A new shared academic experience across the SEC

Auburn athletics is no stranger to dramatic upsets such as the classic "Kick Six" and "Bo Over the Top," but the biggest changes at the moment are taking place off the field or court. The structure of collegiate sports is now facing new challenges stemming from the transfer portal, NIL, legal battles, conference realignments and policy shifts.

This era of transformation presents challenges, but also extraordinary opportunities, especially for students eager to understand or even influence the future of college athletics.

This fall, honors colleges and programs at ten SEC universities—more than half of the conference— are joining forces to offer a first-of-its-kind academic experience exploring the business, legal and media dimensions of modern college athletics.

The course, which at Auburn University will be titled, "Honors Lyceum:SEC Honors Athletics" will bring together students across institutions for a deep dive into the forces reshaping the industry, giving them direct access to experts and decision-makers who are helping define what comes next.

“I’m thrilled that we can join with other SEC honors colleges and programs in bringing this extraordinary opportunity to our students,” said Laura Stevens, Auburn University Honors College director. “This course captures so much of what honors education does for our students, but also the kinds of multidisciplinary conversations and analyses that we can foster within and among our universities.”

A rapidly evolving landscape

This new course will help undergraduate students understand the rapidly evolving landscape of the modern game, including legal ramifications, revenue sharing, athletic department budgeting, licensing, sports marketing and journalism. By bringing together perspectives from multiple institutions, the forum offers rare insight into both campus-level operations and the broader, conference-wide forces reshaping college athletics.

“Watch any SEC athletic event on television and you’re certain to see commercials from the member universities featuring students at work in classrooms, laboratories and in the community,” said Daniel Grace, senior lecturer of English, who will teach Auburn University’s course. “Too rarely, however, do the academic and athletic sides of these universities join forces on campus to promote interdisciplinary learning. This course will bring together sports, business, marketing, media studies and more to give Honors students a deeper understanding of how college athletics and athletic departments work, and how both are rapidly changing.”

The seed for the course was planted during the 2025 SEC Honors Deans and Directors Conference in Fayetteville, Arkansas, where Honors leaders from across the conference began imagining a shared curriculum that could provide students with a panoramic view of college athletics—something no single institution could offer alone.

A Collaborative SEC Honors Experience

This new hybrid course is designed to bring academic and athletic worlds together in ways students rarely get to experience. Students will participate together in virtual plenary sessions featuring athletic directors, industry experts, legal scholars and sports media professionals. Each university’s honors class will independently attend institution-specific colloquia highlighting the unique sports culture of their university. They will also take part in guided tours of athletic facilities, offering a behind-the-scenes look at operations, and examine real-world issues in sports business, law, marketing, licensing, journalism and more.

When combined, this cross-institutional model gives students access to a depth of knowledge and professional exposure few undergraduates receive.

“This innovative course covers a transformative period in college athletics, intertwining the Southeastern Conference’s academic and athletic excellence,” Auburn athletics director John Cohen said. “While we compete fiercely in the SEC, we also collaborate fraternally. That same collaborative spirit will enrich this learning experience for Auburn’s outstanding Honors College students.”

Perfect for any honors student

The course (Honors Lyceum: SEC Honors Athletics) will be offered in the fall of 2026 and is intentionally structured for students majoring in business, pre-law, journalism, communication, marketing, public relations, sports management and any field intersecting with policy, media or organizational leadership.

But students of all majors—whether lifelong fans or newcomers to college athletics—will benefit from this rare behind-the-scenes education.

College athletics is undergoing seismic change, and students today will become the administrators, attorneys, advocates and storytellers who navigate what comes next.

This new Honors course offers a front-row seat to the transformation—and a chance to understand it from perspectives across the SEC.