No wonder why Pete Carroll bounced for the NFL. He knew something wasn’t right and that all of the sneaky USC dealings and all of the payments and extra benefits that their players received from their boosters were about to catch up with him.
The NCAA finally threw the book at USC, banning them for two seasons, from them appearing in any bowl games. So even if USC goes undefeated, they will not have a chance to play for the BCS title game and become the official champions as recognized by the conferences and the coaches.
ESPN reports that USC will also forfeit wins “from at least the 2004 season,” which would likely strip the school of one of the two national championships it won over the last 10 years.
With this latest development, it also raises questions as to whether or not the NCAA is getting any closer to stripping Reggie Bush of his Heisman. If Bush were to lose the Heisman, he would be the first to have it revoked.
It’s a shame that the coach that restored the Trojans to glory and the player at the center of recruiting violations have both departed for the NFL. So that leaves the program in shambles while they are able to continue to gain and retain their wealth. Maybe this should send home a message to the schools hiring these coaches and maybe the NCAA should impose stiffer penalties such as if a coach is found to violate rules that they also be banned from coaching for a specific period of time in accordance with the school that now has to forfeit games and also’s banned from participating in any bowl games. Too many times you see a coach wreak havoc on a program and then bolt to a new school with a brand new and better contract then the one that they had before.
The NCAA really needs to step it up.
