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USC Hammered by NCAA Investigators

Jun 10, 2010, 7:02 PM UTC

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â†µ Moses has come down from the mountain, and he is seriously annoyed at USC's golden calf (PDF). And how: while the Trojans have received the two-year postseason ban that had been rumored over the past week, the 20-scholarship reduction was actually generous. The Trojans will lose a whopping 30 scholarships, 10 each for the next three years. The committee "seriously contemplated" a television ban, but decided against it "after careful consideration." â†µ

â†µâ†µThat is essentially equal to the hammering Miami got in 1995 after a fraudulent Pell Grant scheme facilitated $400,000 worth of payments to Miami players. A year after self-imposing a reduction in seven scholarships, the NCAA imposed 24 additional losses over two years. Miami struggled to maintain the dominance it had established in the 80s and early 90s, losing at least three games every year from 1995 to 1999, a fallow period that ended in 2000 and only stopped once Larry Coker finally put a bullet in the Hurricane dynasty.â†µ

â†µâ†µUSC could be in for a fallow period like that, especially since the Bylaw Blog points out two NCAA bylaws that will result in a feeding frenzy. 14.8.2 says the Committee on Infractions can recommend a waiver to allow athletes to transfer and play immediately if the postseason ban lasts for the rest of their eligibility; 13.1.1.3.3 states that such contact does not require a release. It is now open season on USC seniors and juniors. Also: Lane Kiffin. â†µ

â†µâ†µBackwards-looking penalties include vacation of all games the ineligible student-athlete participated in after December of 2004, specifically including one particular game that resulted in a shiny trophy:â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥â†µâ‡¥Vacation of all wins in which the former football student-athlete competed while ineligible, beginning in December 2004. This vacation includes participation in any postseason competition, including football bowl games.â†µâ‡¥

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â†µThe BCS bylaws in question:â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥â†µâ‡¥“When the NCAA or a conference makes a finding of violations and imposes a sanction of forfeiture or vacation of contests in which an ineligible student-athlete participated, we will presume that vacation of participation in a BCS bowl game is warranted.”â†µâ‡¥

â†µâ†µâ†µWhite-gloved men will be removing a crystal football from USC’s campus in the relatively near future. A “Nopeat.com” billboard is all but assured. â†µ

â†µâ†µAnd that’s it, aside from a women’s tennis player who got in trouble and the surprising-you-have-to-even-say-this move to ban “non-university personnel, including boosters” from team charters, practices, camps, sidelines, and locker rooms. Sorry, ESPN: no more Snoop Dogg shots when you could be showing a football game. â†µ

â†µâ†µBasketball, on the other hand, gets off essentially scot-free after self-imposing a postseason ban this year and knocking off a couple scholarships. Other than the university-wide probation, USC basketball did not receive any additional punishments. I’ve made my opinion clear on thatone year of immediate penalties punishes the wrong people. Similarly, any USC commit that wants out of his LOI should be freed by the NCAA, since any recruit coming in this year is going to have to deal with an entire career of bowl bans, scholarship restrictions, and then a helplessly young team when said players are seniors. â†µ

â†µâ†µSeantrel Henderson is kicking himself today, as are the rest of USC’s recruits. Since they were universally told that the coming sanctions would not be major, they should be free agents. That’s about the only thing the NCAA didn’t do to USC that they should have, though. â†µ

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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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