Southern California on the cusp of a first-of-its-kind position in college football, USA TODAY Sports has learned.
Lincoln Riley’s program is expected to name Conor McQuiston as its first-ever director of artificial intelligence for college football, two people familiar with the move confirmed to USA TODAY Sports. The people requested anonymity because the hiring had not been announced. McQuiston is expected to be named to the post Wednesday, June 10.
McQuiston, who has past experience working in analytics in both the NFL and college football, will report directly to USC general manager Chad Bowden, son of former Major League Baseball general manager Jim Bowden. In his previous role as Notre Dame’s general manager, Chad Bowden hired the program’s first-ever director of analytics Anthony Treash.
People in the Southern California program familiar with the move to elevate McQuiston into the position believe the Trojans are the first team in college football to name a director of AI for football — an emerging element in the sport that former LSU and Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly discussed last month with USA TODAY Sports.
Recently, USC received a $200 million gift, targeted for AI research and utilization, from billionaire Mark Stevens and his wife, Mary. Mark Stevens is a USC alum and minority owner in the NBA’s Golden State Warriors.
Members of the Trojans football program touted the willingness of athletics director Jennifer Cohen to embrace the move of naming McQuiston as the program’s initial head of AI People with knowledge of the move told USA TODAY Sports that Southern California also intends to hire additional, full-time staffers to support the football program’s analytics department and research.
Riley is preparing for his fifth season as Trojans head coach. His team return 15 starters, including quarterback Jayden Maiava. USC opens the 2026 season, their third as a member of the Big Ten, at home on Aug. 29 against San Jose State.
