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Mike Bohn was named the director of athletics at the University of Cincinnati on Feb. 6, 2014
Bohn's career spans thirty-plus years and includes record-setting achievements at multiple institutions.
His time in the Queen City has been impactful on and off the field. Bohn oversaw the opening of the $86-million Nippert Stadium Renovation & Expansion project, is spearheading an $87-million fundraising campaign to renovate Fifth Third Arena and has positioned UC as one of the top schools in the American Athletic Conference under his ‘Class of the League’ initiative.
Bohn has also implemented facility improvements at Gettler Stadium, Marge Schott Stadium and the Trabert-Talbert Tennis Center.
Academically, student-athletes have achieved record-setting GPA’s, achieving a 3.0 mark in 2014, 3.1 in 2014 and 3.2 in 2016. Bearcats student-athletes have hit the 3.0 GPA mark or better as a whole in 17 consecutive grading periods. UC’s APR sits a four-year average of 983 with a most recent scored of 987 from 2014-15.
Four athletics programs, men’s track & field, women’s cross country, tennis and volleyball, received Public Recognition Awards from the NCAA based upon their academic excellence from the most recent multiyear Academic Progress Rate (2015-16). Each of the four teams carry APR scores that rank among the Top 10 percent of their respective sports.
The veteran athletics administrator has been active in the community and is one of the most sought-after speakers in Cincinnati, often sharing his message of team building and collaboration with everyone from Fortune 500 companies to numerous student organizations on campus.
He is active with the Cincinnati YMCA, helping to establish a partnership between the department of athletics and organization to provide basketball and soccer equipment to young athletes. He served as the 2016 chair of the Salvation’s Army’s local campaign and also works with the local chapter of the USO on initiatives.
In 2015, Bohn was honored as an active member of Pi Kappa Alpha’s Alpha Xi Chapter for his efforts in bringing college athletics and greek life closer together. The chapter has since established the Mike Bohn Leadership Award, presented annually to an active member for excellence in leadership.
Bohn hired football head coach Luke Fickell in December 2016 and also tabbed Mandy Commons-DiSalle (swimming and diving), Scott Googins (baseball), Maureen Housom (dance), Susan Seaton (track and field) and Eric Toth (tennis) to run their respective programs during his tenure.
UC received a certificate of excellence from the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport at the University of Minnesota and is the only institution to receive an “A” grade from the Women in College Coaching Report Card in each year from 2014-17.
He has helped establish a long-term partnership with Under Armour to serve as UC’s official apparel provider, was instrumental in bringing USL soccer club FC Cincinnati to its current home in Nippert Stadium, negotiated off-site playing agreements for the men’s basketball team at Northern Kentucky’s BB&T Arena and the women’s basketball and volleyball squads at St. Ursula Academy’s Gymnasium and Convocation Center during the 2017-18 season and has expanded a beneficial relationship with longtime UC partner Pepsi, who owns pouring rights in UC’s athletics venues.
As director of athletics at the University of Colorado from 2005 to 2013, Bohn successfully led their transition to the Pac-12 Conference. CU won four conference championship titles within two years, including the first for men's basketball in over 43 years. Meanwhile, Bohn enhanced academic support for scholar-athletes, resulting in departmental highs for APR and GPA.
He oversaw several multi-million dollar capital projects and facility upgrades, as well as secured the largest corporate sponsorship in school history. In 2008, CU garnered national attention for launching the first zero-waste stadium initiative at the college or professional level. In 2013, CU was named the most economically efficient athletics department in the nation by the Laboratory for the Study of Intercollegiate Athletics at Texas A&M.
Prior to the University of Colorado, Bohn served as director of athletics at San Diego State University. Under his watch, SDSU football increased season ticket sales by 27% and game-day attendance by 59%, in addition to setting a SDSU single-game attendance record of 57,000 against Idaho State. The SDSU baseball team set a NCAA single-game attendance record of 40,000.
As director of athletics at the University of Idaho from 1999 to 2003, Bohn successfully led their transition to the Division I-A ranks from the Big Sky Conference. Under Bohn, UI began construction on the Vandal Athletics Center, the first athletic facilities improvement in two decades. Additionally, he spearheaded a 20% increase in the Vandal Scholarship Fund and a $350,000 surge in annual corporate support.
Bohn spent three years at Colorado State University as associate director of athletics. At CSU, he was responsible for all external revenue-producing operations, including: ticket sales; fundraising through the Greater Ram Club; licensing; corporate sales; signage; capital campaigns; broadcasting rights fees; and special events.
Prior to CSU, Bohn served as Director of Marketing for the College Football Association. The CFA, the precursor to the current Bowl Championship Series, consisted of six major football conferences encompassing 67 universities. Bohn assisted with the CFA's administration of a $67 million television package involving ABC, ESPN and ESPN2.
He began his athletic administrative career at the Air Force Academy, where he played a major role in increasing football season ticket sales from 6,000 to 20,000 and in implementing a fundraising campaign that generated $16 million for stadium improvements.
Bohn received a bachelor's degree from the University of Kansas, where he was recruited as a quarterback and also played baseball, and a master's degree in sports administration from Ohio University.
He is married to the former Kim Zeren, and they have a son, Brandon, and a daughter, Michaelyn Tynan, along with a son-in-law, John Tynan and grandsons, Chase and Luke Tynan.
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