USC athletic director Mike Bohn steps down amid concerns over program’s ‘culture and strategy’

USC athletic director Mike Bohn has resigned from his role at the school, with the school sharing they’d previously looked into the program’s ‘culture and strategy’ in an announcement of the news.

Bohn joined the program from Cincinnati – where he held the same job – in 2019, and massively shook things up as he hired Lincoln Riley to man the football team and moved the school into the Big Ten starting in 2024.

But according to the LA Times, four ‘current and former USC employees’ said that athletic department staffers had raised concerns about Bohn to a law firm tasked with probing the department. USC general counsel Beong-Soo Kim told attendees during a meeting this year that the investigation wasn’t targeting a specific person, the Times wrote.

In announcing Bohn’s resignation, University president Carol Folt said in a letter to the USC community that the school had ‘conducted a thorough review of the athletics department, including its operation, culture and strategy.’

At the same time, Bohn mentioned health issues in a statement to the Times.

Mike Bohn looks on before a college basketball game between USC and Utah in 2020

Bohn’s biggest splash was hiring Lincoln Riley from Oklahoma to coach the football team

[I’ll] always be proud of leading the program out of the most tumultuous times in the history of the profession,’ he told the paper.

‘In moving on, it is important now that I focus on being present with my treasured family, addressing ongoing health challenges, and reflecting on how I can be impactful in the future.’

Regardless of the reasons for Bohn’s exit, Folt acknowledged that the USC athletics department had ‘transformed into a national powerhouse’ during the AD’s four years in charge.

The football team nearly made the playoff last season under the direction of Riley and star quarterback Caleb Williams, while the school will grab a piece of the Big Ten’s new $1billion-plus-per-year TV deal after joining in 2024.

UCLA will also move to the Big Ten at the same time as USC.