NCAA completes hearing


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The NCAA committee completed its three-day hearing Saturday night on the alledged infractions committed by the University of Southern California athletic department.

The accusations stem from possible violations made by USC basketball and football players dating back to at least 2005.

One of two dozen participants in the hearings included new USC football coach Lane Kiffen.  “I’ve never moved less in a 72-hour period,” Kiffin said after the meeting.

Although the hearings usually feature several universities presenting numerous cases, this hearing was reserved for USC only.

David Price, NCAA’s vice president for enforcement services, called it the longest infractions meeting he had ever been to.

Of the three-day hearing, two days were dedicated to football alone, punctuated by the 2006 Yahoo! Sports report that former USC running back Reggie Bush received as much as $300,000 in gifts during his time at the school.

The committee is also investigating after ESPN and Yahoo! reported that former USC basketball star O.J. Mayo also received gifts on multiple occasions.

The NCAA’s decision to place any sanctions on USC including any punishments or fines will take at least six weeks, but considering the complexity of the case (there were seven boxes of documents used during the hearing), it could take longer.

The severity of the punishments will depend on the extent to which the university and coaches’ had knowledge of the violations.

Other notable attendees were former football coach Pete Carroll, running backs coach Todd McNair, former basketball coach Tim Floyd and current basketball assistant, Bob Cantu.