As Vim also said, they need to keep hold of the players year after year like a 'normal' club would do (no disrespect to Uni). It would be hard to build a team for a year or 2 and then have players leaving as they have finished a 3 year degree and gone overseas for work to pay off student loans etc. I know Otago Uni a club, had older guys playing 1st team football who just weren't able to play in Uni games. Looking at how their other teams went this year not sure how much depth they got with results that didn't set world alight. Any whispers on what may happen with Div 1/MPL in review?
Having played for Varisty for 5 years between 2002-2007, I know it was always an epic struggle to hold onto players. We would knock over Burnside one week then lose to some poxy reserve team the next. The reality is, even if they do get promoted it may be a harsh year the following one. There was a good core to the club when I was there, but things have changed a lot since then. They don't seem to have the same staying power as Otago or Vic does up here in Welly
That was the same problem that my uni team had. Not only do you lose players to injury, but you lose them to assignments, exams, holidays and the 'odd' party.
But, you don't have to be a student to play for University, so if they managed to get/attract a small core of non-students, then I reckon that they might be able to give it a bit of a nudge in terms of personnel.