April 13--USC has hired former star receiver Lynn Swann as its new athletic director, to succeed Pat Haden on July 1, the school announced on Wednesday.
In a letter to the campus community, university president C.L. Max Nikias said "Swann will bring the heart and soul of a Trojan" to the position.
After Haden announced he would step down, USC retained the Brill Neumann search firm, which had little previous experience in athletics, to lead the recruitment process. Nikias had said USC would conduct a nationwide search and that he would consider candidates not previously affiliated with the university, which would mark a shift for the typically insular athletic department.
Ultimately, Nikias settled on a familiar name, though one that few observers had predicted. Swann will be the third consecutive former USC football player to hold the post.
Swann has little previous experience in a college athletic department. A Hall of Fame receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Swann has been a broadcaster and has served on nonprofit and corporate boards. In 2006, he was the Republican nominee for governor of Pennsylvania, a race that he lost by more than 20%.
Swann will become USC's second African American athletic director and one of fewer than a dozen African American athletic directors in major college football.
"As athletic director, my goals for student-athletes will be to graduate, to win and to experience," Swann said in a statement. He will be formally introduced at a news conference Thursday morning on campus.
Swann's most pressing task will be restoring order. USC's signature sport has been in a state of upheaval since the departure of former coach Pete Carroll in 2009. USC has had four head coaches since Carroll left to lead the NFL's Seattle Seahawks.
But the direction of the football program has already been charted. Haden promoted Clay Helton from interim to full-time coach in November. In basketball, too, Haden extended the contract of Coach Andy Enfield through the 2020-21 season.
Helton went 5-4 as head coach last season. After Helton was promoted from interim to full-time coach in November, USC lost its final two games. A game against defending national champion Alabama looms at the start of the 2016 season.
Haden, who was hired in 2010, oversaw the development and construction of new facilities, but struggled to bring stability to the football program. He inherited NCAA sanctions that lasted most of his tenure.
In 2013, Haden fired Lane Kiffin on the tarmac of Los Angeles International Airport. Before the 2014 season, Haden hired Steve Sarkisian. After less than two seasons, Haden fired Sarkisian after alcohol-related incidents.
In December, Sarkisian filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the school. "Instead of supporting its Head Coach, Steve Sarkisian, when he needed its help the most, USC kicked him to the curb," the lawsuit said. USC said the suit contained "half-truths and, in many cases, outright falsehoods." The sides subsequently agreed the case would be settled in binding arbitration.
In development, USC had more success. In the last decade, USC has opened a modern basketball arena and a state-of-the-art football facility. Haden will remain at USC to oversee a $270-million renovation to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, where the NFL's Rams will also play until their own stadium in Inglewood is complete.
Haden is believed to be the highest paid athletic director in the nation. His annual salary and benefits package was worth $2.5 million in 2014, according to federal tax filings. He was criticized after a Los Angeles Times investigation found he held more than a dozen roles outside USC that, combined, paid more than $500,000 annually.
In his letter, Nikias noted than Swann serves on multiple corporate and nonprofit boards. But, Nikias noted, once Swann begins at USC, he would serve only on the Fluor Corp. board of directors and on the board of the PGA of America until his term ends in November.
Reaction to the hiring among fans and pundits was mixed, with some expressing surprise and others concern over Swann's lack of experience. Yahoo columnist Pat Forde called USC "The University of Self Congratulation."
Within the USC family, the move was celebrated.
Carroll tweeted, "Excited to hear Lynn Swann is the next Athletic Director at USC! He will be an outstanding leader and great champion for the Trojan cause!"
Former USC player Ronnie Lott tweeted, "Lynn Swann is a Hall Of Fame person and leader. This is wonderful news."
Born in Tennessee, Swann attended Junipero Serra High in San Mateo and graduated from USC with a bachelor's degree in public relations in 1974.
"USC opened doors for me," Swann said in his statement. "I learned about myself, and my education created a pathway to go forward. I was always looking toward preparing for that career beyond football."
In 2002, he was named chairman of the President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition by George W. Bush. He has also served as president of the national board of Big Brothers and Big Sisters of America.
In 2006, Swann won the Republican nomination for governor of Pennsylvania after two opponents dropped out of the race. The incumbent Democrat, Edward Rendell, easily defeated him in the general election.
Twitter: @zhelfand
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