From “Acing the Test” to “Touching Base”: The Sports Metaphor in the Classroom

The use of sports metaphors to convey business lessons both within and outside the classroom is a common phenomenon. The sports metaphor, however, is prone to misuse and can often inadvertently exclude large segments of the student popula tion. To address these issues, we put forth an innovative and novel pedagogical approach that attempts to capitalize better on the shared meanings between athlet ics and certain business practices. Using the sports of tennis and basketball, we demonstrate how sports metaphors can he responsibly used to aid in the under standing of business lessons, such as managerial decision making.