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…
