University Southern California Trojans
The State of Troy | August 27: Building Together, Improving Game Day & Maximizing the Power of the Trojan Family
August 28, 2026 | Football, USC Athletics, Men's Swimming & Diving, Men's Tennis, Men's Volleyball, Women's Soccer, Women's Tennis, Women's Volleyball, Women's Beach Volleyball
Trojan Family,
A new year of USC Athletics is here. All across Troy, the energy and anticipation are palpable.
Our student-athletes have returned to campus, and our coaches and staff are ready for every championship pursuit in 2026-27. After a remarkable 2025-26 year – including a No. 7 finish in the Learfield Directors' Cup and a department-record cumulative GPA – we are proud of what our Trojans achieved in the classroom and in competition and are excited about what we can accomplish together.
Maybe it's the recent opening of the Bloom Football Performance Center that is fresh on my mind, but as we enter this new year, I find myself thinking about all we have to build on and build toward – championship programs, storied traditions, and a stronger Trojan Family. The construction at Bloom may be complete, but together, we never stop building.
At a recent senior leadership retreat, President Kim used another sports metaphor with a similar message: If we all row in the same direction, we can navigate any seas that lie ahead. The season is here, and we're ready to row.
Built by the Trojan Family
Celebrating the opening of the Bloom Football Performance Center on August 5 was a powerful and emotional moment. Seeing the excitement of our players as they entered their new home for the first time was unforgettable. So was seeing the power of the Trojan Family reflected both in the building itself and in everyone who came together to celebrate its opening.
Bloom is innovative, forward-looking, and unmistakably USC. It represents both the storied past and the bright future of our program, and by creating a new home for USC Football, we can reimagine the John McKay Center and better serve student-athletes across all 23 sports.
If you haven't experienced the building in person yet, the Bloom lobby is now open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays and from three hours before kickoff until kickoff on football game days. You can also take a photo tour here. This new gathering place for the Trojan Family tells the story of USC Football's unmatched history in one place, bringing all eight Heisman Trophies and 11 national championship trophies together for the first time.
Meanwhile, as the Heisman Trophies move to Bloom, we are looking at how to reimagine the John McKay Center to benefit our entire department and refresh Heritage Hall to honor the student-athletes and teams who have shaped the broad-based athletic success and academic preeminence of this institution.
Bloom is 100 percent donor-funded and would not be possible without the vision, generosity, expertise, and passionate pride of the Trojan Family. I want to thank the Bloom family, our Cornerstone donors, our campus, project, and construction partners, and every donor who made a gift. It is deeply meaningful to celebrate what you built with us, and we're excited to continue to transform all our spaces for the benefit of our student-athletes.
Partnerships That Expand Opportunity
Just as facilities help us create a competitive advantage, the power of partnership helps us extend the reach of the USC brand and unlock new opportunities for student-athletes and fans.
The Bloom lobby, for example, features a vertical video board and immersion room programmed in collaboration with USC's top-ranked School of Cinematic Arts, a partnership that recently produced, for the second straight year, an Emmy for our preseason hype video. Additionally, on our NFL Wall recognizing USC's unmatched success in the National Football League, the gold jacket of USC legend Frank Gifford is on display, courtesy of his son, SCA alum Cody Gifford.
Other partnerships have launched, and we are beginning to feel their impact. USC and Nike have grown together for more than 30 years, and we recently extended our all-sport partnership for another decade, through 2036.
That extension is already delivering tangible benefits. Bloom makes USC the first school in the country outfitted with Nike Strength equipment, custom-built and designed for our football program, with input from our strength and conditioning staff. Nike will also create bespoke uniform collections for USC men's and women's basketball, expand USC's women's apparel line, and team with us on a transformation of the USC Bookstore.
USC student-athletes will also join Nike Blue Ribbon Elite, Nike's NIL program, collaborating on campaigns, products, and storytelling to build their brands and create NIL opportunities. We will introduce the inaugural class in the coming weeks.
A Better Game Day, a Stronger Connection
Maximizing the power of the Trojan Family also means listening to you, learning from you, and creating better experiences at every touchpoint. Your energy changes games, your feedback helps us improve, and your engagement powers every USC victory.
Over the past year, we gathered more than 8,000 survey responses related to football game days – the most extensive game day listening effort in department history. Of the 6,304 responses collected after last season's seven home games, 82 percent said they were satisfied or very satisfied with their overall Coliseum experience. That is encouraging, but it does not make us complacent. We are studying what fans tell us, acting where we can, and continuing to ask for feedback because we will never stop working to improve Saturdays at the Coliseum.
Some of the changes fans will see this season include a new in-stadium host, Hayley Elwood; a rebuilt USC Gameday app; pregame fireworks 90 and 60 minutes prior to kickoff; and the return of Game Day Experiences. We're also excited for a season-long slate of promotions, new food and beverage offerings, and more.
These changes and celebrations will come to life across what we believe is the best home schedule in the country, highlighted by Coliseum matchups against preseason No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Oregon. We will keep asking, listening, learning, and improving – because the work of building a world-class game day experience is never finished.
Honoring Alumni
Honoring, recognizing, and celebrating the former student-athletes who built USC's championship legacy is essential to connecting generations of Trojans. As previously shared, the USC Athletics Hall of Fame will return this academic year, and we will announce the new class and recognition plans in the coming weeks.
Additionally, we hope you will join us this fall at Rawlinson Stadium on October 8 as we celebrate the 10-year anniversary of our 2016 women's soccer national championship team when the Women of Troy take on Illinois.
Championship anniversary celebrations are also planned throughout the year to recognize the 1976 women's volleyball national championship team (50 years); the 2017 beach volleyball national championship team (10 years); the 2002 men's tennis national championship team (25 years); and the 1977 national championship teams in men's swimming, women's tennis, and men's volleyball (50 years). Details on these celebrations will be shared as they are finalized.
These champions set the standard at USC, and we are working every day to raise it. After back-to-back top-10 finishes, we are pursuing USC's first Learfield Directors' Cup and looking to add to our 139 national titles. Our expectations remain clear: to win championships, achieve academic preeminence, and ensure USC is THE PLACE TO BE for student-athletes to reach their full potential.
Thank you for everything you do for our student-athletes. I can't wait to see you on campus this Saturday and all year long for what promises to be an unforgettable year for USC Athletics.
Fight On,
Jen Cohen
Charles Griffin Cale Director of Athletics
