Horned Frogs coach Sonny Dykes, alongside star quarterbacks, transformed business students' understanding of leadership through gridiron grit and boardroom strategy.
It turns out the head coach of the TCU Horned Frogs can command more than a sideline.
Sonny Dykes spent his spring semester not breaking down blitz packages, but breaking down leadership inside the Neeley School of Business. The course - Leadership in Action: From the Gridiron to the Boardroom - challenges students to translate college football principles into real-world business strategy.
And yes, this actually happened because someone followed up on a casual conversation.
Dykes’ classroom quickly turned into a leadership lab, highlighted by a quarterback panel featuring Max Duggan, Ken Seals and Shane Buechele. Between them? Conference titles, transfers, benchings, NFL contracts and a College Football Playoff run.
Duggan’s body of work still jumps off the page. In 2022, he led TCU to a Fiesta Bowl win and a national championship appearance, captured the Davey O’Brien Award, and finished second in Heisman Trophy voting. But he didn’t start that season as QB1. His message to students: Leadership isn’t a title ... it’s a behavior.
Seals echoed that perspective. After transferring from Vanderbilt, he stepped into the spotlight during the 2025 Alamo Bowl and engineered a 30-27 overtime win over USC. Preparation, he told the class, is leadership in disguise.
Buechele, now five seasons deep into an NFL career after transferring to SMU, reinforced another truth: adversity sharpens authority. Losing a job doesn’t disqualify you from leading - it refines how you do it.
The class isn’t about football playbooks. It’s about resilience, accountability and influence. From Monahans High School to the national stage, Dykes has lived the lessons he now teaches.
And in Fort Worth this spring, the quarterback isn’t the only one taking notes.