USC athletic director Mike Bohn steps down over concerns about the program’s “culture and strategy” as the 62-year-old leaves after closing a Big Ten deal for school
- USC will join the Big Ten next year after Mike Bohn helped make the move
- But Bohn will not be there after he resigned from the school on Friday
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USC athletic director Mike Bohn has resigned from his role at the school, with the school having previously looked at the program’s “culture and strategy” in a news announcement.
Bohn joined the program in 2019 from Cincinnati – where he held the same job – and caused a huge stir when he hired Lincoln Riley to staff the football team and moved the school to the Big Ten starting in 2024.
But according to the LA times, four “current and former USC employees” said employees in the athletic department had raised concerns about Bohn with a law firm tasked with investigating the department. USC general counsel Beong-Soo Kim told attendees at a meeting this year that the investigation was not targeting any specific person, the Times reported.
In announcing Bohn’s resignation, college president Carol Folt said in a letter to the USC community that the school had “deeply overhauled the athletic department, including its operation, culture and strategy.”
At the same time, Bohn mentioned health problems in a statement to the Times.
Mike Bohn watches a USC vs. Utah basketball game in 2020
Bohn’s biggest splash was hiring Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley to coach the football team
[I’ll] always be proud to lead the program from the most tumultuous times in the history of the profession,” he told the paper.
“To move forward, it is now important that I focus on being present with my precious family, addressing ongoing health challenges and thinking about how I can make an impact in the future.”
Regardless of the reasons for Bohn’s departure, Folt acknowledged that USC’s athletic department had “transformed into a national powerhouse” during the AD’s four years in charge.
The football team nearly made the playoffs last season under the leadership of Riley and star quarterback Caleb Williams, while the school will grab a share of the Big Ten’s new TV deal of more than $1 billion a year after joining in 2024.
At the same time as USC, UCLA moves to the Big Ten.