MSU among SEC schools to offer fall honors course examining college athletics
Contact: Harriet Laird
STARKVILLE, Miss.—Judy and Bobby Shackouls Honors College students at Mississippi State University now can register for a new and innovative fall course, The Future of College Athletics.
A Southeastern Conference-powered collaboration among 10 universities, the hybrid format course will offer undergraduate students insight into current college athletics challenges at the campus level and across the conference.
Officially labeled HON 2091 at MSU, the class will include virtual plenary sessions with conference athletic leaders and experts, while the university’s honors college holds forums on the local institution culture and provides tours of athletic facilities.
MSU Senior Vice Provost Brent Fountain, who supports collaboration between university academics and athletics as the Athletic Council’s faculty representative, said, “This new initiative will provide our students with unique access to the world that is today's intercollegiate athletics. They will have the chance to learn from some of the best and brightest across the SEC as well as our own visionary athletic and academic leaders.”
With universities facing many complex issues such as the transfer portal, NIL, legal issues, conference realignment and more, this class also will prepare students for future career opportunities as they are exposed to the business, legal and media components of college sports.
“This course is honors education at its most engaged—taking a regional staple like SEC sports and turning it into an innovative study of culture, leadership and institutional impact,” said Tommy Anderson, honors college dean.
Topics such as revenue sharing, budgeting, licensing and sports marketing will be part of the curriculum.
Other participating universities include Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Kentucky, Louisiana State, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas A&M and South Carolina.
MSU preregistration for the summer and fall semesters is now open. For more information on this new course, honors students can email George Dunn, assistant dean, at gdunn@honors.msstate.edu.
Mississippi State University is taking care of what matters. Learn more at www.msstate.edu.