USC is in a conspicuous spot along with UCLA, the Pac-12 and the NCAA. It’s obviously an issue for the entire world of college athletics. All the NIL/collective shuffling isn’t going to stop the push for college football players to be paid as the professionals the hours they put in suggest they’ve been for decades. That leads to the ultimate crossroads set to hit college football sooner or later. How will these entities perform? How will they co-exist? Does the university want to compete in the way other schools have while this era is in its nascent stages? The transition team Folt identified as running the athletic department stands to play a crucial role on these matters in the interim. There are at least four different entities set to play a role at some point in the future. The Trojans are still navigating the new NIL/collective space. However, the ‘why?’ is far from the only pressing reality now for USC. The ‘why?’ of Bohn’s situation is a story on its own and it deserves its own analysis. Riley’s hiring and the subsequent investment in the football program indicate the school does still places a premium on success in this department. For many, getting the football coaching hire right is really the only box an athletic director has to check.īohn’s resignation is a strong signal the university does not consider a strong football program a panacea. Lincoln Riley has a Heisman Trophy quarterback returning and the Trojans clearly factor in both the Pac-12 and national championship discussion at this point on the calendar. Football, men’s and women’s basketball and baseball are all clearly on the upswing. On the surface, USC is on the verge of a cresting wave of success in the athletic department.

However, it’s a development that’s put USC into a position of uncertainty at a time when uncertainty was already running rampant both on and off campus. Mike Bohn’s resignation as athletic director arrived in classic news dump Friday style.

That’s easily the biggest takeaway from my short time on the Trojan beat.

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