many others.
The tower of the University of Coimbra