The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 4 letter word BOAT RACE
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
B
O
A
T
R
A
C
E
More clues leading to the result BOAT RACE
- Snake bit, causing famous row
- Support overwhelming seed in West London contest?
- Event finding seed in pear, we hear?
- Pair accepts ongoing army training to begin with for Thames battle
- Scarf suggestion for competitive event
- Snake given hint of annual contest
- Hint of a strangler in Danny Dyer’s face
- Supporter covering grass for sporting occasion
- Snake path that winds on the river
- Event for blues band’s beginning with a track about love
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Face/university contest" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case face/university contest = boat race.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.