Jennifer Cohen appointed first woman athletic director; vows to ‘lead with passion’

USC has hired Jennifer Cohen as the University’s 10th athletic director, President Carol Folt announced at a press conference Monday. Cohen will be the first woman to lead USC’s athletic department and is the sixth woman to be currently appointed as athletic director in the Power Five conferences.

“Leading USC Athletics is not just an opportunity of a lifetime; it is a responsibility of a lifetime,” Cohen said at the press conference. “I will lead with integrity, with character, with heart and I will lead with passion in a way that would be embarrassing sometimes on the sidelines.”

Many notable USC head coaches, including Andy Enfield, Lindsay Gottlieb, Andy Stankiewicz and Marko Pintaric were in attendance to see Folt introduce Cohen.

Cohen was the athletic director of the University of Washington since 2016 and worked at the university for 24 years. At Washington, she helped the school negotiate a deal earlier this month to join the Big Ten and negotiated the school’s 10-year $119 million apparel contract with Adidas in 2019.

She will replace former director Mike Bohn, who resigned from the position in May citing health reasons.

In an Universitywide email earlier this summer, Folt described a review conducted by an attorney from Cozen O’Connor into the athletic department. The Los Angeles Times previously reported that the review revealed 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.”

“When we started the process of identifying our 10th director of athletics, we outlined what we thought were foundational criteria that would really be important … and that’s why we were very methodical and deliberate in our approach,” Folt said at the press conference. “I can’t imagine a better individual to lead our athletic department in this time and take us into a new period of success.”

The Southern California local oversaw an athletics department at Washington that won 19 Pac-12 championships. Washington was able to post its highest-ever NCAA graduation success rate this past year.

“Our goal is to develop a championship program; all 21 of our teams can win national championships and deliver a world class student-athlete experience,” Cohen said. “I’ll be rolling up my sleeves to support our coaches in any way possible. And most importantly, give our student-athletes the opportunities that they deserve.”

Cohen will oversee the University’s transition into the Big Ten conference next year.

Razan Asmar contributed to this article.