An Examination of Sportsmanship and Sport Commitment Levels of University Students: A Case Study of Istanbul Gelisim University

The objective of this study was to examine the levels of sportsmanship and sport commitment among students enrolled in sports management programmes and to determine whether these variables differed according to demographic characteristics such as gender, age, marital status, professional status, and participation in a sports branch. Understanding these variables is important for evaluating the ethical values and long-term engagement tendencies of future sport managers. A relational survey model and causal-comparative design were employed. Data were collected through face-to-face administration of the Sportsmanship Scale and the Sports Commitment Scale. The sample consisted of sports management students studying at the Faculty of Sport Sciences at Istanbul Gelisim University. The normality of data distribution was tested using the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, which indicated non-normal distribution (p<.05). Therefore, non-parametric tests were applied. Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis tests were used to examine group differences, and Spearman correlation analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between the variables. The results indicated that there were no statistically significant differences in sportsmanship and sport commitment levels according to gender (p>.05). However, a statistically significant positive relationship was found between sportsmanship and sport commitment (r =.563, p<.05). In conclusion, higher sportsmanship levels are associated with stronger sport commitment among sports management students.