Dr Mathew Dowling

BSc, MSc, PhD, SFHEA

Pronouns: He/him
  • Senior Lecturer in Sport Management

Research groups and centres

Publications
ORCiD Google Scholar
Mathew Dowling

Please call the press office on 01509 223491 to arrange an interview with Dr Mathew Dowling. Bookings can also be made online at globelynx.com.

Dr Mathew Dowling joined the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences in 2024. He is a senior lecturer in sport management. His research interests focus on sport policy and governance, organisational theory, professionalisation, comparative methodology, and government involvement in sport.

Prior to joining Loughborough, Mathew was an Associate Professor of Sport Policy and Management (2023-2024), Deputy Head of School (Curriculum) (2021-2024) and Senior Lecturer in Sport Coaching and Physical Education (2016-2023) at Anglia Ruskin University, UK, and a Lecturer in Sport Development at the Plymouth Marjon University, UK (2014-2016).

He completed his BSc and MSc in Sport Management at Loughborough University (2006-2009) and a PhD in Physical Education and Recreation (Sport Management) at the University of Alberta, Canada (2010-2014).

Mathew is also a Senior Fellow of Higher Education Academy (SFHEA).

Mathew is an internationally recognised expert in sport policy and governance and his research focuses on sport governance and organisational and systemic change within not-for-profit sport organisations. He has an established track record of publishing in leading journals within the field and has co-authored books within sport management, sport governance, and comparative methods in sport.

Mathew is a regular reviewer for the Journal of Sport Management, Sport Management Review, European Sport Management Quarterly, the International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics and Managing Sport and Leisure and is ad hoc reviewer for many other journals.

He is also on the editorial board of Managing Sport and Leisure and the International Journal of Sport Management, and has guest-edited for European Sport Management Quarterly.

Featured publications

  • Dowling, M., Harris, S., & Johnson, N. (in press). The Limits of Polycentric Governing Regimes: Preventing Athlete Abuse in the United States. Journal of Sport and Social Issues
  • Dowling, M. (2024). Get Active: "Back to the future" with government's latest national policy for sport and physical activity.  Managing Sport and Leisure, advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/23750472.2024.2326472
  • Dowling, M., Robertson, J., Washington, M., Leopkey, B., & Ellis, D. (2024). Agency and institutions in sport. [Special issue editorial]. European Sport Management Quarterly. 24(1), 17.
  • Dowling, M., Robertson, J., Leopkey, B., Lee-Ellis, D., Riches, A., Smith, L. & Washington, M. (2023). "Like Ships in the Night" and the Paradox of Distinctiveness for Sport Management: A Citation Network Analysis of Institutional Theory in Sport. Journal of Sport Management, 37(6), 403-416.
  • Dowling, M., Harris, S., & Mackintosh, C. (2023). Sport Policy across the United Kingdom: A Comparative Analysis (eds.). Routledge.
  • Harris, S., Dowling, M., & Washington, M. (2023). Political protest and Rule 50: Exploring the polycentric governance of international and Olympic sport. International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, 15(3), 417-434.
  • Dowling, M. (2023). Uniting the Movement? A Critical Commentary on Sport England's New Strategy [commentary]. Managing Sport and Leisure, 28(5), 578-582.
  • Dowling, M., Harris, S., & Washington, M. (2022). When a ban is not a ban: Institutional Work and the Russian Doping Scandal. Journal of Sport Management, 36(5), 433-445.
  • Dowling, M., & Harris, S. (2022). Apples and Oranges? Establishing Equivalence in Comparative Sport Research. International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, 14(2), 191-206.
  • Robertson, J., Dowling, M., Washington, M., Leopkey, B. Lee-Ellis, D., & Smith, L. (2022). Institutional Theory in Sport: A Scoping Review. Journal of Sport Management, 36(5), 459-472.
  • Harris, S., Dowling, M., & Houlihan, B. (2021). An Analysis of Governance Failure and Power Dynamics in International Sport: The Russian Doping Scandal. International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, 13(3), 359-378.
  • Dowling, M., & Harris, S. (2021). How to Compare Sporting Nations: Theory and Method. Meyer and Meyer Sport.
  • Harris, S., & Dowling, M. (2021). Sport Participation and Olympic Legacies: A Comparative Study (eds.). Routledge.
  • Henry, I. Dowling, M., Brown, P., & Ko, L-M. (2020). Challenging the New Orthodoxy: A Critique of SPLISS and Variable-Oriented Approaches to Comparing Sporting Nations. European Sport Management Quarterly, 20, 520-536.