Trojan athletic programs are in flux

USC is entering a seminal period in its athletic history.

That statement might sound like hyperbole. And I admit I have a tendency to be hyperbolic. But it is true. The next five years will tell us a lot about the USC athletic program.

Consider this: In the 2013 calendar year, six of USC’s 19 head coaches left the school — more than 30 percent (USC has 21 athletic programs, but Jovan Vavic coaches both men’s and women’s water polo, and track and field has one head coach for both genders). Last January, men’s basketball coach Kevin O’Neill was “relieved of duties.” A month later, baseball coach Frank Cruz was “terminated.” Women’s basketball coach Michael Cooper “resigned” following the season in March. Legendary track and field coach Ron Allice retired in June. And as we all know, football coach Lane Kiffin was fired in September, as was women’s soccer coach Ali Khosroshahin in November.

Officially speaking, that’s one retirement, four firings and one resignation, although I would not be the first to speculate that Cooper’s resignation was forced. Six new head coaches that athletic director Pat Haden and company hired over the span of 12 months. And though the rate of turnover is remarkable, what makes it especially significant is the high-profile sports affected.

Football, men’s basketball and baseball are the three prominent athletic programs at this school. That’s not to say they are the best, but they do receive the most attention, with women’s hoops a clear fourth before the likes of volleyball, water polo and soccer. So those are USC’s four most prominent athletic programs, all in the midst of a firing and subsequent coaching change.

And all of this comes among a major overhaul to USC’s athletic facilities — the John McKay Center’s construction, Heritage Hall’s refurbishment and the Uytengsu Aquatics Center’s creation, which will give water polo something more than a rec pool to compete in, have all come to fruition recently. On top of that, USC has added two brand new sports in the last two years in women’s lacrosse and sand volleyball, both entering their second seasons of play this spring.

Very little about the most prominent aspects of the USC athletic program is the same as they were four or even two years ago. And who knows what the case will be in another half-decade — or possibly less? What will we say about the USC Trojans, football and otherwise, come 2018? What will we say about Pat Haden?

Of course, it is much too early to speculate. The football team hasn’t even played a single game yet under new head coach Steve Sarkisian. Early returns on new women’s basketball coach Cynthia Cooper-Dyke are promising, but the jury is still out. New men’s basketball coach Andy Enfield is just trying to slog through a hopeless season with the mess of a roster he inherited before bringing in his own recruits. And though baseball had its worst season in decades in head coach Dan Hubbs’ first year at the helm in 2013, the consensus is that things will be very different at Dedeaux Field in 2014, where this season’s team has opened up the year 4-0.

And yet, even by the end of 2014, what will any of us really know? Realistically, when can we make meaningful judgments about the direction of these  programs? On the flip side, how long is too long before deciding to pull the plug on a coach? Those are all impossible questions, but ones that USC will have to answer quite a few times in the years to come.

Nick Burton is a senior majoring in broadcast and digital journalism. His column, “Any Given Saturday,” runs Thursdays, ironically. To comment on this story, visit dailytrojan.com or email Nick at [email protected].