SEC honors colleges introduce new ‘Future of College Athletics’ course

College athletics is undergoing its most dramatic transformation in decades — and Southeastern Conference (SEC) honors students will now have a front-row seat.

For the first time, honors colleges across the SEC have partnered to offer a unique 1-credit hour Fall 2026 course called “The Future of College Athletics.” At the University of Kentucky, the course will bring together a small cohort of Lewis Honors College students for weekly in-person sessions and connect them with honors students from across the SEC through virtual classes.

This collaborative initiative gives honors students exclusive access to learning about SEC athletics while fostering cross-institutional dialogue with peers throughout the conference.

Associate Dean Pearl James, Ph.D., said she is eager to leverage a major feature of the SEC and explore collegiate athletics’ success through the lens of honors inquiry.

“Students in this course will get an interdisciplinary and behind-the-scenes look at UK Sports and consider how the SEC conference as a whole is responding to the new economic realities of collegiate athletics,” James said.

In-person classes, 5-6:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, will be led by Kwame Agyemang, Ph.D., professor of sport, organizations and society and the George and Betty Blanda Endowed Professor in sport leadership. Agyemang also directs the Future of Sport Institute in the UK College of Education. 

Agyemang encouraged all Honors students to consider the course since “there is room in sport for almost any skill set or career path.”

“My hope is that students come away realizing that college sport is not just games, scores and entertainment," Agyemang said, "but rather a window into the broader worlds of law, policy, health, business, engineering and technology.”

Course topics include an overview of the athletics department budget, sports marketing and social media strategy, a facilities tour and other aspects of athletics administration and governance.

Virtual guest speakers as part of the plenary sessions include Chris McCoy, head coach of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff men’s and women’s track and field team, to discuss the legal ramifications of the House v. NCAA settlement which now allows collegiate athletes to be compensated; and Steve Dittmore, Ph.D., dean of Silverfield College of Education and Human Services at the University of North Florida, to speak on college sports television rights.

Agyemang said he is excited about the SEC partnership since “bringing honors students from across the conference into a shared classroom turns it into a living laboratory.”

The idea for the course originated at the April 2025 SEC Honors Colleges Conference at the University of Arkansas.

“‘The Future of College Athletics’ is the product of SEC honors college deans and staff who decided to offer a conference-wide, virtual seminar on the fast-changing world of university sports,” said Lynda Coon, University of Arkansas Honors College dean. “It builds on a highly successful honors colloquium held at the University of Arkansas: ‘Razorbacks and the Nation.’”

Laura Stevens, Ph.D., the director of the Auburn University Honors College, hopes that this course will show “how excellence in athletics and in academics are united and mutually reinforcing in the SEC.” She also expects that the world will recognize the “significance of collegiate athletics as a subject of academic inquiry.”

Agyemang added, “In a conference where ‘It Just Means More,’ this collaboration shows that it also means more academically, aligning perfectly with the Future of Sport’s mission to reimagine what sport can be.”

Participating SEC universities include the University of South Carolina, Louisiana State University, University of Missouri, Auburn University, University of Oklahoma, University of Alabama, Texas A&M, Mississippi State University and University of Arkansas.

Honors students interested in enrolling should contact their academic advisor or register for “Future of College Athletics” (HON 201-001) during priority registration.

For more information, contact Agyemang, at kwame.agyemang@uky.edu or connect with him during the Ideas that Matter event “Shadow Governors – How Athletes, Media, and Money are Reshaping College Sports,” 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 3, in the Lewis Scholars Lounge.