On Tuesday, USC athletic director Mike Bohn was one of four FBS athletic directors named as the 2021-22 ADs of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.

He’s USC’s first-ever honoree.

Bohn was joined by NC State’s Boo Corrigan, Wake Forest’s John Currie, and Arkansas’ Hunter Yurachek.

“Whenever a leader is recognized, it is a reflection of the entire organization and the dedicated people within it,” Bohn said in a statement from the program. “It is a blessing to be on a team at USC that has made incredible impact and enacted meaningful change during the most transformative period in the history of college athletics.

“Receiving the 2021-22 Cushman & Wakefield Athletics Director of the Year Award, and joining this elite group of fellow winners and past recipients, is a special honor that I will cherish forever.”

Among his most notable achievements to date, Bohn was able to lure former Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley from Norman to Los Angeles to be the next head coach of the Trojans, a move that sent ripples throughout the sport of college football and figures to position USC at the forefront of college football as long as Riley is in town.

In five seasons at Oklahoma, Riley never lost more than two games. He owns a 55-10 record as a head coach, with three trips to the College Football Playoff. He has also already coached two Heisman Trophy winners.

Riley was tied to LSU’s open position as the 2021 regular season drew to a close, but no one was talking about a potential move to USC. Bohn worked behind the scenes to secure Riley’s services and presumably set up the Trojan football program for its next run of sustained success.

Bohn also recently extended the contract of men’s basketball coach Andy Enfield, a coach who has no doubt elevated the standard of USC basketball. The Trojans begin play at the NCAA Tournament against Miami on Friday at 12:10 p.m. PT, the fourth tournament appearance Enfield has engineered as the USC head coach.

“Mike is transforming the culture of USC Athletics in so many ways, and I want to congratulate him on this well-deserved recognition,” USC President Carol L. Folt said in a statement. “Putting students first and caring about their development on and off the field is Mike’s primary focus, and we are already seeing the positive impact of that strategy across the breadth of Trojan Athletics. Much progress has been made, but the best is yet to come.”

Among Bohn’s other accomplishments in 2021:

  • USC won NCAA team championships in women’s track and field, water polo and beach volleyball
  • USC men’s basketball made the Elite Eight for the 2020-21 season and saw forward Evan Mobley picked third in the 2021 NBA Draft
  • USC was sixth in the Directors Cup and the Women of Troy were second in the Capital One Cup
  • USC sent 65 current or former student-athletes (most among US universities) to the Tokyo Olympics and brought home 21 medals, including 11 gold medals
  • USC posted its highest-ever NCAA Graduation Success Rate (92%)
  • Hired Cleveland Cavaliers assistant Lindsay Gottlieb as the women’s basketball head coach
  • Elevated Dr. Julie Rousseau, who was chair of USC Athletics’ Black Lives Matter Action Team, to associate athletic director for diversity, equity and inclusion to provide the athletic department with ongoing DEI education and programming.