USC hires Washington’s Jennifer Cohen as athletic director with Trojans prepared for Large Ten transfer

USC employed Washington athletic director Jennifer Cohen to the identical place, the college introduced on Monday. Cohen has been the athletic director at UW since 2016 and is a Pac-12 consultant on the Faculty Soccer Playoff committee. Cohen replaces Mike Bohn, who retired in Could, 

Cohen has deep West Coast roots and spent most of her profession in Washington. After temporary stops at Pacific Lutheran, College of Puget Sound and Texas Tech, Cohen joined Washington’s athletic division in 1998 as assistant director of improvement. She labored her approach up by way of the UW fundraising world earlier than finally incomes the highest job. 

“I’ve lengthy admired the Trojan spirit and USC neighborhood’s dedication to at all times Struggle On with integrity and absolute dedication in pursuit of excellence each on and off the sphere,” Cohen mentioned in a press release. “It’s the honor of a lifetime to return again to Southern California to function USC’s director of athletics and formally be part of the Trojan household.” 

Beneath Cohen’s watch, Washington soccer has performed at a nationally related degree with a 58-25 document in seven seasons. Cohen’s current rent, Kalen DeBoer, instantly led the Huskies from 4-8 to 11-2 in 2022 earlier than signing a contract extension by way of 2028. The Huskies are ranked No. 10 within the Preseason AP Prime 25. 

Now, Cohen enters a USC athletic division going through a crucial second. Bohn retired citing well being points, however the Los Angeles Occasions reported that he resigned beneath strain after allegations arose of a hostile work atmosphere and inappropriate conduct with feminine workers. Cohen ranks because the Pac-12’s solely full-time feminine athletic director, a task she is going to proceed at USC. 

“Once we have been outlining the factors for our subsequent director of athletics, we set a excessive bar,” USC president Carol Folt mentioned in a press release. “We had an extended record of high candidates who wished to return to USC and win on the most important stage. Jen Cohen actually stood out for her expertise, her dedication to college students and their success and her recognized strengths as a group builder. She is a fierce competitor who shares with all Trojans a willpower to win the proper approach. I am assured she’ll lead a tradition of integrity, teamwork and dedication to success.” 

Moreover, Cohen will now be liable for overseeing USC as this system transitions to the Large Ten in 2024. She additionally could have probably the most essential jobs within the nation: Construct a winner round soccer coach Lincoln Riley, who joined USC after signing a contract rumored to be price greater than $100 million to guide this system again to relevance. 

Cohen was elevated to the Faculty Soccer Playoff committee in March to a three-year time period. Nevertheless, it is unclear at the moment how the committee would possibly change with eight of 12 Pac-12 colleges scheduled to depart the convention in 2024. Two different committee members — Michigan AD Warde Manuel and former Nebraska guard Will Shields — have Large Ten affiliations.