Looking ahead - The future of sport management education

Sport management education is increasingly shaped by globalisation, marketisation, technological change and growing expectations around ethical and social responsibility. Preparing future sport managers therefore requires more than technical competence; it demands critical, inclusive and adaptable educational practices capable of responding to complexity and uncertainty. This synthesis brings together debates on industry engagement, work-integrated learning, diversity, equity and inclusion, quality assurance, accreditation, assessment and faculty development to consider how sport management education can remain relevant, rigorous and socially responsive. A central tension lies between employability-driven agendas and higher education’s wider role in cultivating critical thinking, ethical judgement and professional identity. Inclusive pedagogy, decolonised perspectives and reflexive practice must be embedded across curricula rather than treated as peripheral. Further, authentic and competency-informed assessment plays an increasingly important role in aligning learning with professional practice while maintaining academic integrity. Attention is also given to the structural conditions shaping sport management education, including accreditation systems, performance metrics and institutional pressures, alongside the need to support educators through professional development, mentoring and sustainable career pathways. Through intentional partnerships, critical engagement with power and inequality, and ongoing pedagogical innovation, sport management education can prepare graduates to shape a more ethical and inclusive sport industry.