New USC AD Jennifer Cohen to owe $1 million to Washington to buyout contract

Former Washington athletics director Jennifer Cohen is heading to USC in the same position, but it won’t come cheap.

“Per a copy of her contract, Jen Cohen(/USC) will owe UW a $1 million buyout. If my math is correct, I believe Cohen also will forfeit another $225,000 set aside by UW in unvested retention-bonus money,” Washington beat reporter Christian Caple wrote.

The news comes as a surprise, as the new college football season is set to begin in under a week. Not to mention, she was a major player in Washington brokering a deal to join the Big Ten. She’ll still be making the leap from the Pac-12 after this year, however, but it won’t be with the Huskies.

“There was only one school I’d ever leave UW for, and that was USC,” Cohen, who was born locally, said Monday, via ESPN. “I just felt like it was time for me to stretch. It was a great run. This is a new chapter in my life, both personally and professionally, and it was the perfect fit.”

In her place, former deputy director of athletics Erin O’Connell has taken over Washington’s interim AD duties as the search begins for a permanent one. O’Connell previously served as the Huskies’ senior woman administrator, oversaw nine different varsity sports and has also served as the President and Chair of the U.S. Rowing Board of Directors from 2014 through 2016. 

Washington releases statement regarding Jennifer Cohen’s departure

“We’re grateful to Jennifer Cohen for her 25 years of outstanding service to the University of Washington, including the last seven years as the Director of Athletics. We wish her success in her next endeavor, and we thank her for all that she has done to make Husky Athletics a thriving program for our student-athletes and our global community of alumni, fans and supporters,” the statement read. 

“Under her leadership, the Huskies achieved tremendous success on the field of competition, and her commitment to excellence helped enable our student-athletes to develop and succeed in the classroom, as competitors and as people. We appreciate the solid footing on which she leaves the program, and her extraordinary leadership through the challenges posed by the COVID pandemic.”

Cohen had been the athletic director at Washington since 2016. There, she recently made headlines by making the move from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten. Now, she is set to handle that same transition for the USC Trojans.

During her time at Washington, the Huskies also made the College Football Playoff, an accomplishment that USC has not managed, yet. For her part, Cohen has served CFP Committee. Now, both parties are moving on and O’Connell provides a bit of stability internally as the search for a new AD begins in Seattle.