The university of Southern California will begin a national search after Lynn Swann resigned as director of athletics earlier this week. Dave Roberts, currently a special adviser to USC President Carol L. Folt, will serve as interim athletic director.
“Lynn has been a leader on and off the field at USC for nearly five decades, and he will forever be a valued member of the Trojan Family,” Folt wrote in a letter to the university community.
During Swann’s three-year tenure as athletic director, USC athletes have won five national championships in five different women’s and men’s sports. Student-athletes’ cumulative GPA for the past two years and overall graduation rate of 86 percent last year were all-time highs for USC Athletics.
Roberts came to USC in the summer of 2010 as vice president of athletics compliance, and in 2017 was named winner of the National Association for Athletics Compliance’s highest award, the Frank Kara Leadership Award. Roberts currently serves as the NCAA’s vice chair of the committee on infractions.
Prior to his appointment at USC, Roberts practiced law as a litigator in complex commercial cases for more than 30 years. He was a partner with the law firm Paul Hastings LLP and the founding and managing partner of law firm Roberts, Raspe & Blanton LLP. He is admitted to practice before the courts of the State of California, the Federal District Courts in California, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. He began his career as a law clerk for United States District Court Judge A. Andrew Hauk.
Roberts received his bachelor’s degree in history from the University of California, Davis and his J.D. from the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law. While at UC Davis, he was named to the 1972 American Football Coaches Association Kodak Small College All-America Football Team. He was inducted into the Cal Aggie Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013.
“His experience, relationships and understanding of collegiate athletics, including as a student-athlete at UC Davis, make him well-qualified to lead the department during this period,” Folt said.
