STAFF REPORT
Glasgow News 1
Lindsey Wilson University plans to debut a new academic program that elevates competitive athletics from the playing field to the classroom.
The Columbia-based school will begin offering a sport performance major during the 2026-27 school year, according to a university announcement. Lindsey Wilson will be the first college or university in Kentucky, and the second in the nation, to offer a sport performance major, the announcement stated.
Eric Carter, assistant vice president for student success and academic growth at Lindsey Wilson, said the program recognizes the academic and professional benefits of intercollegiate athletics. Carter, a sociologist by training and part of a national movement that promotes the power of competitive sport to develop leaders, described sport participation as an “embodied, experiential form of liberal arts learning.”
He said the new major reframes athletic participation not as an extracurricular activity but as a rigorous academic discipline, similar to the performing arts.
The sport performance major will be offered as a 120-hour bachelor of arts degree. It will include 11 core courses, totaling 33 credit hours, and four electives, totaling 12 hours. Those courses will draw on multiple academic areas, including business, communication, English, history, physical education, psychology, recreation, tourism and sport management, sport performance, and women’s and gender studies.
In addition to traditional coursework, the program will feature four practicum-style courses. Each practicum will involve 90 hours of structured participation in competitive sport along with 750 minutes of classroom-based instruction. University officials say those requirements mirror the expectations of clinicals, internships and performance practicums in other Lindsey Wilson academic programs.
Carter said the major is especially focused on preparing students for careers in what he described as the multi-trillion dollar global sports industry, adding that some graduates may pursue careers outside of sports, in areas such as education, health and wellness, and business leadership. Carter cited research that links competitive sport participation with enhanced leadership, communication, time management, emotional intelligence and resilience.
He said those skills align with the goals of a liberal education and Lindsey Wilson’s mission to serve “every student, every day.”
Key Facts
• Lindsey Wilson University will begin offering a sport performance major in the 2026-27 school year.
• The university says it will be the first in Kentucky and the second in the nation to offer this major.
• The program treats competitive athletics as a rigorous academic discipline within the liberal arts.
• The major is a 120-hour bachelor of arts degree with 11 core courses and four electives.
• Coursework will draw from business, communication, English, history, physical education, psychology, recreation, tourism and sport management, sport performance, and women’s and gender studies.
• Students will complete four practicum-style courses combining 90 hours of structured participation with 750 minutes of classroom instruction.
• Eric Carter of Lindsey Wilson says the major is designed to prepare students for careers in the global sports industry and beyond.
• Supporters cite research linking competitive sport participation to leadership, higher earnings and key professional skills.
