The 12-item, four factor scale that measures how fans view or perceive their favorite team. The SRFPS measures fan likelihood to support the rival in indirect competition, perception of rival prestige, perception of rival fan behavior, and the satisfaction a fan feels when their favorite team defeats the rival team.
Published in Chapter:
Out-Group Treatment in Higher Education: Using Rivalry to Allow Student Comparison of In-Group and Out-Group Members in NCAA Competition Divisions
Cody T. Havard (The University of Memphis, USA), Timothy T. Ryan (The University of Memphis, USA), and Skylar S. Workman (The University of Memphis, USA)
Copyright: © 2019
|Pages: 22
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-8125-3.ch003
Abstract
The chapter investigates differences in the ways college students compare to out-groups using the different NCAA competition divisions. In particular, students enrolled at schools in all six (i.e., Power Five, Group of Five, FCS, DI No Football, DII, DIII) reported their perceptions of rival school's athletics teams using the Sport Rivalry Fan Perception Scale (SRFPS). Differences were found regarding student perceptions among competition divisions. Specifically, attendance at a Power Five School influenced student's willingness to support rival teams against other teams, the enjoyment from defeating the rival team, perceptions of rival academic prestige and fan behavior, and likelihood of experiencing Glory Out of Reflected Failure (GORFing), or celebrating when the rival experiences indirect failure. Further, students attending DI No Football Schools and DIII Schools chose academic prestige as a way to derogate their rival schools. Discussion focuses on implications to higher education and avenues for future research.