USC AD Jen Cohens to-do list: The Big Ten move, managing Lincoln Riley and more

May 04, 2024

USC introduced Jennifer Cohen as its athletic director on Monday afternoon. Cohen, who spent the past seven years in the same capacity at Washington, is the 10th athletic director in USC’s history and the first female to hold the position.

The Trojans have already had a spot in the Big Ten secured for well over a year and Cohen inherits a strong football coach in Lincoln Riley. So, a lot of significant moves have been made in recent years. That does not mean there isn’t any heavy lifting to be done. Cohen’s first day on the job is Tuesday.

Here are the most significant short- and long-term matters she’ll have to navigate over the course of her tenure.

The Big Ten transition

It’s only the most monumental change in the history of USC’s athletic department. It’s not like Cohen is a stranger to the Big Ten. She just helped Washington land a spot in the conference earlier this month.

On Monday, Cohen said she spent a lot of time studying the Big Ten prior to Washington’s move. She’ll bring that knowledge and experience to this job.

The travel won’t be extremely difficult for the football program to manage. There’s only one game a week. But it’ll be an entirely different situation for basketball players and non-revenue student-athletes who travel more frequently.

“It’s hard to make big changes and we’re going to grow and get better over time but we’re going to learn,” Cohen said at her introductory news conference. “We’re going to learn through this process and we’ll put our students center to what we’re doing and how we manage the resources here to make the experience the best it can be in this transition.”

GO DEEPER

USC, UCLA and the race to solve the Big Ten's toughest travel puzzle

The prep work and logistics behind all of that is intensive. But Cohen will have the benefit of receiving full membership shares now that she’s at USC. Washington is reportedly set to receive half-member revenue shares in the range of the low-to-mid $30 millions.

There will be trial and error like Cohen said, but receiving full revenue shares should help her and USC obtain the resources needed to handle such a significant undertaking.

Welcome to the Trojan Family, Jennifer Cohen!

Cohen becomes USC’s 10th athletic director after serving in the same post at Washington the last seven years. pic.twitter.com/9omir8GB4X

— USC Trojans (@USC_Athletics) August 21, 2023

Being active and having foresight in the NIL space

Mike Bohn, Cohen’s predecessor, was never super enthusiastic about NIL and was viewed as a hindrance by some with knowledge of USC’s NIL situation.

What matters and what works in the nationwide NIL landscape seems to change every few months. It takes a lot of creativity, energy and commitment to be at the forefront of the NIL space.

GO DEEPER

Mandel: USC faces more instability with Mike Bohn's resignation

“Our goal is to develop a championship program,” Cohen said. “All 21 of our teams can win national championships and deliver a world-class student-athlete experience. So NIL and a robust NIL program are critical to that. I’ll be rolling up my sleeves to support our coaches in any way possible. And most important, give our-student athletes the opportunities that they deserve.”

USC is on more stable footing NIL-wise than it was at this time a year ago as House of Victory has found its groove. USC’s administration has always been on the conservative/hesitant side of NIL matters. And there is undoubtedly still work to be done in getting fans and donors behind the cause even though House of Victory has progressed nicely since its debut in the spring.

Getting everyone to pull in the same direction will be one of Cohen’s most important tasks. It’ll play a large role in determining whether USC can compete at the highest levels and if it can keep its most successful coaches on campus.

Make the department drama-free

USC has been in the news for all the wrong reasons for a decade and a half now. It was hit (too) harshly with NCAA sanctions in 2010 that took several years to recover from. It made the mistake of hiring former football players with no administrative experience as athletic directors, and their decision-making reflected their expertise in the area. The department was involved in both the Varsity Blues admissions scandal and the FBI probe into college basketball recruiting. Bohn was brought in to clean up the department and gained acclaim for the move to the Big Ten and the Riley hire, but resigned amid controversy in May.

USC needs its athletic department to be normal for a bit. Cohen is an experienced AD. She’s visible, active and thoroughly involved. That should all help her manage the department better than Bohn did over his final months when things seemed to go off the skids.

Being attentive will go a long way in making sure USC is relatively boring — in a good and much-needed way for the athletic department.

“USC is lucky to have her. If they let her do her thing, she’ll kill it there."
What is #USC getting in Washington AD Jen Cohen? @AntonioCMorales @NicoleAuerbach & I have analysis of the Trojans' big hire from within the conference: https://t.co/N6TZLgqHv4

— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) August 21, 2023

Maintain a positive relationship with Lincoln Riley

On Trojans Live, Riley said he had the chance to connect with Cohen on Monday morning.

“Jen is fantastic,” he said. “Known a lot about her just in this business through the last several years. Couldn’t have come more highly recommended. Pretty obvious the job she’s done there at Washington — just not what she’s done but how she’s done it. So I think (it’s) a tremendous hire.”

Riley has only worked for two athletic directors before. Bohn and Joe Castiglione at Oklahoma. He’s never worked for an AD who didn’t hire him. Football is the athletic department’s crown jewel. Over the past two years, we’ve seen what USC is like when the fans are engaged and what it’s like when they aren’t.

It’s pretty ugly when they aren’t and there’s a ton of buzz and excitement in the city when they are. Riley is the biggest reason for that electricity and it’ll be on Cohen to provide him the support he needs — whether that’s from an NIL or resources perspective.

There will be rumors about the NFL every year. Riley is a bright young coach so that’s expected. Riley often says a program has to be elite in every area if it wants to be successful. It can’t pick and choose.

USC has displayed an elite level of commitment since Riley took the job in November 2021. Since then it has announced its intentions to move to a premier conference and revealed plans to build new facilities for the football program.

“We’ve got to put our foot on the gas and we’ve got to accelerate so we continue to elevate,” Cohen said. “So that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to work tenaciously and tirelessly to ensure the moonshot goals that Dr. Folt has laid out.”

Riley was the very first of those moonshots. Cohen has to ensure that level of commitment is maintained in order for USC to keep its coach for the long haul.

(Photo: Sarah Reingewirtz/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images)

ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57k3BwbnBna3xzfJFsZmlwX2d%2FcLbEp2Scp5iau27B0pxkmqyYobK1tcJmm6KqlZjBsL6MrZiso6Nk