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The purpose of this longitudinal actor-based network study is to examine the evolution of sport fan ties and friendship ties on Division III campuses. Using two years of network data from a cohort of new students at a Division III institution, a SIENA model is developed to empirically test the co-evolution of fan ties and friendship ties. Grounded in student development, sport consumer behavior, and network theories, the overarching goal of this study is to explore the causal effect of fan ties on friendship ties among new students. To ascertain the value of Division III sports on campus, the authors explore the role of sports on campus in promoting friendships for new students based on the strong theoretical tradition from student development highlighting the salience of peer relationship in student success and retention. Accordingly, theoretical implications related to sport fan networks are considered within practical discussion of Division III sports and retention.

Sport management programs are disproportionately represented by students and faculty who possess multiple advantaged identities. This trend is indicative of the broader sport industry, which is troublesome given sports’ prominent role in conversations around racial injustice and inequity during the past century. It is incumbent on sport management educators to equip our students to recognize their role in and productively contribute to such conversations. Thus, this manuscript issues a call to action for sport management educators to utilize and build upon Nixon’s Coin Model of Privilege and Critical Allyship to understand, address, and normalize discourse around inequity, privilege, and oppression in their pedagogical approaches to education.

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