LOS ANGELES — USC hired Jennifer Cohen as its athletic director after she spent the last seven years in the same post at Washington, USC President Carol Folt announced during a news conference Monday.
“There was one clear candidate who stood out,” Folt said. “She’s passionate, accomplished and equally regarded as a fierce competitor.”
Cohen will become the first female athletic director in USC’s storied history. She replaces Mike Bohn, who resigned in May after 3 1/2 years, citing “ongoing health challenges.”
There also was an athletic department review and complaints about Bohn’s management style and behavior.
Cohen was at Washington for 24 years and was named athletic director in 2016. She is a Southern California native and graduate of San Diego State. The 10th AD in USC history is the second straight who wasn’t a former Trojans football player with no administrative experience after Mike Garrett, Pat Haden and Lynn Swann held the job from 1993-2019.
“This is extra special and meaningful for me to come back to my original roots and lead a storied athletic program,” Cohen said. “It’s a special place and time. There is so much momentum to build on. We have to put our foot on the gas and continue so we can elevate.”
Cohen recently oversaw Washington’s move from the Pac-12 Conference to the Big Ten, effective in 2024. USC started the Pac-12 dominoes in June 2022 when it announced along with UCLA that it was headed to the Big Ten.
Cohen is also a member of the College Football Playoff committee and takes over an athletic program that has had a recent run of success in its marquee sports.
The football team is ranked sixth in The Associated Press preseason poll in its second season under Lincoln Riley, and men’s basketball has made three straight NCAA Tournament appearances under Andy Enfield and features the nation’s top incoming freshman class, which includes Isaiah Collier and Bronny James.
Women’s basketball made the NCAA Tournament in its second season under Lindsay Gottlieb, who recruited the nation’s top recruit in Juju Watkins for the upcoming season. Beach volleyball has won three straight national championships.