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USC Morning Buzz: Mixed Record For Leadership Team

USC used the influential search firm, TurnkeyZRG, to hire Mike Bohn.

Turnkey also ran commissioner searches for the Pac-12, Big 12, ACC and Big Ten.

And Sandy Barbour, who is on USC’s new interim leadership team, has several connections with Turnkey, because she used them for several coaching searches when she was at Penn State. It wouldn’t be surprising if Carol Folt used Turnkey to help put the committee together. If true, she isn’t holding a grudge against Turnkey for the hiring of Bohn.

Cal fans are probably raising their eyebrows that former athletic director Barbour is part of the interim leadership team. Last year, Cal still still had about $200 million in debt service for the renovation of Memorial Stadium and building of an athletic center under Barbour. The original debt was $440 million.

And starting in the 2030s, Cal will have to start paying down the principal of the loans or else be in breach of the debt service. Barbour is not popular in Berkeley.

She is more fondly remembered at Penn State, where she retired in 2022 after eight years.

Another member, Kevin Weiberg, is best known for being the Big 12 commissioner. But he also was hired to be Larry Scott’s deputy and was instrumental in launching the much-maligned Pac-12 Network. He recently worked for the Big Ten Network.

34 thoughts on “USC Morning Buzz: Mixed Record For Leadership Team”

  1. These people are like the pols in DC who go from being useless congressmen and Senators to working in other government jobs or PACS because they have influence not brains.

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  2. This group has all the credentials of the three stooges. How about a record of success instead of $440 million in unpaid debt and the right hand man of Larry Scott while working on the PAC 12 network. Should do fine under Folt though where being well liked by the girls in the office is more important than your actual job performance.

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    1. What do you think of my hero Stewart Rhodes getting 18 years in prison? He was such a great wife beater also. Proud boys are shaking in their boots

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      3. MG,
        You’re slipping. We’re never supposed to admit that we have losers and nut jobs on our side.

        Liked by 1 person

      4. We are never to admit we stole the election in 2020 and installed a Dictatorship.

        Liked by 1 person

      5. Wait till the photos of Joe —- at the other end of the tub —- get released….
        #”Hunter,Look!I’mTurningIntoAGodzillaMynaBirdMonkey!”

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  3. I can’t wait until the finger pointing starts. Let’s see who actually shows up to heritage hall. None of the “executive” leadership has authority to decide anything without Folt’s blessing. It’s a circle of socialists. It might as well be USC’s own Politburo.

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      1. Don’t stand for that kind of treatment, Real Gabby!
        #You’reTooFineForThat….

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  4. https://www.sfgate.com/collegesports/article/Cal-s-Sandy-Barbour-out-as-athletic-director-5583544.php

    Barbour is 64 and should apply for Medicare. On a positive note, if allowed, she will take credit for the sun rising in the East.. She has never been good at dealing with programs at a school that are the money generators. But she is adept at spending money. Ding Ding Ding. Hello Larry Scott.

    If critics thought she was in over her head at Cal….look out. Politics at SC are twice as intense.

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    2. I really doubt that Folt needed to replace Bohn. I assume that much of the controversy was stirred up as a way to get rid of him. I think Folt is extremely threatened by anyone delivering real results at USC.

      There are leaders good at delivering results and those who are good at being liked. We all know where Helton was on that spectrum.

      It is somewhat amazing how quickly people turned on Bohn. We are truly living in the era of the new McCarthyism, jacked up 100 fold by technology platforms.

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  5. we dont need no suffiticated surch firm, try gurglin “best yung athlitic directurs” and bingo, inturview 5 of them, then git it down to 2, and then me ‘n ed can choose the pick of the littur.

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  7. At the new Postmodern pseudo woke SC there is always some bs going on. I hardly recognize the place. The Big 10 clusterf*ck is entertaining, the new SC will fit right in.

    After Warren left it turns out $70 million is owed, night games are on, it’s not clear what network is carrying the next championship game, and the projected revenue isn’t what it was said it’s going to be. USC and little brother were his way of covering up for a lot of lies and bullsh*t and it still may be for the conference, but the two schools and their market and national brand were the saviors, not the other way around. According to the Athletic, together they were $200 million a year in value.

    Now the Big 10 also is pushing to curtail big out of conference games (looking at you ND, but also USC’s no FCS opponents). Of course the Big 10 tried to lean on USC to drop ND but SC declined. USC also just managed to reverse course on playing sh*t teams (though SJSU and Nevada are not old time SC schedules.) How that works now we’re in the Big 10 will be entertaining. As much as the Rust Belt doesn’t want to hear this, ND if it goes anywhere will be the ACC which would immediately change the landscape.

    (Someone who works at a conference office told me the PAC and ACC were trying to get together on something recently but the two sides couldn’t get their sh8t together- I can’t imagine either leadership being logical anyway, but there’s the 3rd hand scuttlebutt.)

    Warren was supposed to be a stooge for tOSU and Michigan, while cozying to Dem politicians to look important. Turns out he wasn’t a lackey but sneaky, dishonest and shrewd. Such is the world. I’m going to make this year my best year as an SC fan. #weekenders and #homecoming and #SCvsUCLA Would have loved to go up to UW one more time. #EndOfWestCoastFootball?

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      1. Trouble – that starts with “T” and that rhymes with “P” and that stands for pool!!

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  8. How do you pronounce Kwok? I heard a sportscaster say K-woke this morning and I’m wondering if he was delivering an editorial or, like Bohn (bone) it’s the correct pronouncement.
    My dire predictions include the end of the new football only facility. Lincoln Riley will be pushed out do to his toxic masculinity. The Jehovah’s Witnesses might finally be right the end is near

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  9. Bohn (and his lackeys) started acting in the same manner that they acted in Cincinnati (believing that the success protected them) and got whacked by Folt in a classic power struggle move. Too bad he was too stupid to recognize that. Now his lackeys will be forced out of the school. Good riddance.

    The circle of clowns that Folt installed to replace the dumb ringmaster will screw up (such as not attending the B1G meetings or handling future scheduling assignments for the Olympics sports or getting USC into the NCAA baseball tournament) and Folt will have to install her puppet/permanent to avoid any more loss of revenue.

    Riley will be gone to the NFL along with Caleb and will advocate for Kliff or his brother to take over. Why else would he hire him? And Kliff would say yes?

    West Coast football died after Mark Emmert took over the NCAA and allowed the haters to thrash everything until the goose no longer squats out golden TV contracts.

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