The USC Annenberg Institute of Sports, Media & Society hosted ESPN analyst Colin Cowherd on Thursday for a discussion with the institute's director Professor Daniel T. Durbin. As part of homecoming week at USC, Cowherd's visit included a live taping of his show "The Herd" on campus on Friday. The institute has had a history of bringing exciting sports figures and personalities to campus. Here's a look at some past events:

• In 2011, #uscaisms invited past USC quarterbacks and current NFL players Matt Leinart and Mark Sanchez, along with past NFL players Willie Gault, Shelby Jordan, Toi Cook and Sam "Bam" Cunningham to USC Annenberg to discuss challenges facing the NFL. Joining them was agent Leigh Steinberg, who is often considered to be the inspiration for the sports agent character played by Tom Cruise in the film "Jerry Maguire." On Saturday, Matt Leinart will lead the USC football team out of the tunnel to face the Stanford Cardinal in the homecoming game.

• The institute hosted a two-day conference in 2012 focusing on the impact of the Olympic Games on society. Led by Professor Alan Abrahamson and USC Athletics Senior Associate Athletic Director Donna Heinel, panels included USC Olympic athletes like Gold Medal-winners Allyson Felix (track), Ous Mellouli (swimming) and Rebecca Soni (swimming) as well as world record holder Jessica Hardy (swimming) and world champion hurdler Lashinda Demus.

• In October 2013, the institute held a three-day conference called, "USC Sports & the LGBT Experience," which included panelists like Kate Fagan from ESPN, John Branch from The New York Times, former MLB center fielder Billy Bean and more than a dozen others. The panelists spoke about sexual orientation and gender identity in sports culture.

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