USC Athletics | March 15, 2022
LOS ANGELES — USC athletic director Mike Bohn has been named a 2021-22 Football Bowl Subdivision Athletics Director of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), becoming USC's first-ever honoree.
USC excelled athletically in 2021 despite the ongoing pandemic and the many challenges facing college athletics. Bohn's leadership was aimed at making USC the most student-athlete centered athletics department in the nation.
"Whenever a leader is recognized, it is a reflection of the entire organization and the dedicated people within it," said Bohn. "It is a blessing to be on a team at USC that has made incredible impact and enacted meaningful change during the most transformative period in the history of college athletics. Each day I am inspired by the efforts of our coaches and staff to build a student-athlete centered program that garners national respect and fulfills our vision and mission as an athletics program. Receiving the 2021-22 Cushman & Wakefield Athletics Director of the Year Award, and joining this elite group of fellow winners and past recipients, is a special honor that I will cherish forever. I am extremely appreciative of the Trojan Family for their passionate support, and I am very thankful to President Carol Folt and Chairman Rick Caruso for giving me the privilege of leading USC's athletics program."
"Mike is transforming the culture of USC Athletics in so many ways, and I want to congratulate him on this well-deserved recognition," USC President Carol L. Folt said. "Putting students first and caring about their development on and off the field is Mike's primary focus, and we are already seeing the positive impact of that strategy across the breadth of Trojan Athletics. Much progress has been made, but the best is yet to come."
"Since Mike came aboard as Athletic Director, he has been a visionary leader and has ushered in a new era for USC Athletics," said USC Board of Trustees Chair Rick Caruso. "Mike's focus on students, on hiring the best coaches and staff, and on integrity and accountability, has already begun to transform USC Athletics into a world-class organization that sets the standard for collegiate athletic departments."
The Cushman & Wakefield Athletics Director of the Year Awards program, in partnership with NACDA, was created in 1998-99 to honor intercollegiate directors of athletics for their commitment and administrative excellence within a campus and/or college community environment over the course of the last year. The award spans seven divisions (NCAA FBS, FCS, Division I-AAA, II, III, NAIA/Other Four-Year Institutions and Junior/Community Colleges) and annually honors 28 athletics directors (four from each division).
Among Bohn's accomplishments in 2021:
- USC won three NCAA team championships — in women's track and field, water polo and beach volleyball — to tie for the most of any Division 1 school in the country, and it had six other sports with Top 10 finishes in NCAA championships, including an Elite Eight run by the men's basketball team.
- USC was sixth in the Directors Cup and the Women of Troy were second in the Capital One Cup.
- USC won five individual and relay NCAA championships. Evan Mobley was the third pick in the NBA Draft, Maud Megens won the Cutino Award as the nation's top women's water polo player, Gabriela Ruffels was the Amateur Women's Golfer of the Year and teammate Allisen Corpuz was an Academic All-American first teamer.
- USC shone at the Tokyo Olympics, with 65 competitors (more than any U.S. university), including 12 current student-athletes. Trojans brought home 21 medals, including more gold medals (11) than any U.S. university. If USC had competed as a country in those Olympics, it would have ranked seventh in gold medals and 12th in overall medals.
- USC posted its highest-ever NCAA Graduation Success Rate (92%), despite the obstacles of pandemic-necessitated remote learning. This is a credit to USC's Student-Athlete Academic Services department and the support and commitment Bohn has provided it.
- He made some impressive coach and staff hirings, including bringing in Lincoln Riley to return Trojan football to national prominence. There also was the inspired hiring of women's basketball coach Lindsay Gottlieb from the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers.
- He oversaw a well-organized return to play for USC's student-athletes, and also coordinated the return of fans to Trojan sports events while dealing with COVID-19 protocols in perhaps the nation's most cautious state, county and city.
- He provided USC Athletics with a modernized and professional approach to athletics administration, evidenced by numerous department restructurings and enhancements, including in development, marketing, communications, social media, graphics and design. He aligned Troy's athletic medical team with the Keck Medicine of USC for a more comprehensive approach to student-athlete health care. He also built the sports psychology staff into the largest in the nation, recognizing the importance of caring for the mental health of student-athletes (particularly during the pandemic).
- He elevated Dr. Julie Rousseau, who was chair of USC Athletics' Black Lives Matter Action Team, to associate athletic director for diversity, equity and inclusion. She provides the department with on-going DEI education and programming.
- He oversaw an athletic department of 250-plus coaches and staff (many who worked remotely due to the pandemic) and 550-plus student-athletes in 21 sports.
Bohn, the 10th athletic director in USC history, came to USC in late 2019 after previous stints at Cincinnati, Colorado, San Diego State and Idaho.
