Reinvestigating the Impact of Conference Realignment on Rivalry in Intercollegiate Athletics

Abstract

The current study investigated the influence of a U.S. intercollegiate team competing in a new conference for multiple seasons on fan perceptions of rival teams and likelihood of considering anonymous aggression toward rival teams. Fans of teams that changed conferences during conference realignment reserved stronger negative perceptions of the former rival on factors involving on-field competition and stronger negative perceptions of the current rival on factors involving off-field competition. Additionally, fans were more likely to consider committing anonymous acts of aggression against the former rival team than the current rival team. Implications and directions for future study are discussed.

Examining the Impact of Team Identification and Gender on Rival Perceptions and Consumption Intentions of Intercollegiate Athletics Fans

“…

The current study investigated rival perceptions using the Sport Rivalry Fan Perception Scale (SRFPS) (Havard, Gray, Gould, Sharp, & Schaffer, 2013) on a group of male and female intercollegiate athletics fans at various levels of favorite team identification. To this point, the SRFPS has primarily been used to examine highly identified male fans (Havard, Reams, & Gray, 2013;Havard, Wann, & Ryan, 2013). The current study extended previous research on rivalry by finding that rival perceptions were impacted by level of team identification.

…”

“…For example, many institutions give promotional titles to the rivalries they share with other schools in an attempt to engage fan bases and stakeholders (e.g., Red River Showdown, The Game, Iron Bowl). The impact of rivalry on fans of intercollegiate athletics has started to receive attention in the sport management literature (Havard, 2014, Havard & Eddy, 2013Havard, Reams, & Gray, 2013;Havard, Wann, & Ryan, 2013;Kilduff, Elfenbein, & Staw, 2010). The purpose of the current study is to extend the existing research by measuring perceptions of rival teams and intentions to consume a rivalry game among male and female fans with varying levels of identification with their favorite team.…”

“…Rivalry plays an important role to sport fans (Havard & Eddy, 2013) and has been used by organizations to promote and market their product to consumers. For example, many institutions give promotional titles to the rivalries they share with other schools in an attempt to engage fan bases and stakeholders (e.g., Red River Showdown, The Game, Iron Bowl).…”

“…The SRFPS has been used to investigate differences between team fan groups (Havard, Reams, & Gray, 2013), impact of conference realignment on fans (Havard, Wann, & Ryan, 2013), and differences based on the team a fan follows (Havard, 2016) and the conference in which the team is affiliated (Havard & Reams, in press). However, in previous studies, the SRFPS has primarily been used to measure rival perceptions of highly identified male fans.…”

Your Smartphone, my Smartphone - How Smartphone Ownership determines Social Group Affiliation

“…The perception of a rivalry is dependent on the identification with a team [28]. Thus, fans even visit matches of the respective rival when they believe they could influence the outcome of the game with their behavior [29].…”