The landscape of college athletics is evolving rapidly. As it continues to unfold, honors college students from across the Southeastern Conference will have the opportunity to track the changes and discuss the numerous issues that continue to emerge.
Ten honors colleges and programs in the SEC have partnered to launch a new course focused on the future of college athletics. Beginning in fall 2026, the course will focus on an array of topics, including legal ramifications, revenue sharing, athletic department budgeting, licensing, sports marketing and journalism. Classes held on each campus will meet both individually and collectively online, offering the opportunity to garner insight from different athletic programs.
A course beyond measure
The South Carolina Honors College course titled “The Future of College Athletics” will be facilitated by Honors faculty fellow and College of Information and Communications associate professor Kevin Hull, Ph.D. The course will follow a similar structure as the other participating colleges and programs, but focus on the specific athletic culture at the University of South Carolina.
Hull, who also serves as the Sports Media Sequence Head for the Sports Media Initiative in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications, brings years of experience in sports broadcasting and related research. He hopes Honors College students participating can learn about the many developments in college sports today as they hear from USC sports media professionals and athletic staff.
“The amount of changes in college sports in the past few years is mind-boggling, and there are still so many more to come,” shared Hull. “I am excited to be a part of this cross-university class where we are going to examine where we’ve been in college sports, what’s going on now and the future of the industry. Students are going to learn from university leaders, media scholars and prominent figures in college sports. It should be a class they’ll never forget."
A collaboration that just means more
A meeting during the 2025 SEC Honors College Conference in Fayetteville, Arkansas sparked the initial idea for the course collaboration. Lynda Coon, dean of the University of Arkansas’s honors college and host for the conference, explained how they planned to offer a course on the future of athletics, and invited the other universities to create their own courses, and to collaborate on common meetings and speakers. Honors leadership from the participating institutions then came together to propose the approach through a conference-wide effort. The goal was simple: To create a broader, shared conversation amongst undergraduate students.
“This promises to be a remarkable course, offering our students a behind-the-scenes understanding not only of Gamecock sports but also of the ten other Southeastern Conference schools participating,” said Steven Lynn, dean of the South Carolina Honors College. “We’re excited about the insights they will gain into all the various disciplines that engage with the profoundly influential world of athletics.”
Participating universities include the University of South Carolina, Auburn University, Louisiana State University, Mississippi State University, Texas A&M University, University of Alabama, University of Arkansas, University of Kentucky, University of Missouri and the University of Oklahoma.
In the age of change, preparation matters most. Honors students who are fans of college sports from any discipline or major can enroll in the course and take advantage of this unique academic opportunity.