NCAA hammers USC Trojans

[Don]

http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/n ... id=5272615

The University of Southern California has received a two-year bowl ban and a sharp loss of football scholarships in a report on the NCAA's four-year investigation of the school.

The NCAA cited USC for a lack of institutional control Thursday in its long-awaited report, which detailed numerous violations primarily involving Heisman Trophy-winning tailback Reggie Bush and men's basketball player O.J. Mayo

The violations, which span almost four years, primarily involved "agent and amateurism issues for a former football student-athlete and a former men's basketball student-athlete," the NCAA wrote in its report.

USC said it would appeal portions of the penalty.

"We acknowledge that violations occurred and we take full responsibility for them," said Todd Dickey, USC's senior vice president for administration, in a statement. "However, we sharply disagree with many of the findings in the NCAA Committee on Infractions Report. Further, we feel the penalties imposed are too severe for the violations identified in the report."

The NCAA found that Bush was ineligible beginning at least by December 2004, a ruling that could open discussion on the revocation of his Heisman Trophy. Members of the Heisman Trophy Trust have said they might review Bush's award if he was ruled ineligible by the NCAA.

"The Heisman Trophy Trust will have a comment at the appropriate time," the group said in a statement. "Until that time, it will have no comment."

The NCAA also ordered USC to vacate every victory in which Bush participated while ineligible. USC beat Oklahoma in the BCS championship game on Jan. 4, 2005, and won 12 games during Bush's Heisman-winning 2005 season, which ended with a loss to Texas in the Rose Bowl.

The ruling is a sharp repudiation of the Trojans' decade of success under former coach Pete Carroll, when USC won seven straight Pac-10 titles and two national championships. Carroll left the school for the NFL's Seattle Seahawks in January.

While the bowl ban is the most damaging to new coach Lane Kiffin, USC also will lose 30 scholarships over a three-year period, 10 annually from 2011-13. The Trojans received four years of probation.

The Trojans have been under suspicion for years. The NCAA, the Pac-10 and even the FBI conducted investigations into the Bush family's business relationships and USC's responsibility for the culture around its marquee football team.

USC officials including Garrett and Kiffin appeared before the NCAA infractions committee in February to argue the school's ignorance of Bush's dealings.

The report also criticized "an assistant football coach" known to be running backs coach Todd McNair, putting him on a one-year "show-cause penalty" prohibiting him from recruiting, among other sanctions.

The NCAA condemned McNair's professed ignorance of Bush's dealings with sports marketers Lloyd Lake and Michael Michaels. Each sued Bush in attempts to recoup nearly $300,000 in cash and gifts they say were accepted by Bush's family during his career with the Trojans while they attempted to sign him as their company's first client.

"I have a great love for the University of Southern California and I very much regret the turn that this matter has taken, not only for USC, but for the fans and players," Bush said in a statement.

"I am disappointed by [Thursday's] decision and disagree with the NCAA's findings. If the University decides to appeal, I will continue to cooperate with the NCAA and USC, as I did during the investigation. In the meantime, I will continue to focus on making a positive impact for the University and for the community where I live," Bush said.

USC is the first Football Bowl Subdivision school to be banned from postseason play since Alabama served a two-year ban ending in 2003. The NCAA issued no bowl bans during the tenure of late president Myles Brand, but the NCAA reportedly regained interest in the punishment over the past year.

USC has long been known for its lenient admission policy at football practices, which during Carroll's tenure was open to almost anybody, from movie stars to regular fans. No longer: The NCAA also prohibited all non-university personnel, except media and a few others, from attending practices and camps -- or even standing on the sidelines during games, a favorite pastime of Will Ferrell and other wealthy USC alumni.

The Trojans barely avoided further punishment that would have removed one of the sport's most popular teams from television.

"The committee seriously contemplated imposing a television ban penalty in this case," the report states. "However, after careful consideration, it ultimately decided that the penalties below adequately respond to the nature of violations and the level of institutional responsibility."

The report also condemned the star treatment afforded to Bush and Mayo, saying USC's oversight of its top athletes ran contrary to the fundamental principles of amateur sports.

"The general campus environment surrounding the violations troubled the committee," the report said.

"Elite athletes in high profile sports with obvious great future earnings potential may see themselves as something apart from other student-athletes and the general student population," the NCAA report said. "Institutions need to assure that their treatment on campus does not feed into such a perception."

The NCAA took no further action against the men's basketball team, which had already banned itself from postseason play last spring and vacated its wins from Mayo's only season with the Trojans.

The women's tennis team also was cited in the report for unauthorized phone calls made by a former player, but the NCAA accepted USC's earlier vacation of its wins between November 2006 and May 2009.

In announcing its appeal, USC said it would accept the rulings for men's basketball and women's tennis.

"We will accept those sanctions we believe to be consistent with penalties imposed upon other NCAA member institutions found guilty of similar rules infractions," Dickey said. "We are hopeful that the NCAA Infractions Appeals Committee will agree with our position on appeal, and reduce the penalties."

"There is a systemic problem facing college athletes today: unscrupulous sports agents and sports marketers," Dickey said in the statement. "The question is how do we identify them and keep them away from our student-athletes? To provide us with recommendations about the best way to protect our student-athletes and their families from those who seek to violate the rules, we have retained the Freeh Group, headed by former federal judge and ex-FBI director Louis Freeh.

"Our success in athletics and the outstanding individuals we recruit make our student-athletes an attractive target for those seeking to take unfair advantage of them," Dickey said. "We cannot and will not tolerate this. Our program must set the highest standards in the country. USC deserves that and our 640 student-athletes deserve that."

Dickey said that USC will not comment about specific elements of its position while it is in the appeals process.

"Elite athletes in high profile sports with obvious great future earnings potential may see themselves as something apart from other student-athletes and the general student population," the NCAA report said. "Institutions need to assure that their treatment on campus does not feed into such a perception."

USC already admitted wrongdoing with the basketball program and sanctioned itself, including a ban on postseason participation, a reduction of scholarships and vacating all of its wins from 2007-08.

Floyd is now the head coach at the University of Texas-El Paso.

"We are pleased with today's announcement and the results of the NCAA's report," UTEP athletic director Bob Stull said in a statement. "Tim Floyd has had a nearly 30-year relationship with UTEP and we regard him not only as an outstanding coach, but as an individual of the highest character. I'm sure that Tim is happy to put this behind him and we look forward to him leading our basketball program."

[Ehwmatt]

Pete Carroll is such a scumbag, fuck those young kids chacnes to play in bowl games over and hightail it outta there

[Don]

I don't why they had Kiffin, not Caroll before the NCAA infractions committee unless they think his time under Caroll as offensive coordinator qualifies him to speak for the university over matters from that time period. Kiffin has his own issues with irregularities that occurred under his watch at Tennesee. Does Caroll just get off scot free here?

[Rockindeano]

Pete Carroll is such a scumbag, fuck those young kids chacnes to play in bowl games over and hightail it outta there

Dude, how exactly is it a coaches fault one of his "student athletes" got hooked up with agents and cash, cars and houses? Carroll can be and should be responsible for some things but not the out of control shit Bush did. The real scumbags are Bush and Mayo, who both now are millionaires a few times over and could care less about their alma mater.

Also, here's a question. Bush was declared inelgible during the time he won the Heisman. Should he vacate that trophy and should they come after him and take it back? And if so, do you give it to say Vince Young? Thoughts?

By the way, I love this. I HATE USC more than any team in the NCAA.

[Don]

Pete Carroll is such a scumbag, fuck those young kids chacnes to play in bowl games over and hightail it outta there

Dude, how exactly is it a coaches fault one of his "student athletes" got hooked up with agents and cash, cars and houses? Carroll can be and should be responsible for some things but not the out of control shit Bush did. The real scumbags are Bush and Mayo, who both now are millionaires a few times over and could care less about their alma mater.

Also, here's a question. Bush was declared inelgible during the time he won the Heisman. Should he vacate that trophy and should they come after him and take it back? And if so, do you give it to say Vince Young? Thoughts?

By the way, I love this. I HATE USC more than any team in the NCAA.

I think they will vacate it completely for that season, the seem thing they will do for the BCS trophy they got. That doesn't go to Oklahoma.

[Don]

Rick Neuheisel has to be loving this. He's been there himself with the NCAA infractions committee, but nothing like this.

[Ehwmatt]

Pete Carroll is such a scumbag, fuck those young kids chacnes to play in bowl games over and hightail it outta there

Dude, how exactly is it a coaches fault one of his "student athletes" got hooked up with agents and cash, cars and houses? Carroll can be and should be responsible for some things but not the out of control shit Bush did. The real scumbags are Bush and Mayo, who both now are millionaires a few times over and could care less about their alma mater.

Also, here's a question. Bush was declared inelgible during the time he won the Heisman. Should he vacate that trophy and should they come after him and take it back? And if so, do you give it to say Vince Young? Thoughts?

By the way, I love this. I HATE USC more than any team in the NCAA.

Because they are a buncha young dumb kids who I would guess grew up in less than the most lavish of circumstances. I can't fault them too much for taking illicit shit. Hell, who knows how it was done, they might not have even known how wrong it is. DO you have any idea how impressionable they musta been at that age coming from those circumstances? The coaches knew this shit was going on and didn't clamp down on it in their desire to make their millions and move to the NFL and do whatever the fuck else.

Also, I wasn't so much as sympathizing/commiserating for Bush and Mayo as I was for kids who might be on the USC team now or who are committed to go there who now won't be able to even have a chance of competing in a bowl game... something you'd normally expect going to USC as an athletic recruit.

[Saint John]

The NFL and the NCAA have to form some sort of partnership whereby these athletes can be held accountable in the future. Using a scorched earth policy does nothing but fuck those after you. Fuck, if Roethlisberger can't go out and partake in perfectly legal activites without getting suspended for 6 games, what's gonna happen to a guy that de-legitimized an entire college football season??? Nothing, I suspect.

[ScarabGator]

they deserve it

[S2M]

they deserve it

Yes, but the current recruits do not.

[Saint John]

they deserve it

Yes, but the current recruits do not.

Agreed. Imagine this being your senior season and having to pay for some other asshole's sins from 7 years ago? It's total bullshit and the NFL and NCAA need to do what I suggested above or explore something similar. These scholarship athletes should have to go through extensive "do's and don'ts" schooling and maybe even sign a contract holding them accountable civilly if they ever cheat and accept gifts. I think the commisioner of the NFL should suspend Bush for a full year. That would make a point.

[ScarabGator]

the university is paying for it. When you go to USC , especially under Lane Kiffin you better expect bullshit.