LOS ANGELES (AP) — Southern California athletic director Mike Bohn has quit.
USC confirmed the 62-year-old Bohn’s resignation Friday, about 3½ years after he succeeded Lynn Swann in the top job.
The Trojans athletic department has enjoyed a flurry of success during Bohn’s tenure, and the school also made the momentous decision to move to the Big Ten in 2024. Bohn was USC’s first AD in 25 years who n He wasn’t a former Trojans football player. with no administrative experience, and the veteran executive led the school’s return to national prominence in several sports.
Bohn mentioned “ongoing health issues” in a statement to the Los Angeles Times about his resignation, but Bohn and the school have provided no clear reason for the surprising move. The Times reported that USC recently responded to concerns about Bohn’s management style from athletic department employees, but the school and Bohn did not mention those concerns in their announcements.
Bohn did not immediately return a phone message seeking further clarification.
In a letter to alumni and the school, USC President Carol Folt briefly thanked Bohn for her service “during a time of rapid transformation and growth.” Folt hired Bohn in November 2019.
“Over the past four years, the USC Athletics Department has transformed into a national powerhouse,” Folt wrote. “In our singular pursuit of excellence, I am committed to ensuring that we have the right leadership in place to achieve our goals. As part of that commitment and as we prepare to transition to the Big Ten, we conducted an extensive review of the Athletic Department, including its operations, culture and strategy. After building a strong foundation over the past few years, now is the time to take a new direction based on our values and the expertise needed to achieve our ambitious vision for Trojan athletics.
Bohn is the former athletic director for Idaho, San Diego State, Colorado and Cincinnati. He left the Bearcats to take charge of a department at USC that had weathered years of scandals and NCAA sanctions when it was led by Mike Garrett, Pat Haden and Swann – three former football stars from the ‘USC who had never worked in sports administration before being handed one of the biggest jobs in the country.
After Bohn fired embattled head coach Clay Helton at the start of the 2021 season, the long-struggling USC football team made a dramatic year-long comeback in the national title chase. last year under coach Lincoln Riley. The Trojans look set to do battle again this fall behind Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Caleb Williams.
The USC men’s basketball team has made three straight NCAA Tournament appearances under Andy Enfield. The Trojans will also have a packed roster next season that includes Bronny James, making them one of the most compelling programs in the country.
Bohn hired veteran coach Lindsay Gottlieb away from the Cleveland Cavaliers to lead the women’s basketball team, which posted a nine-game improvement and made the NCAA Tournament this spring in Gottlieb’s sophomore season. The Trojans have also continued to excel in several smaller sports during Bohn’s tenure, most recently with their beach volleyball team winning their third consecutive national championship earlier this month.
And in the biggest financial development, Bohn spearheaded USC’s surprising move alongside city rival UCLA to the Big Ten and its seven-year, $7 billion media rights deal with multiple networks.
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AP College Football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/AP_Top25
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