Pat Haden will retire after more than five years as the University of Southern California's athletic director, the school announced Friday.
Haden will stay with USC as part of a one-year deal to guide the renovation of the historic LA Memorial Coliseum, which will be the home of the Los Angeles Rams until their new stadium is ready in Inglewood. Haden's move is effective June 30.
Haden was hired as athletic director in 2010 after serving as a trustee. He took over for Mike Garrett at a time when the program's football team was slapped with NCAA sanctions handed down due to violations.
Nikias described it as "one of the most volatile and high-stakes periods in Trojan Athletics' history."
"He took on this role at a time when the department faced unprecedented pressure, externally and internally, requiring nothing less than a Herculean effort to rebuild its foundation for the long term," said USC President Max Nikias. "USC Athletics had received NCAA penalties of unprecedented harshness only weeks earlier; and its physical and academic infrastructure urgently required improvement to bring it in line with the university's overall dramatic progress in recent years."
Having inherited a program in disarray, Haden created a large NCAA compliance program and improved graduation rates and grade-point averages across the athletic department during his more than five years in charge. Nikias said Haden's department raised more than $400 million during his tenure and introduced two new sports for female athletes, lacrosse and beach volleyball.
"The Pac-12 salutes Pat Haden for his success and impact as athletic director of USC," Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott said. "Over the last six years, Pat was a valuable voice in conference matters and played a leadership role nationally with his fellow athletic directors and as a founding member of the College Football Playoff. As a former student-athlete, Pat served as a strong proponent for the benefits of the college experience, and led his Trojans to success on the field and in the classroom. We join the Trojan family in thanking him and wishing him all the best in retirement."
But he also received criticism for the football program's relative underachievement and for his handling of coach Steve Sarkisian, who has sued the school over his termination last year. Haden did not immediately fire Sarkisian after a slurred speech at a pre-season pep rally and opted to keep him on, despite the public meltdown. Sarkisian later blamed his behavior on a mix of alcohol and prescription drugs.
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Haden publicly rebuked the coach, but allowed him to keep his job. Concerns about his behavior persisted, prompting Haden to place Sarkisian on indefinite leave in October. Haden fired him the next day.
Haden is a former star quarterback at USC, where he was twice academic All-American. He was USC's starting quarterback in the John McKay years of 1972-74.
Haden was also a magna cum laude and phi beta kappa graduate, as well as a Rhodes Scholar. He spent parts of 1975-78 -- while a quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the NFL -- as a student at Oxford. He started at quarterback for the Rams much of the 1976-81 season.
Nikias will work with the Brill Neumann executive search firm to find Haden's successor. Details regarding a timeline to find a new athletic director were not available.
