Date of Award

1994

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Leadership Studies

Abstract

It is the opinion of this researcher that the debate over sport as a builder of leadership has not been settled with this study. While this is somewhat disappointing, I hope that the research presented in this paper will serve to create an awareness as to the study of leadership qualities and abilities of those physically participating in the sport, the athletes themselves. They are the largely-ignored majority in sport and leadership study, a condition which must be addressed in the literature if sport leadership investigation is to become indeed holistic.

While the purpose of this research was to determine the validity of sport as a builder of leadership, may it also further the cause of sport and athletics as a "leadership laboratory," and as a vital division in the study of leadership. As the study of leadership progresses into the twenty-first century, so too must the study of sport leadership. Sport has become such a predominate facet of American culture and society that to ignore it would reflect a less than true account of modern leadership, facilitating a deficiency in the study of leadership. The children of America, the leaders of tomorrow, no longer identify with political leaders, business leaders, and the like. Rather they look to sports heroes as role models and leaders, those persons with whom they can identify. If for no other reason, leadership scholars and practitioners cannot ignore athletics and sport, but must use it to further the body of knowledge of the phenomena that is leadership.

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