Reggie bush USC Legacy
Reggie bush USC Legacy, As much as the NCAA Committee on Infractions is known for putting teams under the microscope, it will find itself under scrutiny Friday when it shares its findings in the investigations of USC's football and basketball programs.
The outcome, which will be forwarded to the NCAA executive committee for a final verdict, will go a long way in determining the kind of legacy Reggie Bush leaves in Heritage Hall, where his 2005 Heisman Trophy resides, along with those of Mike Garrett, O.J. Simpson, Charles White, Marcus Allen and Matt Leinart.
Bush was a game-breaking running back at USC, winning or sharing two national championships before leaving after the Trojans lost the BCS title game in 2006, his junior year.
He is also the central figure in an NCAA probe that has been going on ever since Yahoo.com broke a story in 2006 that alleged Bush received in excess $300,000 in cash and other extra benefits prohibited by the NCAA that were provided by Lloyd Lake and Michael Micheals, two financiers of New Era Sports, a now-defunct marketing firm.
Among other things, Lake and Michaels claimed they allowed Bush's parents to live rent-free in a $757,000 home outside San Diego for almost a year during his final season at USC.
Bush signed with contract agent Joel Segal and marketing rep Michael Orstein. Lake and Michaels filed a civil suit for beach of contract. Bush, who met with the NCAA last season, has claimed neither he nor his family was guilty of any wrongdoing. The NCAA held off wrapping up its investigation, hoping to use the testimony of his court-ordered deposition before announcing its findings. But the evidence dissolved when Bush settled out of court with both parties at the 11th hour.
For those with a bit of a jaundiced eye, this settlement gives cause for suspicion and seems to indicate Bush had some pertinent facts he did not want to reveal to NCAA investigators, leaving them sniffing at a cold trail of evidence while affording USC a good chance to receive nothing more than a wrist slap.
USC football is big business, the closest thing Los Angeles has to a pro franchise. The Trojans are one of the biggest brand names in college football and have brought in piles of cash for the university.
USC men's basketball appears to be much more disposable.
The school was quick to throw that program under the bus, self-imposing sanctions last January that included a ban on postseason participation, reduction of scholarships and vacating all wins from the 2007-08 season in the wake of reported accusations that former star guard O.J. Mayo received cash and gifts from Rodney Guillory, who was connected to Bill Duffy Associates Sports Management. Moreover, former coach Tim Floyd was alleged to have provided a $1,000 cash payment to help steer Mayo to USC.
The Trojans have been much more protective about football, stonewalling investigators while declaring their innocence. Their ultimate goal has been to overcome a perception of lack of institutional control that would result in significant sanctions - scholarship reductions, TV and postseason bans, recruiting restrictions and probation.
If the Trojans are found guilty of major violations, the NCAA could rule they are repeat offenders. An institution should be considered a repeat violator if the Committee on Infractions finds a major violation has occurred within five years of the start of a major penalty. The athletic department was last sanctioned in August 2001 and put on two years' probation because tutors wrote papers for three student athletes in football and women's swimming, so if football violations concerning Bush were found to be major, they would fall into that time frame and the program would be forced to vacate victories from 2003-05, including national championship wins over Michigan and Oklahoma.
If it can be proven that Bush received any illegal benefits and he were to be found retroactively ineligible, it could cost him his 2005 Heisman Trophy because of the bylaws on the ballot.
None of this is likely to happen. It appears that by deferring to the results in the Bush civil case, the NCAA is letting someone else wield the hammer.
USC is technically not out of the woods yet. The NCAA is currently looking into potential violations committed by junior running back Joe McKnight, who was driving an expensive car that wasn't his own.
McKnight declared for the draft in January, and was selected by the Jets in April, so the NCAA won't be hearing from him. But he and Bush appear to be indicative of an environment of "don't ask, don't tell" and the "stay one step ahead of the posse" climate that seems to be evident in the NCAA these days.
The outcome, which will be forwarded to the NCAA executive committee for a final verdict, will go a long way in determining the kind of legacy Reggie Bush leaves in Heritage Hall, where his 2005 Heisman Trophy resides, along with those of Mike Garrett, O.J. Simpson, Charles White, Marcus Allen and Matt Leinart.
Bush was a game-breaking running back at USC, winning or sharing two national championships before leaving after the Trojans lost the BCS title game in 2006, his junior year.
He is also the central figure in an NCAA probe that has been going on ever since Yahoo.com broke a story in 2006 that alleged Bush received in excess $300,000 in cash and other extra benefits prohibited by the NCAA that were provided by Lloyd Lake and Michael Micheals, two financiers of New Era Sports, a now-defunct marketing firm.
Among other things, Lake and Michaels claimed they allowed Bush's parents to live rent-free in a $757,000 home outside San Diego for almost a year during his final season at USC.
Bush signed with contract agent Joel Segal and marketing rep Michael Orstein. Lake and Michaels filed a civil suit for beach of contract. Bush, who met with the NCAA last season, has claimed neither he nor his family was guilty of any wrongdoing. The NCAA held off wrapping up its investigation, hoping to use the testimony of his court-ordered deposition before announcing its findings. But the evidence dissolved when Bush settled out of court with both parties at the 11th hour.
For those with a bit of a jaundiced eye, this settlement gives cause for suspicion and seems to indicate Bush had some pertinent facts he did not want to reveal to NCAA investigators, leaving them sniffing at a cold trail of evidence while affording USC a good chance to receive nothing more than a wrist slap.
USC football is big business, the closest thing Los Angeles has to a pro franchise. The Trojans are one of the biggest brand names in college football and have brought in piles of cash for the university.
USC men's basketball appears to be much more disposable.
The school was quick to throw that program under the bus, self-imposing sanctions last January that included a ban on postseason participation, reduction of scholarships and vacating all wins from the 2007-08 season in the wake of reported accusations that former star guard O.J. Mayo received cash and gifts from Rodney Guillory, who was connected to Bill Duffy Associates Sports Management. Moreover, former coach Tim Floyd was alleged to have provided a $1,000 cash payment to help steer Mayo to USC.
The Trojans have been much more protective about football, stonewalling investigators while declaring their innocence. Their ultimate goal has been to overcome a perception of lack of institutional control that would result in significant sanctions - scholarship reductions, TV and postseason bans, recruiting restrictions and probation.
If the Trojans are found guilty of major violations, the NCAA could rule they are repeat offenders. An institution should be considered a repeat violator if the Committee on Infractions finds a major violation has occurred within five years of the start of a major penalty. The athletic department was last sanctioned in August 2001 and put on two years' probation because tutors wrote papers for three student athletes in football and women's swimming, so if football violations concerning Bush were found to be major, they would fall into that time frame and the program would be forced to vacate victories from 2003-05, including national championship wins over Michigan and Oklahoma.
If it can be proven that Bush received any illegal benefits and he were to be found retroactively ineligible, it could cost him his 2005 Heisman Trophy because of the bylaws on the ballot.
None of this is likely to happen. It appears that by deferring to the results in the Bush civil case, the NCAA is letting someone else wield the hammer.
USC is technically not out of the woods yet. The NCAA is currently looking into potential violations committed by junior running back Joe McKnight, who was driving an expensive car that wasn't his own.
McKnight declared for the draft in January, and was selected by the Jets in April, so the NCAA won't be hearing from him. But he and Bush appear to be indicative of an environment of "don't ask, don't tell" and the "stay one step ahead of the posse" climate that seems to be evident in the NCAA these days.