USC waiting on impending sanctions


Reported and promised many times over, the NCAA Infractions Committee again did not deliver its final verdict on USC’s infraction hearing from February of this year on Friday — as had been expected — leaving the university and the Trojan faithful on edge for at least a few more days.

Still waiting · The sword of Damocles hangs over first-year coach Lane Kiffin, pictured here at his introductory press conference in February. - Tim Tran | Summer Trojan

University officials, including President Steven Sample, Athletic Director Mike Garrett and former USC coach Pete Carroll, sat with the NCAA in Tempe, Ariz., earlier this year to discuss possible infractions surrounding USC’s athletic department. Under scrutiny at the meetings were allegations of improper benefits given to athletes, including former Trojans O.J. Mayo and Reggie Bush.

In similar situations in the past, the NCAA’s infractions board had delivered verdicts within eight to 12 weeks, prompting many to believe that the news would break before graduation in May. However, the end of the semester came and went without a decision, leaving national news sources scrambling to anticipate the announcement.

Two weeks ago, word came from a variety of sources, including Yahoo! Sports, that the committee was ready to release its findings, yet no announcement was made.

As May came to a close without a hint of a resolution, the first week of June again brought speculation that an announcement was imminent;  again, the promised day passed by without any decision or clarification from the NCAA.

Although difficult to anticipate, USC Assistant Vice president for Media Relations James Grant told USA Today that common protocol for such announcements includes 48-hour notice for the university before the committee makes an official announcement. In the past, the NCAA has also given the university in question a copy of the report up to 24 hours prior to the NCAA calling any news conference regarding the matter.

USC coach Lane Kiffin, whose football team will be at the center of the committee’s findings when the sanctions are announced, appeared on ESPN’s talk show Jim Rome is Burning Monday afternoon and told Rome that he had not heard any news regarding an impending announcement.

The allegations surrounding Bush stemmed from his relationship with sports marketing firm New Era Sports & Entertainment during his time at USC. Bush recently settled a civil dispute with New Era co-founder Lloyd Lake to avoid submitting a public disposition on the matter.

Mayo’s one year at USC has also stirred controversy because of the relationship among the former Trojan point guard Mayo, confidant Rodney Guillory and the university.

In January, USC took steps to stem the tide of the investigation by self-imposing sanctions on the men’s basketball team because of the controversy surrounding Mayo, forgoing the right to postseason play and reducing the number of basketball scholarships available.

Among its decisions, the committee will decide whether the self-imposed sanctions for the team were adequate or require a more severe punishment.

News outlets are reporting that the sanctions will be released this week, citing an anonymous source in the athletic department.

20 replies
  1. Henry
    Henry says:

    Seems awefully funny that once the dust had settled about the shady deals & goings on at U$C, all of their students disappeared. I really cannot blame them, I would be embarrased myself if the whole world suddenly knew the whole truth about my college & It’s corrupt ways! CHEAT ON!!

    • Kenny
      Kenny says:

      Typical U¢LA moron!!!! GET A LIFE man, none of us care what you think of our athletic program. If you want to keep accusing us for cheating then lets talk about your papa Sam Gilbert shall we? We all know he paid recruits to come play for Johnny Woodie, no wonder why he won so many championships. Does DeShaun Foster ring a bell? Jimmy Harrick?

      U-¢-L-A cheats cheats cheats!!!!
      Get a Life RUIN

  2. Henry
    Henry says:

    Here is todays joke of the day.
    How do you know if Carroll, Kiffin, Garret, Bush or Mayo are lying?
    Because their mouths moved!

  3. Henry
    Henry says:

    I would like to respond to several people on this forum.

    To Antonio, yes you do care or else you would not take the time to respond back in such an eloquent manner. I would not want to be associated with a university that is now synonomous with cheating & being corrupt, boy will Jay Leno be having fun at your expense over the next few weeks! I love to bash & gloat you on your website just the same way that your fellow students do it to us.

    To Lee, Thats a great story, so well written with a lot of human emotion, maybe you can sell it to the lifetime channel! If having pride about your school means having it’s most famous alumni as a double murderer, than I would much rather go to comunity college!

    To Trojan 88, I have a giant box of kleenex for you! By the way, change what you are wearing, denial does not look good on you.

    To Die Bruins, You have some dam nerve, you guys get nailed & you want to blame us for it! Regarding the LA Times comment, they are 100% USC through & through, they must be getting a big time kickback from USC to be writing all of those nice & beautiful pieces about your invincible football team.

    Today was an awesome day because everybody now knows the truth about the most corrupt football program ever! Anyone & everyone associated with U$C will remember today as the day that the NCAA sodomized you guys with absolutely no lubrication!!!!!

  4. die bRUINs
    die bRUINs says:

    What doesn’t surprise me, is the fact that those envious losers from Westwood didn’t hesitate to pounce on this issue. They gloat at us, and did likewise last year when Floyd resigned. Look at the LA Times and other media, read the comments, and you’ll see all this spite coming from, who else? Talk about inferiority complex huh?

    You guys are so pathetic! I don’t even want to spell out your name nor your school. Get a life.

    • trojan88
      trojan88 says:

      The NCAA is a HUGE part of the problem. They are as criminal as the allegations they claim. Instead of imposing sanctions on USC & the football program – they should add a rule: NO PRO FOOTBALL CONTRACTS OFFERED TO STUDENT ATHLETES UNLESS THEY ARE VERIFIED GRADUATING SENIORS. Reggie Bush IS NO representative of the USC football legacy. He isn’t even an alumni – he didn’t graduate. He was obviously too “bratty” to stay in student housing. What university should be expected to house “the family” unless it is in University family housing & they are married? ‘SC has survived sanctions in the past – but you know what – they will just return to non-minority football student athlete recruitment. Yes, the USC football team was historically non-minority. But, give an athlete, or a minority athlete – a chance at a first rate education while playing the sport they enjoy and they blow it…do you know how many good, academically solid and/or talented students should receive scholarships because they actually graduate ? Yes, punish Bush – take away “his” stats, “his” Heisman – and monetarily punish him – make him return the scholarship money USC gave “him”. Bush USED USC – the USC football program and the past, present & future football team members shouldn’t be victimized. And people had problems because Carroll started recruiting stand-out non-minorities from faith-based academically excelling high schools for college student football players. JOHN WAYNE, PALMER, BOOTY, LEINERT, BARKLEY, CORPS – all student athletes representative of the USC football program and student athlete legacy. Stop “Hating”….Reggie Bush ain’t USC football. And true to form – ‘SC imposed their own sanctions in the basketball program – if they did something wrong – they are willing to be accountable. USC should be applauded – as always. 1880 – 1925 no minorities in USC football. In 1970 Sam Cunningham (USC) forced the Ole South to see they better start integrating college football programs by blowing Alabama out of the water. Sounds like the ‘Ole South is screaming desegregation again by using the beauracracy of the BCS and NCAA.

  5. Davey
    Davey says:

    You got the word now. Kiffin Karma has made its grand appearance, USC fans! Seems like scumball football coaches congregate at your citadel of learning, huh? Pete Carroll is a saint compared to the piece of work you got on campus now, so you all had better get ready for multiple times on probabtion. Kiffin Karma is a bitch, isn’t it???

  6. Lee
    Lee says:

    Henry,

    No matter what you say or how much you hate USC, no one who actually goes here is going to think “gee, you’re right”. We love this school and have so much pride in it. Our school is not defined by a football team. We are members of the Trojan Family, and that stays with you for life. We don’t produce “murderers and rapists”. We produce graduates such as Neil Armstrong, George Lucas, and John Wayne. We are one of the most selective universities in the countries, with applicants having the highest GPAs and SAT scores. We have one of the greatest marching bands in college history that has played at both the Grammys and the Academy Awards. Our women’s water polo and men’s tennis teams both won national championships this spring (WITHOUT cheating). We have one of the best alumni networks of any college or university. And the fact that we are located in downtown LA (which seriously isn’t bad, get off your Westwood high horse) and our school is still so competitive shows how strongly people want to become a Trojan. So say what you like, but the hundreds of thousands of USC students and alumni that love this school don’t care. Because believe it or not, the vast majority of us actually chose to come here for reasons BESIDE the football team. Go Trojans, and Fight On!

  7. Henry
    Henry says:

    If I remember correctly, UCLA was kicking the shit out of U$C for 8 straight years until Pete “the Cheat” Carroll came to town with his arsenal of cheating tactics! Well today was payback day for all of the dirty & corrupt ways that have now been accepted as the norm at that college in South Central! Your college is now officially synonomous with cheating, unethical, unscrupulous, tainted, & lying ways.

    • Antonio
      Antonio says:

      Dearest Henry,

      You are on the website of USC’s student newspaper, not the Daily Bruin or ESPN. It should be easy to deduce that most of the visitors to this website are going to be USC students, alumni, or fans.

      So when posters like yourself or Tim come here with your insults, name-calling, and hyperbole, I become very confused. Do you intend for us to repent for our “cheating” ways? Is your goal to make us feel guilty for the Pete Carroll era of USC football? Would you prefer that we forfeit our mascot just because of a few years of NCAA sanctions?

      Alas, I cannot read your mind, but I can tell you this. We don’t care. Yes, we are disappointed for the bowl ban and yes, we feel that heads should roll for the athletic department’s inability to supervise its student-athletes. But we’re still Trojans and thus, aren’t going to care about your opinion of our alma mater.

      Fight On!

      Alex

  8. Dan
    Dan says:

    So if the sanctions are handed down as expected, doesn’t that mean that Reggie accepted prohibited benefits from a sports agent? If that is the case doesn’t that make him an ineligible player from the time he received the benefits? If that is the case, doesn’t SC have to vacate the wins that he played in as an ineligible player?
    Either USC needs to be completely exonerated or the wins need to be vacated as well if he is found to be ineligible.
    I am not a Bruin. I’m just sayin

  9. Rich
    Rich says:

    Henry – even if USC is found to have cheated, at least they win NC’s. ucla cheats all teh time, and no one cares, because they still SUCK. How embarrassing for you and your like.

    FIGHT ON!

  10. Stephen
    Stephen says:

    Rumor has it that USC will be banned from any bowl games for 2 years and lose 20 scholarships. I find this insane since anyone associated with the infractions isn’t even at SC anymore. So the NCAA is actually punishing people who had NOTHING to do with the incidents in question and are completely innocent of any wrongdoings. As for the negative comments about USC cheating, it sounds like sour grapes from a bunch of losers that have gotten their butts kicked by the men of Troy! Hold your heads high Trojans! FIGHT ON!

  11. Henry
    Henry says:

    To Alum. D Day is coming tomorrow for U$C! Hopefully they should get what they ( even though you will not admit it) deserve which is loss of bowls for 2 years, loss of scholarships, and no television coverage. If they do skate, it will probably be because they probably “DONATED” some money to the higher ups in the NCAA. CHEAT ON ALUM! FYI, when your team starts to suck this year, you can donate Traveler to a nice glue company who will put him to good use!

  12. Henry
    Henry says:

    This message goes out to As If, morals are morals & what is right is right just as wrong is wrong. Everybody & their dog knows that USC is nothing but a bunch of liars, cheaters & hypocrites! Funny how once the word came down that USC was finally going to be investigated that the first rat to jump ship was Pete ” The Cheat ” Carroll. Everybody knows that USC may produce great football players, but they also know that they produce murderers, rapists, cocaine & alcohol abusers, wife beaters, steroid abusers & it is also fitting to know that their college is located on the corner of Urine Ave & Drive By Shooting Way! Also,please do not talk bad about someone who has recently passed away. This alone speaks volumes of the type of low class individual that you really are! At least our coach did not abandon our team when the long arm of the law came calling!

    • Alum
      Alum says:

      To Henry: Get off this website and spew your venom somewhere else. Your slanderous statements are full of fabrications and slime. Your gutty little Bruin players have been caught red handed over the last few years and players have been suspended. Now that you have Slick Rick back, watch out for more recruiting violations. He is the master. He was shown the door in Washington and Colorado.
      What a bunch of losers.

  13. Jonathan
    Jonathan says:

    As if: It’s not just Bruins that are hoping that cheating sc will finally be dealt with and that their program will officially be exposed as the fraud that it truly is. Fans, like me, around the country are hoping that the NCAA investigative committee made the right decisions and that for years to come sc is used as an example of what can happen to schools that disregard the rules and constantly cheat.

    Hopefully the football national championship whereby sc had to resort to cheating is taken away…that will send a strong message to the rest of the country regarding what a disgrace sc is to sports and to academia in general.

  14. Tim
    Tim says:

    Time to hand out a severe punishment and end the culture of constant cheating. If you can’t play by the rules, don’t play at all.

    • As If
      As If says:

      Spoken like a true bRUIN. Ever hear the saying, “those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones?” It applies to your dead coach Wooden more than anybody.

Comments are closed.