Forum: Razorbacks and the Nation

Photo from Razorback football game.
Razorbacks and the Nation

HNRS 330H1

Noah Pittman and Scott Varady 

Fall 2025

Wednesday  5:15-6:30 p.m.

GEAR 129

Course Application due March 13, 2025 at 5 p.m. 

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College athletics has witnessed dramatic changes to its structure in recent years. Name, Image, and Likeness. Growing TV and media rights contracts. Pressure to stay ahead of the pack in important areas such as digital marketing and the fan experience. This constantly evolving college sports model impacts all NCAA member institutions, including the University of Arkansas.

In this one credit hour Honors College Forum, Razorbacks and the Nation, students will get to learn about how Division I college athletics is run in 2025. The class will begin with an overview of today’s college sports model, including the effects, both intended and unintended, of recent changes in the law. The class will then move to an analysis of the new revenue sharing model and what impact it will have on the overall college sports experience. Finally, students will consider what college athletics will look in the future, while also discussing ideas on what can be done to improve the product, especially for fans. Throughout the semester, student will be provided with an insider's look into Razorback Athletics. Any student who is passionate about college athletics and wants to gain an insider’s perspective into their operations should consider applying for this course.

About Scott Varady:

Scott Varady serves as Vice Chancellor for University Advancement and was appointed to that position on April 17, 2023.

Varady is a University of Arkansas alumnus who served more than 19 years with the University of Arkansas’ Office of the General Counsel, including his role as associate general counsel, prior to becoming the executive director and general counsel of the Razorback Foundation in 2015.

Leading the Razorback Foundation from 2015 to 2023, Varady was responsible for all operational, membership, governance, annual fund and capital fundraising and service to the organization’s board of directors for the purpose of providing private gift support to Razorback Athletics.

Headshot of Noah PittmanAbout Noah Pittman:

Dr. Noah Pittman is the associate dean of enrollment for the University of Arkansas Honors College. In his position, Pittman oversees a number of areas, including Honors College admissions and the awarding of endowed fellowships to incoming students at the university.

Pittman earned a B.A. in political science, summa cum laude, from Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn., where he was active in a number of campus groups and won numerous awards, among them the Yerger Hunt Clifton Scholarship for British Studies at Oxford, the Seidman Award for Most Outstanding Senior Political Science Major, and the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award. Pittman also interned with Congressman Steve Cohen's Ninth District Office in Memphis and Harold Ford Jr.'s 2006 U.S. Senate campaign. At the University of Arkansas, Pittman completed a M.Ed. in higher education leadership and a Ph.D. in public policy. Pittman's dissertation on the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery and its effects on college participation in the state earned him the William Miller Dissertation Award from the university's public policy program.

Pittman currently serves as the president of the Alpha of Arkansas Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. He is also finishing a three year term as a member of the College Board's Southwestern Regional Council. In recent years, he has taught a number of honors courses related to campaigns and elections, the American presidency, political partisanship, and higher education policy.