USC officials to sit with infractions committee
A contingent of Trojans heading to Tempe, Ariz. usually means a forthcoming USC-Arizona State football game.
This time, however, the tone is a little bit different.
After months of speculation and intrigue, USC officials will finally get a chance Thursday to hear from the NCAA infractions committee on violations the football and basketball programs might have committed.
Officials from the athletic department will present statements and answer questions while meeting with the 10-member NCAA infractions committee and enforcement staff.
The meetings will be closed to the public, but a court reporter will be present and the proceedings will be recorded.
The infractions committee can then either decide to impose sanctions of its own against the athletic department or decide that the departments’s self-imposed sanctions to be adequate.
The self-imposed sanctions included the USC men’s basketball team vacating wins from the 2007-2008 season and a forfeiture of all postseason activity for the current season.
The Trojans will forgo the Pac-10 tournament and will not accept any invitation to a postseason tournament, including the NCAA tournament and the National Invitational Tournament.
Although reports about who will attend the meetings on behalf of USC have conflicted, the Los Angeles Times has reported that former USC men’s basketball coach Tim Floyd will be present. The Times also reported that former USC football coach Pete Carroll might appear, either in person or via videoconference.
Athletic Director Mike Garrett and outgoing university President Steven B. Sample are also expected to attend the meetings.
The meetings will take place over the course of a few days, but the final public report and decision might not arrive for another 10 weeks, as has been the case in recent NCAA hearings, including Florida State University and the University of Memphis.
After extended hearings of their own, the Florida State vacated 12 football victories and were placed on probation for four years by the NCAA. The Seminoles also had six total scholarships deducted from the team over the course of three consecutive recruiting seasons.
The University of Memphis’ sanctions included more than $500,000 in fines and the forfeiture of 38 victories from the 2007-2008 baksetball season.
USC needs to put its house in order. As a close friend and Northwestern MBA once said to me, “people don’t go to Northwestern to play with balls”….or something close to that. USC as one of the nation’s great universities cannot let ball playing in all shapes affect its academic standing and rankings. Parents pay an incredible price to have their offspring attend this university. Atlhletes and overpaid coaches cannot ruin what it means to be a real Trojan, not just a jock. Carroll blew town knowing what was coming, and Floyd well he’s just plain lacking in ethics it would appear. Garrett needs to be dismissed in my opinion, he can’t duck this one. Let’s wait and see but it’s more than time for ‘SC to put things in order, and that means putting the football and basketball programs in their proper prospective. This is a university after all, it’s not the NFL, and they needn’t be pursuing a #1 ranking for its own sake. It’s gotten them, exactly nowhere it seems. I’d rather they be in the USN&WR top 10 than the AP top 10….that’s what it’s all about.