Haden on the first regular season under Steve Sarkisian...
It was an up-and-down season. We had two Top 15 road wins at the time over Stanford and Arizona plus a great victory over our natural rival Notre Dame, but we had two bad losses to Boston College and UCLA. The other two losses I felt like we gave away, so it is a shame looking back at the season that if we had not given up the Hail Mary to Arizona State, we would have won the Pac-12 South. We have higher expectations than eight wins at USC, but I am optimistic about the future with most of our offense expected to return, especially the young offensive line, which is the foundation of any great offense. Cody Kessler put together a phenomenal year statistically, and he will be a Heisman Trophy candidate next season. Plus, I expect us to sign another outstanding recruiting class and continue to rebuild our ranks to compete in the Pac-12, which will be good again next year.Haden on Louis Zamperini and the premiere of Unbroken...
I had the great pleasure of meeting Louis Zamperini a couple times. It was significant to me not only because of what he did, but my father was a World War II veteran, and I have a strong appreciation for the "Greatest Generation." When I read Unbroken, I thought to myself, "This can't be true. Somebody has to be making this up." I am looking forward to seeing how the book translates to the big screen. Louis exemplifies the Fight On spirit. We honored him all season by wearing a "Z" on our helmets, and now we are endowing a track and field scholarship in his name. He will always be fondly remembered by me and the Trojan Family.
Click here to donate to the Louis Zamperini endowed scholarship.
Haden on any Coliseum updates...
Since it is an old facility, we are trying to get a true cost of this renovation project. We do not want to prepare for X and then it ends up costing X + Y. So, we are still in the process for about the next three months with engineers and architects determining that number. In the meantime, I am fundraising and looking at design concepts. We are making slow, but steady progress.
Haden on his first year on the College Football Playoff committee...We are all really committed to this job. We understand the importance of trying to get it right in this first year in particular. We all really care about college athletics and football. Having said all that, when we vote on Sunday, those teams that finish fifth, sixth and seventh all could have won the national championship. They will feel bitter and disappointed. We understand that, but we have a cut line at four. It will be a hard, spirited debate, and all the committee members will be prepared.
Haden on men's water polo going for its seventh straight national championship...
Jovan Vavic is the best coach in the country at his sport. If he can pull this off, as the No. 3 seed, they are quickly running out of ring fingers. It is another incredible run, and then he will exhale for about 15 minutes and start up with the women's team, which also has a great shot to win a national championship.
Haden on his future as athletic director...
I hear from friends that there are rumors about me stepping away from this job, but that is not in my plans at this time. I am fully engaged in this job and love working with our great staff, coaches and student-athletes here. We have a lot of work to do in the future. Yes, I am getting older, but my health is fine. I am looking forward to a great 2015 in USC athletics.
