The State of Troy | October 6: Trojan MAP Update, Hall of Fame News, and How We Will Win the Era, Together

Trojan Family,

October is here, and we are well into the new year – and the new era – of USC Athletics.

The 2025-26 year promises to be unlike any other we have seen in the history of college athletics. Though much has changed in our industry, our mission remains the same: to ensure USC remains THE PLACE TO BE for student-athletes to reach their full potential in all they do. It's your support and engagement that power that mission, so thank you for all you do to help the development and education of our student-athletes.

In my last letter, I outlined our Trojan MAP, and as our student-athletes have been hard at work in practice, competition, and in the classroom, our coaches and staff have been focused on how we can maximize investments in student-athletes, adapt our business to secure critical resources, and prioritize partnerships and build alignment across the Trojan Family.

In this month's edition of the State of Troy, I want to show you how we're already using that MAP to navigate this changed landscape and outline our vision to Win the Era, Together.

Trojan MAP Update

Maximize Investments in Student-Athletes

Since July 1, we've begun distributing institutional NIL Licensing payments to student-athletes and implementing year one of our two-year scholarship plan. This plan allows us to maximize investment in student-athletes and remain competitive with our Big Ten and national peers across all 23 programs.

As part of our overall student-athlete investment, we also continue to build world-class facilities and hire and retain elite coaches. In August, we opened Rawlinson Stadium in front of a record crowd, and our progress on both the Bloom Football Performance Center and a new stadium at Dedeaux Field continues, with the recent topping off ceremony at Dedeaux Field marking a new milestone in the Athletics West campaign. And since July, we're excited to have signed contract extensions with head baseball coach Andy Stankiewicz, men's tennis head coach Brett Masi, women's tennis head coach Alison Swain, and, most recently, 2025 NCAA National Men's Coach of the Year Quincy Watts.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by USC Baseball (@sctrojans_baseball)

Adapt Business to Secure Critical Resources

These new investments are exciting, but they require additional revenue. Between the cost of attendance for dozens of new scholarships, the $20.5 million annual cap for NIL Licensing, and the difficult financial climate across all of higher education, we must generate revenue more strategically, operate our business more efficiently, and engage our fans more intentionally than ever before.

This summer, we introduced the new Trojan Athletic Fund, updated after nearly two decades to better engage our fans and better support our student-athletes. Our supporters have begun to rack up Victory Points, and renewals for men's and women's basketball season are well under way. Season ticket packages are still available for both programs, and we're excited to welcome fans to the Galen Center this year, where a new court and new videoboard await, as we continue to build competitively advantageous home environments for our programs.

The new era requires us to do business differently, and we're constantly working to operate more efficiently by increasing revenues and controlling costs. In the weeks ahead, we're optimistic we'll be able to share exciting news on a new apparel deal, and at both the campus and conference levels, we continue to work to enhance existing or identify new revenue streams, from improved trademark and licensing efforts to the exploration of jersey patches. Additionally, while media coverage around the proposed concept of "Big Ten Enterprises" in recent days abounds, its potential impact on our department, our conference peers, and our long-term fiscal outlook remains unclear.

Regardless, what is clear is that USC Athletics remains committed to fiscal responsibility, and that requires us to seek immediate opportunities where they exist and carefully evaluate longer-term ventures as they arise.

Prioritize Partnerships and Build Alignment

As we enter this new era, our loyal and dedicated fans are our most prominent partners, and we have invested significant time and resources to improve gameday experiences in all our venues, including the Coliseum, through increased communication and feedback.

Most notably, we have begun surveying fans after every home football game, using that data both to make in-season adjustments for improved gameday experiences and to inform our planning for future seasons.

Our most recent survey, following our win over Michigan State, received our highest number of responses and our highest overall satisfaction percentage, with 83.7% of fans responding that they were satisfied or very satisfied with their gameday experience. More fans arrived early, and ingress was the fastest this season, with 93.5% of fans and 95% of students entering the venue in 15 minutes or less.

Additionally, using survey data from our first two games, we adjusted our balance between band and DJ music, and we saw increased approval from fans and students of 12% and 15%, respectively.

The data still show ample room for improvement in several important areas managed by either USC Athletics or our partners, including concessions value and variety, family-friendly amenities, and parking and post-game traffic. Our team will continue to identify solutions to these challenges, and we will proactively communicate these adjustments as they are made.

We look forward to seeing you all inside the Coliseum against Michigan on Saturday. The game is sold out, and after a tough loss at Illinois last weekend, we're confident our team – and our fans – will show up on Saturday ready to give their all for four quarters.

Hall of Fame and Heritage Association Updates

Though change is the order of the day in so many areas of our industry, we also recognize how important it is to maintain the traditions that bring the entire Trojan Family together. Balancing tradition and innovation is something we will focus on to ensure we are celebrating the past while shaping the future. USC's historic legacy is unique and integral to our DNA, and we will always recognize our former student-athletes for building the foundation upon which our work today stands.

One such tradition we are excited to bring back is the USC Athletics Hall of Fame. Dormant since 2018, we will welcome a new class into the Hall of Fame in Fall 2026. Our team is currently working to modernize our protocols and reimagine our induction ceremony, and we will share details later this fall on these exciting developments, including balloting, voting, and planning for an incredible event next fall. Looking at our current Hall of Fame members, I'm amazed at how many Trojan greats we've already inducted, and I'm even more amazed at how many remain to recognize. I truly believe there is no university whose alumni are as accomplished as USC's.

Additionally, as part of our stewardship efforts with student-athletes, we are revamping our Heritage Association, led by former USC track and field student-athlete Lyndsey Lopes, who will oversee engagement with former student-athletes to enhance their experience as Trojan alumni. The Heritage Association is open to any alum who participated as an athlete, student manager, or student trainer on an active roster for at least one year at USC, and we're excited for Lyndsey to help guide our efforts to create deeper levels of connection with our former student-athletes.

Introducing Trojan Leadership Circle

Just as engaging our former student-athletes is integral to building alignment, so is stewarding our most generous supporters. When we unveiled the new Trojan Athletic Fund, we created a new stewardship program for a group of Trojan leaders I want to highlight in this letter: The Trojan Leadership Circle.

The Trojan Leadership Circle stewards supporters who have given $1 million or more to USC Athletics over their lifetimes. Comprised of donors who have given more than $600 million combined, it consists of individuals, foundations, and corporations driven by their passionate pride for USC and unwavering support of our student-athletes. We are excited to recognize and steward this group in new ways moving forward.

To all of you whose remarkable commitment allows us to transform the lives of our student-athletes, thank you for making USC THE PLACE TO BE.

Win the Era, Together

The landscape of college athletics is shifting more rapidly than ever before, but a core belief that has stayed with me throughout my life and career is that in times of great transformation, it's vital to focus on the constants that never change.

At USC, we will always strive to provide a best-in-class student-athlete experience, to achieve athletic excellence and academic success, to sustain an elite brand, and to run a financially stable department. Reaching these goals in these challenging times will require all of us to come together. Trojans love nothing more than conquering challenges, and when we tackle them as one, aligned in our purpose and goals, we can do anything.

That is why today I am introducing our plan to Win the Era, Together, a comprehensive fundraising effort focused on supporting our student-athletes in four critical areas:

1. Complete Athletics West Campaign: We are $50 million from reaching our $225 million goal for Athletics West, which will give our football program the best performance facility in the country, construct a new home at Dedeaux Field for our baseball program, provide additional training spaces for our golf programs, and allow us to reimagine the John McKay Center for our Olympic sports. We are excited to introduce naming opportunities at Dedeaux and inside Bloom, starting at $250,000.

2. Fund New Scholarship Endowments: No gift makes a greater impact than a scholarship endowment, and no institution combines exceptional athletic and academic opportunities like USC. With 138 national championships and more Olympic medals than any other university, broad-based excellence is in USC's DNA, and a scholarship to USC creates life-changing opportunities. With the removal of NCAA scholarship limits beginning this year, USC will aim to endow 100 new scholarships before the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles, securing the academic and athletic future of USC's next generation of gold medalists, national champions, and accomplished scholars.

3. Invest in Excellence through the Trojan Victory Fund: The new era of college athletics changes how USC can support student-athletes. From hiring and retaining elite coaches, trainers, nutritionists, academic staff, and other support areas, to increased support for NIL Licensing, we can invest more than ever in student-athletes. To sustain increased investment in its student athletes, USC will focus on growing the Trojan Victory Fund, an unrestricted fund that allows the department to invest in all areas of student-athlete development. Our goal is to move from the bottom three of the Big Ten in annual fund support to the top three over the next five years, building a robust Trojan Victory Fund that allows us to provide student-athletes with every competitive edge, on and off the field.

4. Activate Trojan Business Network for NIL Opportunities: USC is uniquely positioned to help student-athletes build their personal brands, leverage our global brand, and maximize NIL opportunities at USC and beyond. Our network of 500,000+ alumni and location in the best sports city in America provide unlimited opportunity for student-athletes to engage in third-party NIL opportunities, and Trojan student-athletes offer brands access to millions of highly-engaged followers in key demographics. Our goal is for student-athletes across all 23 programs to secure third-party NIL deals each year. Through the Trojan Marketplace, Trojan business owners, marketing professionals, and other decision-makers can engage directly with student-athletes, and interested Trojan business leaders can fill out this Google form to receive personalized outreach from USC Athletics.

This is how we build on USC's historic legacy. This is how we help student-athletes reach their full potential in all they do. This is how we Win the Era, Together.

As we work together toward these ambitious goals, I want to thank the entire Trojan Family for helping us at every step of the way. Our competitive spirit, togetherness, passionate pride for USC, and courage to blaze the trail have built a legacy of success unmatched by any institution in the country, and this new era presents a unique opportunity to grow that legacy for years to come.

For all we've accomplished so far, we're just getting started.

Fight On!

Jen Cohen
Charles Griffin Cale Director of Athletics

University Southern California Trojans