Sports Management

The sports industry is a dynamic and rapidly expanding global market. Sport organizations and events stand out due to the emotional involvement of athletes, fans, and communities, as well as the immense media attention they attract worldwide.

The Sports Management minor offers you a broad and integrated introduction to the many facets of sports management. You will learn to operate at both tactical and strategic levels within sport organizations and gain insight into how different disciplines work together. While we focus on the Dutch sports sector, you will also explore international sports management and cultural differences through an exchange project with a partner university in Barcelona.

A key component of the programme is a project week in which we host students from Spain, Ireland and Romania. During this intensive week, you will collaborate in intercultural, cross border teams on a real sport management project, giving you hands on experience in international teamwork and problem solving.

Sports management requires specialized knowledge. This minor covers key areas such as training and coaching principles, marketing and communication, financial management, government policy, and navigating challenging market conditions. You will investigate Dutch and international sponsorship and marketing opportunities, learn how to work with rights and contracts, and gain foundational knowledge in finance and physiology. The minor concludes with the development of a complete business development plan.

Would you like to know more about this programme or do you have specific questions? Please contact the programme coordinator, Martijn Gregoire, or the academic coordinator, Karin van Gastel.

The programme takes place during one semester, and includes the following subjects, skills training and workshops:

• Sponsoring & Media
• Sales & Account Management
• Sport Management in International Perspective
• Sport Finance
• Effort Fysiology
• Business Development

The minor programme is based on 'learning by doing', consisting of exercises, challenges and assignments, in which knowledge and skills training are offered according to ‘just in time’ principle. This means no separate courses, exams or other summative tests, but programmatic assessment for 30 ECTS.

This requires a high level of independence and personal responsibility from you with regard to self-starting skills and self-discipline. You are expected to manage your own learning process, continuously and actively collecting feedback, feed forward and feed up. Attendance at work sessions is not mandatory, but highly recommended; The pace is very high and the risk of lagging behind and/or missing the connection to content or group is therefore high.

Please note that the programme reflects a (logical) bundle of work-sessions and subjects that should be followed as such. It is not possible to combine (two or more) programmes in one single period.

During the entire minor you will put together an individual portfolio consisting of completed assignments and challenges, and feedback from peers, experts and teachers, in which you demonstrate that you have acquired the necessary competences, knowledge and skills.

This individual portfolio serves to determine whether you have met the desired learning outcomes. As such, there is no decision moment based on a single assessment; the decision is made based on rich information on your entire learning process.

The timetable and teaching days will be published the month prior to the start of the minor. On average, there are 3 work sessions and lectures per week, each lasting approximately 3 hours, along with 6-hour workshops.

Expect to be physically present at HU for 3 days per week. This minor is full-time with a total study burden of 840 hours/30ECTS.

In our Course Guide you can find all relevant information about the programme in one practical document.

To enter this programme, you need to have a strong interest in the business side of sport.

English CEFR level B2.

Please note: if your English proficiency proves to be insufficient to participate actively in (parts of) the courses you have chosen, we cannot be bound to the Learning Agreement, neither can we guarantee to offer you the required amount of Study load (EC’s). Teachers might request you to take a diagnostic test at the start of the course to check if your English proficiency is sufficient to successfully participate in that specific course. In all cases it is up to the programme manager, to decide if your English language ability is sufficient to be eligible for the programme/course.

For the international trip you should expect an extra contribution of around € 350 for travel and accommodation. In case you cannot afford the costs, there is an alternative assignment to finish this course. However, we encourage you to start saving for this trip, so you will not miss out on a great experience.