Championship and Sponsor Analysis in Intercollegiate Athletics: A Case Study Examining the Effects of Identification, Expectations, and Game Outcomes on Event Sponsorship Evaluations

in International Journal of Sport Communication

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Natalie Brown-DevlinStan Richards School of Advertising & Public Relations, Moody College of Communication, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
Center for Sports Communication & Media, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA

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Michael B. DevlinTexas State University, San Marcos, TX, USA

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Vincent PeñaDePaul College of Communication, DePaul University, Chicago, IL, USA

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DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsc.2022-0127
Keywords:
social identity theory; expectancy violation theory; team identification
First Published Online:
18 Nov 2022
In Print:
Volume 16: Issue 1
Page Range:
80–89
Restricted access

To examine the relationship among identification, fan expectations, and sponsorship outcomes, this study examined Alabama and Clemson fan expectations and responses to the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) football championship game outcome. This case study sought to understand how fans of winning and losing teams evaluated a sporting event’s sponsor following the conclusion of an event, positing that highly identified fans would demonstrate a halo effect, and report favorable attitudes toward the sponsoring brand as suggested by previous research. However, there is a lack of theoretical evidence regarding consumer expectations when applied within the context of sport. Thus, using the theoretical framework of identification and expectation violation theory, the authors inquired to what extent the outcome of the game and one’s expectations of the outcome influenced their evaluation of the event sponsor. The results support previous research regarding potential halo effects, but also add nuance to earlier work demonstrating that a halo effect is not unilaterally applied for all fans. Given the unpredictable nature of sport and the increasing cost of sponsoring sporting events, these findings help explain the extent to which violations of one’s expected outcome affect subsequent evaluations of a sponsor.

Brown-Devlin (nataliebdevlin@utexas.edu) is corresponding author.

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