USC director of athletics Mike Bohn has tendered his letter of resignation as the head of the Trojans’ athletic department, university president Carol Folt confirmed in a letter to the USC community on Friday.
“On behalf of the Trojan Family, I thank Mike for his contributions to our athletics department during a time of rapid transformation and growth,” Folt said. “We will be announcing a transition team comprising both internal and external leaders in the coming days and will launch a national search for a new director of athletics shortly.”
Bohn, 62, arrived at USC from Cincinnati in November of 2019, replacing former Trojan standout Lynn Swann. His hiring marked a new approach for USC as just the second athletic director without previous ties to the university.
When he was hired by USC, the athletic department had been shaken by the Varsity Blues scandal and an FBI investigation into the men’s basketball program. Bohn guided the program through the end of those controversies while overhauling the athletic department and modernizing it to compete with other national powers.
Bohn’s impact on USC athletics really came into view in 2021. He extended men’s basketball coach Andy Enfield after an Elite Eight run, then hired Lindsay Gottlieb from the Cleveland Cavaliers to lead the women’s basketball program. Then later that year, he stunned the college football world by hiring Lincoln Riley away from Oklahoma.
Since then, Riley has transformed the football team into national contenders, coming a win away from the College Football Playoff in 2022. Gottlieb reached the NCAA tournament in her second season with the Trojans, while Enfield has extended his tournament streak to three years.
But Bohn’s most earth-shaking move as USC athletic director came last summer, when the Trojans announced their intention to move from their traditional home in the Pac-12 conference to the Big Ten beginning in 2024.
“Over the last four years, the USC athletics department has transformed into a national powerhouse,” Folt stated. “In our singular pursuit of excellence, I am committed to ensuring we have the right leadership in place to achieve our goals. As part of that commitment and as we prepare to move to the Big Ten, we conducted a thorough review of the athletics department, including its operations, culture, and strategy. Having built a strong foundation over the last few years, now is the time for new direction grounded in our values and in expertise needed to fulfill our aspirational vision for Trojan athletics.”
