Pat Haden Retires as USC Athletic Director

Former national championship USC quarterback, Rhodes Scholar and lawyer Pat Haden is due to retire as the Trojans’ athletic director after serving just over five years.

Pat Haden, who has served as USC’s athletic director since 2010, is set to retire in June while maintaining a role at the school to help manage upcoming renovations to the LA Coliseum, USC president Max Nikias announced Friday.

“I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Pat Haden, who has announced his intention to retire from his role as athletic director, effective June 30, 2016,” Nikias wrote in a letter. “I ask you to join me in thanking this Trojan legend for his leadership during a historic moment of transition for Trojan Athletics.”

Beginning on July 1st of this year and ending next yar, Haden will aid USC in continuing fundraising efforts for the Coliseum project.

“It has been a tremendous honor serving my alma mater, a school I love so much, as well as serving Max Nikias, our coaches and staff and, most importantly, our student-athletes,” said Haden in a statement.  “I am proud of what has been accomplished here the past six years and knowing that USC Athletics is on an upward trajectory.  I look forward to finishing out this academic year as athletic director and then spending time on the Coliseum project.”

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Haden’s retirement comes on the back of health concerns. His health has been a talking point around USC, especially following a collapse at Notre Dame Stadium last month. Since then, he’s avoided traveling with the football team on a recommendation from his doctor.

The Haden era will likely be remembered for its drama, as he fired a bevy of coaches. That list includes head football coaches Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian, baseball manager Frank Cruz and basketball coach Kevin O’Neill. All of whom were sacked midseason or during the preseason.

Haden finished his tenure as the first ever USC athletic director to not oversee a Rose Bowl victory. That dates back back to the Trojans’ first AD Willis O. Hunter, who held the job from 1925 to 1957.