On a day of comings and goings at Auburn, John Cohen was named athletic director by the university Monday. Cohen comes to Auburn after serving in the same role at Mississippi State for the past seven years.
Earlier in the day, Auburn let go of head football coach Bryan Harsin who was on the job less than two years.
Prior to serving as athletic director at Mississippi State, Cohen was the head baseball coach for the Bulldogs and at Kentucky.
Cohen is a native of Tuscaloosa, and he attended Birmingham-Southern College before transferring to Mississippi State where he completed his degree while lettering on the baseball team.
During Cohen’s tenure as AD in Starkville, he oversaw and guided the athletics program to unprecedented success. In addition to winning a baseball national championship, the Bulldogs athletic programs captured multiple SEC championships in a single season for the first time since 1996.
Cohen was also responsible for numerous coaching searches and hirings, including hiring baseball coach Chris Lemonis and football coach Mike Leach. Under his direction, Mississippi State constructed a state-of-the-art baseball stadium and made significant upgrades to the football facility and the Templeton Athletic Academic Center.
It is believed that Cohen’s contract will be a five-year deal that pays $1.5 million annually with additional incentive pay. This compensatory package is a noted increase for Auburn; former AD Allen Greene was paid $625,000 per year.
Coincidentally, the Auburn football team will travel to Mississippi State on Saturday to play the Bulldogs.
Yellowhammer News will update this post.
Ben Richardson is contributing writer for Yellowhammer News.
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