USC athletic director Mike Bohn has resigned, roughly 3½ years after he succeeded Lynn Swann in the high-profile job.
The school confirmed the 62-year-old Bohn’s resignation Friday.
The Trojans’ athletic department experienced a surge of success during Bohn’s tenure, which was headlined by USC’s lucrative decision to move to the Big Ten in 2024 alongside longtime rival UCLA.
The long-struggling USC football team made a dramatic one-year return to national title contention after hiring coach Lincoln Riley last year, while the men’s basketball team has made three straight NCAA tournament appearances under Andy Enfield.
In a letter to alumni and the school, USC president Carol Folt briefly thanked Bohn for his service “during a time of rapid transformation and growth.”
“Over the last four years, the USC athletics department has transformed into a national powerhouse,” Folt wrote. “In our singular pursuit of excellence, I am committed to ensuring we have the right leadership in place to achieve our goals. As part of that commitment and as we prepare to move to the Big Ten, we conducted a thorough review of the athletics department, including its operations, culture, and strategy. 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.”
Bohn mentioned “ongoing health challenges” in a statement to the Los Angeles Times about his resignation but provided no clear reason for the surprising move.
“After more than 40 years of college athletics leadership, it is the right time to step away from my position as Director of Athletics at the University of Southern California,” Bohn said. “I have dedicated my life to serving student-athletes and advancing the enterprise of intercollegiate athletics. I will always be proud of leading the program out of the most tumultuous times in the history of the profession and at USC with a restored reputation and national milestone accomplishments.”
Bohn is the former athletic director at Idaho, San Diego State, Colorado and Cincinnati. He left the Bearcats to take over a USC department that had struggled through years of scandal and NCAA sanctions while being led by a series of former football players with little experience in administration.
The veteran administrator largely appeared to get the Trojans back on a path to success. Along with significant progress for the football and men’s basketball teams, Bohn hired experienced coach Lindsay Gottlieb away from the Cleveland Cavaliers to lead the women’s basketball team, which posted a nine-win improvement and made the NCAA tournament this spring in her second season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.