Shaquille O’Neal Is Returning to LSU, This Time as a Professor

BATON ROUGE, La. - Shaquille O'Neal is heading back to Baton Rouge. This time, it's not as a student but as a professor.

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Shaq Announces LSU Faculty Plans on Inside the NBA

The four-time NBA champion and LSU alumnus announced earlier this week on Inside the NBA that he is close to joing the LSU faculty, where he plans on teaching a class on mentorship.

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From Student to Professor: Shaq's Academic Journey at LSU

The announcement came just days after O'Neal returned to Baton Rouge to receive his second master's degree from LSU, adding to an academic portfolio that now includes a bachelor’s degree, two master’s degrees, and a doctorate.

The Personal Mission Behind the Mentorship Class

The course O'Neal intends to teach reflects a deeply personal mission. By his own account, he was a young athlete who needed guidance and did not always find it. That experience has shaped his post-playing career, during which he has worked to provide others with the support he once lacked. Most recently, he has served as a mentor and celebrity judge on "The Grind," an online business pitch competition hosted by education company Campus.

Shaq Scholars Program and the Campus Partnership

In July 2025, he partnered with Campus to launch the Shaq Scholars Program, which offers underserved students full tuition coverage, laptops, and direct mentorship from professionals in business and technology.

For LSU, O'Neal's return to campus as a faculty member carries significance beyond the headlines. He left Baton Rouge more than three decades ago as one of the most decorated players in college basketball history. He is returning with a wealth of lived experience that no traditional curriculum can replicate.