Inaugural Professorial Lecture: Sport policy's levers and instruments
Professor Mike Sam has spent his career exploring the big questions at the heart of sport: how we keep it fair, how we pay for it, and how governments, organisations, and communities share responsibility for it.
Come and hear about his research tackling the challenges of policy regimes around match-fixing, integrity in governance, and stadium financing. These are issues that often make headlines but are just as important for the volunteers running weekend sport.
Date: Thursday 2nd September 2025.
Time: 5.30 to 7.30pm.
Location: Online.
Mike’s comparative work across countries like Canada, Australia, South Korea, and Sweden has shaped how policy-makers think about sport development. He regularly brings this perspective into public debate, offering commentary on everything from stadium projects to athlete welfare.
This mix of policy, politics, and people reflects what motivates Mike most: Understanding the “compact” between governments, sport organisations, and volunteers, especially as New Zealand’s new Sport Integrity Commission reshapes the sector. It’s also what fuels his life outside of research, where he coaches women’s ice hockey. Leading both the Dunedin Women’s Thunder and New Zealand’s national team, the Ice Fernz, Mike sees up close how policy decisions ripple through to athletes, coaches, and communities on the ice.
Find out more about this online lecture about sport policy, including how to access the livestream.