Developing an employability paradigm within a discipline: a sports management case study.

The discipline of sports management has evolved significantly since the introduction of the first sports management and administration degree programmes in the 1960s (Stokowski et al, 2022; Jones et al, 2008). The catalyst for this evolution has been the increasing scale and complexity of the global sports industry, driven by factors such as globalisation, technological advancements and changing societal expectations, which has necessitated a more strategic and holistic approach to researching and teaching the sport management discipline (Shilbury, 2022; Cunningham et al, 2021; Gammelsæter and Anagnostopoulos, 2022; Chalip, 2006). The sport and active leisure sector is considered a vital economic sector in the UK and across the Eurozone, with a share in the national economies comparable to agriculture, forestry and fishing combined (European Commission, 2018).

Due to its perceived importance, governments and employers are now scrutinising all higher
education and sports degree programmes and questioning their graduates’ ability to successfully enter the workplace and impact the sector (CIMSPA, 2020; Arnott, 2022). Tensions have emerged where institutions and academics can often be conflicted with maintaining academic autonomy and perceived discipline integrity – where curricular design and research agendas are left open to institutions’ interpretation and expertise – with the pressure of preparing traditional and non-traditional students with specialist knowledge and skills required for roles within the sector (Pitchford and Bacon, 2005; Aldous and Brown, 2021). Therefore, managerial workforce stability, sustainability and employability are critical in advancing the sports industry’s economic, social, and cultural value and ensuring its long-term impact and relevance (Osborne and Lewis, 2022).