USC athletic director resigns

USC Athletic Director Mike Bohn has resigned from his position, President Carol Folt announced in a Universitywide email Friday afternoon. 

“I thank Mike for his contributions to our athletics department during a time of rapid transformation and growth,” Folt wrote. “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.”

In her email, Folt added that with USC’s move to the Big Ten, there was a look into the athletic department, including its “operations, culture, and strategy.” The L.A. Times reported that the review, which was conducted by an attorney from Cozen O’Connor, showed that Bohn “made inappropriate comments about the physical appearance of female colleagues, including remarks about their dress, hair and weight, that staff members said made them feel uncomfortable, according to two USC sources with knowledge of the incidents.”

In addition to this report, the L.A. Times asked Bohn the day before his resignation about “internal criticism of his management of the athletics department.” Bohn responded with a statement, saying he will “always be proud of leading the program out of the most tumultuous times in the history of the profession.” 

There was no indication of whether the review or the internal criticism factored into Bohn’s resignation, and Folt did not give a reason for Bohn’s resignation in her email.

Bohn had held the position since 2019 after Lynn Swann resigned from the post. Since then, Bohn has made many key decisions that have altered the path of USC Athletics, most notably agreeing to a deal to move the University to the Big Ten conference after spending over 94 years in the Pac-12.

“I led the process to join the Big 10 Conference, hired marquee head coaches, produced the highest graduation rate in school history and won numerous national and conference championships,” Bohn wrote in a statement to the Los Angeles Times. “It is important now that I focus on being present with my treasured family, addressing ongoing health challenges, and reflecting on how I can be impactful in the future.”

Since Bohn was hired, USC has won five national championships across three sports. He has also made multiple coaching hires that have brought various USC sports back into the national eye, including football Head Coach Lincoln Riley, baseball Head Coach Andy Stankiewicz and women’s basketball Head Coach Lindsay Gottlieb. 

Bohn was the first USC athletic director to not be an alum of the school since 1993. Mike Garrett, Pat Haden and Lynn Swann — the directors who preceded Bohn — all played for the USC football team and later became the athletic director of the school.

Folt also wrote that she will announce a transition team and begin a national search for the next athletic director shortly.