Service learning and civic engagement have taken on both renewed and increased importance in sport management (Chalip, 2006; Frisby, 2005; Inglis, 2007). The following manuscript represents data collected from 10 offerings of a Sport Management Service Learning course. Ninety-one of the 131 students consented to the use of selected journals, online discussions, and group papers. Analysis was organized around the following a priori themes and subthemes that emerged from the literature: discovery (the increased knowledge of different cultures, reduction of negative stereotypes, and increased self knowledge), integration (the reward of helping others, feeling like you can make a difference, working with others, and connecting to the community), and application (leadership skills and the emotional power of service learning helps students connect intellectually with coursework) (Boyer, 1990; Eyler & Giles, 1999). Subthemes for discovery also emerged from the data and included: knowledge of classmates’ cultures, future plans and being viewed as an expert. A discussion of the findings and recommendations for future research on and application of service learning as a sport management pedagogy follows the results.

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Allport’s (1954) intergroup contact hypothesis states that interactions with members of an out-group, particularly of a different racial and/or ethnic group, are effective in changing attitudes about diversity (Allport, 1954; Pettigrew, 1998). In this study, the intergroup contact hypothesis was applied to the design of a sport management course. The classroom component focused the role of sport in education, health, and leadership development, and the application was structured sport and physical activity programming with school-age children at several urban sites. Data were gathered from 91 college students over 3 years about course-related experiences and how the students’ backgrounds influenced their social identities and understanding of out-group members. Results showed that intergroup contact effectively assisted in developing understanding and cooperation and reducing negative attitudes between groups. The participants received diversity education, via intergroup contact, both inside and outside the classroom, which will potentially equip them to take proactive strategies when managing organizational diversity in the sport industry.

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