article · Journal of Learning Theory and Methodology
University sports facilities in Ethiopia face major constraints that affect their ongoing development and maintenance. An assessment of Ethiopian public universities, based on responses from one hundred athletes, administrators, facility managers, coaches, and finance and policy officers, shows low to moderate ratings across multiple operational areas. The investigated factors comprise infrastructure, financial sustainability, leadership capacity, policy and governance, and leisure activity participation. Together, these five dimensions explain 71.0 percent of the variance in sustainable sports facility development. Facility infrastructure and financial sustainability emerged as the most influential drivers of development, closely followed by leadership capacity, policy enforcement, and student participation in leisure activities. The findings indicate that structural and systemic issues hinder performance, highlighting the need for higher education institutions to address infrastructure upgrades, funding diversification, and governance frameworks jointly to ensure resilient sports facilities.
University sports amenities support student health, athletic performance, and broad institutional goals. Identifying the major operational barriers within higher education environments helps university administrators, policymakers, and planners understand which resource allocations and governance improvements have the greatest measurable impact on facility maintenance, utilisation, and long-term viability across African public institutions.
The research serves as early-stage diagnostic evidence that could guide university planners, educational facility management services, and public sector funding bodies in developing infrastructure management strategies and resource allocation frameworks. The abstract does not indicate an immediate commercial product or direct commercialisation pathway.
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Background. The sustainable development of university sports facilities is crucial for athletic performance, student engagement, and long-term institutional sustainability. In Ethiopian universities, this development is hindered by inadequate infrastructure and maintenance, weak policy implementation, limited financial resources, low leisure participation, and insufficient leadership and management capacity. Study purpose. The purpose of this study was to examine the key factors affecting the sustainable development of university sports facilities in Ethiopia, focusing on infrastructure, policy and governance, leadership and management capacity, financial sustainability, and leisure activity participation. Materials and methods. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 100 purposively selected athletes, coaches, facility managers, administrators, finance officers, and policy personnel across Ethiopian public universities. Data were collected using a validated 42-item questionnaire covering six variables. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) confirmed construct validity (KMO = 0.812, 68.4% of variance explained), and scale reliability was high (overall α = 0.819). Statistical power was verified using G*Power (1 − β > 0.99). Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple linear regression with regression diagnostics (VIF and residual analysis) were performed. Results. Mean scores revealed low to moderate performance across facility infrastructure (M = 2.74), leisure participation (M = 2.69), policy and governance (M = 2.62), leadership capacity (M = 2.61), sustainable facility development (M = 2.56), and financial sustainability (M = 2.50). Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that the five predictor domains collectively accounted for 71.0% of the variance in sustainable facility development (R² = 0.710, F(5, 94) = 46.01, p < 0.001). Facility infrastructure (β = 0.712, p < 0.001) and financial sustainability (β = 0.653, p < 0.001) emerged as the strongest predictors, followed by leadership capacity (β = 0.387, p = 0.003), policy and governance (β = 0.312, p < 0.001), and leisure participation (β = 0.298, p = 0.001). Conclusion. These results demonstrate that Ethiopian university sports facilities face substantial structural and systemic challenges. Achieving long-term facility sustainability requires an integrated approach: enhancing infrastructure quality, securing diversified funding, strengthening leadership capacity, enforcing governance policies, and promoting student leisure engagement. Addressing these key areas together is essential for establishing resilient, well-maintained sports facilities across higher education institutions.
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DOI: 10.17309/jltm.2026.7.2.08
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