I'll keep updating this thread until I work through everything -- and then I'll have multiple stories.
PRESIDENT CAROL FOLT
Opening comments ...
"You're all going to find that he's very energetic, he's very accomplished and he is someone who is very focused on our students and staying true to our entire university's mission, and that's so important to me. He's also led athletics programs that are very competitive, have gone through changes and that [were] even more competitive as they progressed. And he demands at all times the highest level of integrity, of himself but everyone who works for him."
"I've got four things that I expect for USC and that I am confident that Mike's going to deliver. Winning competitive teams in all of our sports, and they're going to be competing for national championships in all of our sports and doing it with integrity on and off the field and every day ensuring that the wellness and success of our student-athletes is at the heart of everything that we do."
"He comes to us recently from Cincinnati, where he's had a lot of success, including rebuilding the football team, seeing his basketball team go through three consecutive seasons, I think, of 28 or more winning games, and a number of other successes throughout the department. In addition, though, to that success on the field, Mike's always put the success of his student-athletes off the field at the center of what he cares about. Mike and I are going to be working together a lot, we're going to be moving our athletics programs forward by pursuing that excellence with integrity and also ensuring that our student-athletes are positioned for success not only here at USC but wherever life will take them."
AD MIKE BOHN
Opening comments ...
"I tell you, walking onto campus today and getting a sense of what makes USC special, you feel it the minute you walk on campus. I want you to know with great humility and honor that I've been selected to lead the preeminent college athletic program in the country, and it's just so exciting to be here."
"Dr. Folt, thank you for this opportunity, and thank you for your leadership at USC. What you've been able to do in a very short amount of time is impressive. It inspires me. I want to be a part of that. I want to be a part of a team that recognizes that we want to win. And when you have a president that understands and appreciates intercollegiate athletics, you want to be a part of that. That's Dr. Folt. So incredible impact that she's had already and I salute that. That vision is one that is a formula that she outlined that's very clear. She's been very clear about that and putting that together."
"I will work tirelessly and relentlessly to make the Trojan family proud, and we're going to build a championship program that you deserve. I'm committed to preparing student-athletes to be successful on and off the field of competition, but also our coaches and all the people that touch our athletes to ensure they truly have a world-class experience. And if recruits are listening, that's what we're committed to. You heard the president talk about it, I know our board chair is committed to it, all the other people I've talked to, they recognize that it's about our student-athletes and creating a world-class experience for them. So that will be something that from day one we will work extremely hard ensuring that is the case."
"Together, we will build comprehensive excellence -- all 21 teams. And I was touched to be able to walk in with Dave Roberts today and see a picture of 21 athletes in the athletic director's suite that are proud and prominent. And you know what, every one of those teams and all their colleagues and teammates, men, women, all deserve to be supported. If they have USC on their uniform, they're going to receive support like maybe they've never seen before. And I can't wait to have an opportunity to be with them and building that."
"You will learn quickly I am immensely passionate and energetic. My passion and energy never take a day off, and I am proud of that, I enjoy that, it's been instilled in me from a young man growing up the son of a PE teacher. I can't wait to meet our student-athletes. … It's going to take all of us putting that together. My intent is to listen, to learn and to lead, in that order. And ultimately my goal is to deliver a bold, creative and innovative vision for our program that will position for USC at the forefront of the intercollegiate athletics landscape for the present and the future. We want to be the best in every single thing that we do. To our former student-athletes, you have put a lot into this program. You have set us up for great, great things. We desperately need you to be involved with the program, you will hear from me, and again I will be listening, learning and preparing to lead based on your direction and involvement."
"Finally, let me say this for the first time as your athletic director -- Fight On to Victory. Our goal is to win in everything we do -- on the field, off the field and in the classroom."
On his top priority ...
"I am a passionate leader about connecting with student-athletes. What we do is a big job -- those students are why we do what we do. And it's important to us to ensure that we get off to a great start of engaging and connecting with the student-athletes. So what we'll do first is just as I said -- listen, learn. But I want to connect and understand all the different pieces from the great players to the great donors to the fans to the students to the staff. It's a team game. It is a team game. It is not one man or one person that can deliver a comprehensive program of excellence alone. And I think that's why from Day 1 I want to try to pull everybody together as best I can. I think that's why the time that it took to pull all this together was tied to building that alignment. Dr. Folt and people around her are experts at building team and building alignment, and that's why that's the No. 1 goal and that's why we've taken time through this process to ensure we have the ability to do that."
On the importance of the football program, a reasonable expectation for the program and whether he expects to make a coaching change ...
"Obviously, we all understand the importance of football. It's very similar to every institution that I've been a part of from the Air Force Academy. Air Force football is king there, and I recognize -- I don't want to use that word necessarily here because guess what, we expect all of our programs to compete. That's one of the attractions of coming and working with Dr. Folt and her vision is for us to be competitive across the board, but we recognize the importance of football and what we're doing. It would be premature to be talking about coaches or any situation when I just arrived. I'm in the process of learning and trying to listen, but again I have a good sense of really quickly being able to connect and find out how we're doing and where we're going. And I want to impact recruiting. And I recognize the importance. The name Southern California in our institution's name says a lot. Southern California is critical for us to ensure we are viable in recruiting, we are viable in outreach, we're viable in attendance at our games and intensity of interest that supports our program. And the bull'seye in Southern California is LA and we're going to work really hard to ensure that's the case. So we're going to be fundamentally strong associated with that Southern California footprint, and as we need to recruit for all of our sports other aspects. But we want to do a great job in Southern California knowing the bullseye is LA."
On what integrity means in terms of hiring coaches and leading a department considering the turmoil and scandal within USC athletics of late ...
"It always starts with playing by the rules, doing the right thing. Most importantly, supporting our student-athletes, and when you're supporting your student-athletes and you're doing things to help them be successful then you know you're obviously focused on the right things and pulling it together. So it's about supporting our student-athletes, playing by the rules, doing the right things, making sure that we make our program proud. And I think that's why I've been so inspired watching Dr. Folt's leadership and the people around her and the people she's been able to bring here quickly and pulling that together. We recognize the rallying point of intercollegiate athletics is critical. We understand the phenomenal research and incredible academic reputation of USC and medicine, and I could go on and on with the wonderful things the university stands for. We need to make sure we keep pace on the same trajectory of the institution and we make sure we stay on the same pace with them on integrity and never waver."
On his expectations for Clay Helton over the rest of the season and going forward ...
"Just like any program this time of year, we expect him to finish strong. I mentioned Fight On, and the sense of being able to do that, but it's also Fight On to victory. It's important to win. You heard the president talking about winning, and I'm not trying to add more pressure to him or the student-athletes. We always want to finish strong. Good programs finish strong, so the idea is we want to see him and his team finish strong and I'm going to do everything I can to support those young men and those coaches and everybody tied to the program to do exactly that."
On whether he's met Helton yet ...
"I have not had the opportunity to meet coach. I have talked to a lot of people about coach, but I'm anxious to meet him. I'm anxious to meet him."
Continued below ...
PRESIDENT CAROL FOLT
Opening comments ...
"You're all going to find that he's very energetic, he's very accomplished and he is someone who is very focused on our students and staying true to our entire university's mission, and that's so important to me. He's also led athletics programs that are very competitive, have gone through changes and that [were] even more competitive as they progressed. And he demands at all times the highest level of integrity, of himself but everyone who works for him."
"I've got four things that I expect for USC and that I am confident that Mike's going to deliver. Winning competitive teams in all of our sports, and they're going to be competing for national championships in all of our sports and doing it with integrity on and off the field and every day ensuring that the wellness and success of our student-athletes is at the heart of everything that we do."
"He comes to us recently from Cincinnati, where he's had a lot of success, including rebuilding the football team, seeing his basketball team go through three consecutive seasons, I think, of 28 or more winning games, and a number of other successes throughout the department. In addition, though, to that success on the field, Mike's always put the success of his student-athletes off the field at the center of what he cares about. Mike and I are going to be working together a lot, we're going to be moving our athletics programs forward by pursuing that excellence with integrity and also ensuring that our student-athletes are positioned for success not only here at USC but wherever life will take them."
AD MIKE BOHN
Opening comments ...
"I tell you, walking onto campus today and getting a sense of what makes USC special, you feel it the minute you walk on campus. I want you to know with great humility and honor that I've been selected to lead the preeminent college athletic program in the country, and it's just so exciting to be here."
"Dr. Folt, thank you for this opportunity, and thank you for your leadership at USC. What you've been able to do in a very short amount of time is impressive. It inspires me. I want to be a part of that. I want to be a part of a team that recognizes that we want to win. And when you have a president that understands and appreciates intercollegiate athletics, you want to be a part of that. That's Dr. Folt. So incredible impact that she's had already and I salute that. That vision is one that is a formula that she outlined that's very clear. She's been very clear about that and putting that together."
"I will work tirelessly and relentlessly to make the Trojan family proud, and we're going to build a championship program that you deserve. I'm committed to preparing student-athletes to be successful on and off the field of competition, but also our coaches and all the people that touch our athletes to ensure they truly have a world-class experience. And if recruits are listening, that's what we're committed to. You heard the president talk about it, I know our board chair is committed to it, all the other people I've talked to, they recognize that it's about our student-athletes and creating a world-class experience for them. So that will be something that from day one we will work extremely hard ensuring that is the case."
"Together, we will build comprehensive excellence -- all 21 teams. And I was touched to be able to walk in with Dave Roberts today and see a picture of 21 athletes in the athletic director's suite that are proud and prominent. And you know what, every one of those teams and all their colleagues and teammates, men, women, all deserve to be supported. If they have USC on their uniform, they're going to receive support like maybe they've never seen before. And I can't wait to have an opportunity to be with them and building that."
"You will learn quickly I am immensely passionate and energetic. My passion and energy never take a day off, and I am proud of that, I enjoy that, it's been instilled in me from a young man growing up the son of a PE teacher. I can't wait to meet our student-athletes. … It's going to take all of us putting that together. My intent is to listen, to learn and to lead, in that order. And ultimately my goal is to deliver a bold, creative and innovative vision for our program that will position for USC at the forefront of the intercollegiate athletics landscape for the present and the future. We want to be the best in every single thing that we do. To our former student-athletes, you have put a lot into this program. You have set us up for great, great things. We desperately need you to be involved with the program, you will hear from me, and again I will be listening, learning and preparing to lead based on your direction and involvement."
"Finally, let me say this for the first time as your athletic director -- Fight On to Victory. Our goal is to win in everything we do -- on the field, off the field and in the classroom."
On his top priority ...
"I am a passionate leader about connecting with student-athletes. What we do is a big job -- those students are why we do what we do. And it's important to us to ensure that we get off to a great start of engaging and connecting with the student-athletes. So what we'll do first is just as I said -- listen, learn. But I want to connect and understand all the different pieces from the great players to the great donors to the fans to the students to the staff. It's a team game. It is a team game. It is not one man or one person that can deliver a comprehensive program of excellence alone. And I think that's why from Day 1 I want to try to pull everybody together as best I can. I think that's why the time that it took to pull all this together was tied to building that alignment. Dr. Folt and people around her are experts at building team and building alignment, and that's why that's the No. 1 goal and that's why we've taken time through this process to ensure we have the ability to do that."
On the importance of the football program, a reasonable expectation for the program and whether he expects to make a coaching change ...
"Obviously, we all understand the importance of football. It's very similar to every institution that I've been a part of from the Air Force Academy. Air Force football is king there, and I recognize -- I don't want to use that word necessarily here because guess what, we expect all of our programs to compete. That's one of the attractions of coming and working with Dr. Folt and her vision is for us to be competitive across the board, but we recognize the importance of football and what we're doing. It would be premature to be talking about coaches or any situation when I just arrived. I'm in the process of learning and trying to listen, but again I have a good sense of really quickly being able to connect and find out how we're doing and where we're going. And I want to impact recruiting. And I recognize the importance. The name Southern California in our institution's name says a lot. Southern California is critical for us to ensure we are viable in recruiting, we are viable in outreach, we're viable in attendance at our games and intensity of interest that supports our program. And the bull'seye in Southern California is LA and we're going to work really hard to ensure that's the case. So we're going to be fundamentally strong associated with that Southern California footprint, and as we need to recruit for all of our sports other aspects. But we want to do a great job in Southern California knowing the bullseye is LA."
On what integrity means in terms of hiring coaches and leading a department considering the turmoil and scandal within USC athletics of late ...
"It always starts with playing by the rules, doing the right thing. Most importantly, supporting our student-athletes, and when you're supporting your student-athletes and you're doing things to help them be successful then you know you're obviously focused on the right things and pulling it together. So it's about supporting our student-athletes, playing by the rules, doing the right things, making sure that we make our program proud. And I think that's why I've been so inspired watching Dr. Folt's leadership and the people around her and the people she's been able to bring here quickly and pulling that together. We recognize the rallying point of intercollegiate athletics is critical. We understand the phenomenal research and incredible academic reputation of USC and medicine, and I could go on and on with the wonderful things the university stands for. We need to make sure we keep pace on the same trajectory of the institution and we make sure we stay on the same pace with them on integrity and never waver."
On his expectations for Clay Helton over the rest of the season and going forward ...
"Just like any program this time of year, we expect him to finish strong. I mentioned Fight On, and the sense of being able to do that, but it's also Fight On to victory. It's important to win. You heard the president talking about winning, and I'm not trying to add more pressure to him or the student-athletes. We always want to finish strong. Good programs finish strong, so the idea is we want to see him and his team finish strong and I'm going to do everything I can to support those young men and those coaches and everybody tied to the program to do exactly that."
On whether he's met Helton yet ...
"I have not had the opportunity to meet coach. I have talked to a lot of people about coach, but I'm anxious to meet him. I'm anxious to meet him."
Continued below ...
