Bohn emphasizes collaboration as a key to athletic success

With the fall season approaching for many of USC’s athletic programs, the Daily Trojan met with Athletic Director Mike Bohn to discuss the department’s progression.

This interview was edited for length and clarity. 

Daily Trojan: You were athletic director at Colorado when they transitioned into the Pac-12. How are you using that experience to navigate the world that’s going on right now regarding potential realignment in the Pac-12?

Mike Bohn: I was certainly as surprised as everybody across the country when Texas and Oklahoma
announced the move — surprised in the sense of the timing and how that all was put together. But, I reflect back to when we joined the Pac-12 and recognize that it was really a process that was very
quiet and behind the scenes as well. So unfortunately, that’s how many of these pieces come together. And, again, we’re fortunate to have a great President that understands and
appreciates intercollegiate athletics and has great relationships across the entire country that will be
pivotal in helping not only USC but the Pac-12 look into all the different opportunities that exist.

D.T.: What are some changes you’ve made so far in your time at USC that aren’t necessarily directly related to something that’s on the field [or] on the court but something you’re still really proud of?

M.B.: The ability to bolster our medical partnership with [Keck Medical Center] is a big deal for us that we’re very, very proud of to ensure that all of our athletes, involving all 21 sports, are receiving the finest care from the award-winning doctors and staff at Keck. Being able to tie that in with Student Health on campus was a big, big hurdle for us and a big opportunity there. 

I’m thrilled that, again, President [Carol] Folt and Provost [Charles] Zukowski and I are co-chairing a committee working on the student-athlete experience. What does that mean? How are we doing everything we can to help our student athletes be all that they can be at USC? That’s about internships, starting with the admissions process, tutoring, jobs, all the great things that USC does. Think of the wonderful work [at] Marshall School of Business and Annenberg [School for Communication and Journalism]. We were able to start a new initiative in the summer, where our top faculty from Annenberg and Marshall provided engagement with our student athletes to talk about financial literacy to communication styles to building their brands to really trying to embrace the name, image and likeness piece. 

D.T.: I’m sure you’ve been asked about name, image and likeness so many times now, but how is that changing this competitive landscape as programs try to scramble to convince student-athletes they figured out a way to succeed in this new frontier?

M.B.: Well, certainly, it’s consistent with our vision. Our vision is to be the most student-athlete-centered program in the country. So obviously, if there’s an opportunity for a student athlete, I think people will be surprised how many opportunities are going to be available for our female athletes, which is terrific, we’re going to do everything we can to support them. I would be disingenuous if I didn’t share that I’m frustrated that we weren’t able to get a national bill through Congress or a more clear national structure from the NCAA. But that’s in process, and I recognize the pace that it’s put together there. We’re looking forward to continuing to do everything we can to support our athletes there and allow them to take advantage of what’s awesome about being a Trojan.

D.T.: What specifically is USC doing or preparing to do?

M.B.: We’re spending a lot of time educating our athletes and our coaches. I think that’s why I was a little frustrated with the timing out of Indianapolis associated with the ramp-up time to be able to help our athletes understand exactly what’s going on. Six hours before July 1, all of a sudden here were the guidelines that the NCAA put together, but it’s education, and we’re learning a lot about it. The communications group is across campus helping us with different pieces to ensure that we are all connected and all partnering to ensure that we can provide wonderful [opportunities] for our athletes to take advantage of. The wonderful prowess, visibility and stature of the USC Trojans.

D.T.: How is USC working to build its presence on social media, both in and outside of Southern California?

M.B.: I’ll have to get to the statistics specifically, but I believe that USC football’s number of viewers is the number one growth site in the country. I believe that we were the number one institution as far as percentage of increase, as well. So that gives you an idea of what our commiment is to that space, and that’s why we have staff that help with the graphics and building all those connections.

D.T.: Were you aware that Mark Trakh was going to retire? Or was that something that came out of nowhere?

M.B.: No, I think that Mark is a great professional and helped give a sense of all the different pieces. I think that the coronavirus timeframe and the coronavirus challenges really provided an opportunity for him to have clarity associated with what he wanted to do, and to be able to attract and partner with campus. Alan Green, our faculty athletic director is another partner that I haven’t talked about that just helped us with a search that produced an opportunity to bring in one of the brightest minds in all of basketball, for that matter. Particularly with her experience at Cal and Santa Barbara, as a head coach and what she learned from the NBA, Lindsay Gottlieb is an incredible talent and [has] a unique talent that just fits like a glove. It has been a joy to begin to build her staff and the tools and the resources around her that demonstrates our commitment to pursuing a national championship.

D.T.: Football head coach Clay Helton has been adamant that he loves USC because it’s a place where you’re expected to compete for championships. First, do you share that expectation? Second, what would you consider satisfactory progression this year in terms of the program?

M.B.: I certainly embrace that exact vision. I mean, that’s why I came here. I know that that’s why we were able to hire coaches like Coach Gottlieb. All of our head coaches understand the stature here. We won three national championships last year. I didn’t get a chance in our opening statement to talk about how awesome that was. All three of them were in women’s sports, but we clearly embrace the high expectations for Trojan football here. I’m looking forward to an exciting season. I know how hard these young men are working.

D.T.: I think it would be a good time to check on the athletic department’s progress in terms of social justice initiatives, action groups; what progress has been made? 

M.B.: I mean, there’s another one I missed. And doggone it, I talked about our guiding principles. We’ve hired a full-time diversity and equity [associate athletic director], Dr. Julie Rousseau, and she was an adjunct faculty member here. If you haven’t met her, she is a star. We have made significant progress there. I’m very pleased with the partnership with campus again with the United Black Student Athlete Association here at USC. Coupled with our efforts with the Trojan Athletic Senate and trying to provide some stronger structure and formality to the input of those senators representing all 21 teams is another significant piece of what we were able to put together. I don’t want to have to gloat about all the wonderful things that are happening. I am extremely proud of our partnerships and collaboration across campus that has allowed us to really, truly come out of [the coronavirus pandemic] stronger, more fundamentally sound and with more meaningful relationships across the entire campus and in the community than we really maybe thought we could.

In closing, what I’d like to say to our students is, you are the heartbeat of this university and of this athletic program. Your engagement, your participation and your membership as a part of our team is critical to our success. We invite you and welcome you to all of our events. We look forward to working with you in creating a Trojan experience that is very, very special to you, that will allow you to always lean on athletics as that opportunity to rally with your classmates and with alumni for the rest of your lives. 

Anthony Gharib contributed to this story.