NCAA sanctions USC: Postseason ban and more

They’re getting the UW treatment, circa 1993. This smacks of an NCAA penalty born both out of infractions and uncooperation. (I don’t even know if that’s a word, but it is now.)

You’re on a roll with great post after great post. Kudos, brotha.

Secondly, I saw they lost scholarships, but I never thought it’d be 20+. That’s a ton. I figured they’d lose like 5 or 10 at the most, but 20+? That cuts their recruiting classes in half. UCLA should benefit the most from this, but perhaps we can snag a new Michael Bumpus or two?

For the Pac-10, this means that their main revenue program is out of commission for the next two years. Make no mistake about it, this hurts us all. While the expansion talk has excited us all for the future, this is going to hurt us in the present. USC is, for better or worse, the most recognizable Pac-10 team in the country. They’ve been splashed across national headlines and on television shows for the better part of the last decade. The amount of money they’ve brought in to the conference has dwarfed everyone else. Losing the bowl money they may have earned in the next two years, and possibly some of the television revenues, creates a hole the conference will be looking to fill.

A lot of good points all in all. However, this thing ain’t over just yet. A four year investigation won’t be over in just one night.

I want to know if and when I can start printing our “Back-2-Back Pac-10 Champs” shirts.

USC football over the past 10 years has help to keep the Pac10 a major player in the national scene. ESPN was even on their train. I hate to admit is but cougfan has a great point, they are great for the Pac10 and revenues. I think USC will bounce back quickly, because of what it has to offer. They will bounce back much quicker that UW. In three to four years they should be back. They have one of the best recruiters in Ed Odgeron and even Monte Kiffin. Although, I have to say the UofMiami hasn’t been the same in a long time, but on the flip side Alabama is back. So, I think storied programs can bounce back quickly. I guess you can say that UofMiami was never a storied program, they just had a great run during the Ray Lewis, Michael Irvin, Jimmy Johnson days. (By the way did anyone watch that ESPN documentary on The U? Great show.)
If a lot of players in this USC incoming class can redshirt, which means only one year that they are kept out of a bowl. If a lot of players in the next class can redshirt they will not miss a bowl. I am sure they can get some talented players to walk on; but forget that idea because I just checked USC’s tuition costs and it looks like it is 40k+ a year to go to school there. Four years would be 160K+ without housing. Ouch! How does anyone besides an athlete afford that? Forget about getting talented walk-ons.

I understand the theory that USC’s glory has increased the PAC 10’s visibility, but I don’t feel any remorse for them as they clearly achieved ill gotten gains. Schools like WSU can only compete if the playing field is somewhat level… SC had more more, more power, more fans, more coverage and still cheated like crazy.

In my day the parking lot at practice at WSU was a hilarious collection of beaters. The occasional nice car meant someone’s pop had dough. Across the state in Seattle the difference was comical. The purple lot was 75% new rigs. This was the 80’s, but still it spoke volumes about booster power. Not long after this, the NCAA swooped in and uw paid the piper. Recently, when the SC kid got caught in a fancy new rig and it made the news… a good friend who works in that industry told me that 30 leased vehicles were returned within days, in and around the SC campus. This stuff is rampant in college sports. Perhaps this set of sanction will quell some of the cheaters for a time and allow the less fortunate to make some hay within NCAA rules. As Nike powers the zero’s, and T-bone grows OK St- others will follow… it warrants a close watch. Legendary Coach Wooden had Sam Gilbert… google him… listen to the quotes of former players and note their specific silences.

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jun/08/sports/la-sp-0609-wooden-gilbert-20100609

WSU will forever be the little engine that could when it succeeds in sport. This will only be magnified with the massive injection of money and power teams in the new 16 team league. Oversight is crucial to keep it competitive.

I mean seriously- 20 scholies for what SC did? The Cougs lost 24 over 3 years for class work and drop outs. My feeling is that SC is getting off easy.

The vacated wins are from Dec 04 through the end of 05. Stop the presses on the shirts, Craig.

These are bad sanctions. The NCAA cited the culture at USC, saying what was happening there struck at the heart of amateurism.