A 50-year retrospective view of leadership development through intercollegiate sport experiences from the perspective of former student-athletes

ABSTRACT Critics justifiably chronicle the problems in intercollegiate sport. Some call for reform, others abolishment. Supporters suggest that sound, ethically-based intercollegiate sport programs significantly contribute to the personal and leadership development of student-athletes. The researchers examined the perceptions of male and female intercollegiate basketball players who played at a major Canadian university over 50 years ago, when they were near, or at, retirement age, and at a stage in their lives when they could best evaluate the benefits of the experience. All of the respondents believed that these programs had unique, significant and transferable impacts on their leadership development and personal growth, regardless of their role on the team which they didn’t realize this at the time, and had not thought about it since. The researchers offer nine suggestions to heighten leadership development in these programs and showcase programs now offered in intercollegiate sport programs in Canada and the United States.