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Experiential learning has been widely used to impact student engagement and provide opportunities to apply theory to practice (Bower, 2013). Sport management faculty regularly use experiential learning in event management, sales classes and internships (Charlton, 2007; McKelvey & Southall, 2008). In addition, educators often include leadership development within their student learning outcomes (COSMA, 2014; MacKie, 2014). This study examines the effectiveness of leadership development activities implemented in an experiential event management course. A case study approach was selected to demonstrate in-depth development and analysis of the course and the integration of strengths-based leadership activities. Students completed the StrengthFinder assessment (Rath & Conchie, 2009), the Strengths Awareness Measure (Schreiner, 2004), and the Strengths of Self Efficacy Scale (Tsai et al., 2014). Significant increases in strengths awareness were reported along with generally high self-efficacy scores. Students reported positive perceptions of the experiential learning experience and increased levels of engagement.

In the current article, we extend the literature on fan identification and social identity theory by examining the effects of unscrupulous off-field behaviors of athletes. In doing so, we drew from both social identity theory and Heider’s balance theory to hypothesize a significant interaction between fan identification level and leadership response on fans’ subsequent levels of identification. An experimental study was performed and a 2 (high, low identification) × 2 (weak, strong leadership response) ANOVA was conducted with the pre to post difference score in team identification as the dependent variable. There was a significant interaction effect (F _{(2, 80)} = 23.71, p < .001) which explained 23% of the variance in the difference between prepost test scores. The results provide evidence that unscrupulous acts by athletes off the field of play can impact levels of team identification, particularly for highly identified fans exposed to a weak leadership response. The results are discussed relative to appropriate theory. Practical implications and suggestions for future research are also forwarded.