REPORT: Jennifer Cohen to leave Washington and become USC’s new athletic director

Imagine writing this sentence in 2021: “The AD at Washington left to join USC, moving from one Big Ten school to another.”

USC has reportedly found its new athletic director to replace Mike Bohn.

The Trojans went to another Big Ten school for their hire: the University of Washington.

It’s a reality none of us ever could have imagined a few years ago, but it’s real. The Seattle Times and multiple other news outlets are reporting that Washington Athletic Director Jennifer Cohen will leave Montlake and move to Los Angeles to become USC’s new athletic director.

The move contains a few obvious components which make sense. First, Cohen was already preparing for Washington’s transition to the Big Ten Conference. Taking the USC job means she won’t be behind on the logistical components of the move. She has already been discussing them, but in a Washington-specific context. She can now take on those challenges from a position of responsibility at another school which is moving from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten.

The other reason this is a natural fit for USC is that Cohen will be able to speak up for USC in Big Ten circles, making sure Trojan athletes in various sports get reasonable travel accommodations. Cohen was preparing to do this on behalf of Washington Husky athletes; now she’ll do this for the Trojans.

This move will also ensure that USC and Washington and the other Pac-12 schools moving to the Big Ten play each other as much as possible to limit long-distance travel.

We’ll have more on this story as it develops.

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