Global, National, and Local Factors in the Management of University Sport: The Hungarian Case

Because of the international nature of university sport, the appearance of transnational areas, events, results, and actors occurred very early. Therefore, the harmonization of the national and international factors influencing the functioning and development of student sport has been necessary since its rise. The objective of the article is to reveal the interaction between global, national and local factors influencing university sport, through the example of the Hungarian case. The paper is based on the results of extensive empirical research carried out by the author with the help of several methods: survey, in-depth interview, document analysis, and participant observation. Sport-globalization is regarded as the theoretical framework for the analysis. The results are discussed according to the following dimensions: strategic management of university sport; event and project management; cooperation between the two "owners", the sports sphere and the academic education; migrant student-athletes; volunteering in university sports; and the external and internal environment of Hungarian university sport. In the conclusion, it is emphasized that the management of university sport in Hungary has been influenced both by the globalisation of sports and the transformation of the Hungarian sport structure following the 1989-1990 political regime change (Földesi 2000). The combined effect of global and domestic factors meant a permanent challenge for the management of university sport. The Hungarian University Sports Federation succeeded in providing adequate answers to the new challenges, as Federation strategic planning was always based on knowledge-based strategies.