College Sports Business News - The Publication for College Sports Administrators

The NCAA, the governing body for collegiate sports, informed USC of its decision after a four-year investigation regarding allegations centered on former football player Reggie Bush and former basketball player O.J. Mayo.

As stated in the NCAA's report:

In determining the penalties, the committee considered the university's self-imposed penalties, corrective actions and cooperation. The committee seriously contemplated imposing a television-ban penalty in this case. However, after careful consideration, it ultimately decided that the penalties below adequately respond to the nature of violations and the level of institutional responsibility. The penalties, some of which were self-imposed by the university and adopted by the committee, are:

• Public reprimand and censure.
• Four years of probation from June 10, 2010, through June 9, 2014. The public report further details the conditions of this probation.
• Postseason ban for the 2009-10 men's basketball season (self-imposed by the university).
• Postseason ban for the 2010 and 2011 football seasons.
• One-year show-cause penalty for the assistant football coach (June 10, 2010, to June 9, 2011). The public report further details the conditions of this penalty.
• 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.
• Vacation of all wins in which the former men's basketball student-athlete competed during the 2007-08 regular season (self-imposed by the university). The committee also stated this vacation must include participation in any postseason competition, conference tournaments and NCAA championships.
• Vacation of all wins in which the former women's tennis student-athlete competed while ineligible between November 2006 and May 2009 (self-imposed by the university). The committee also stated this vacation must include participation in any postseason competition, conference tournaments and NCAA championships.
• Reduction of football athletics scholarships to 15 initial grants and 75 total grants for each of the 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 academic years. This represents a decrease of 10 scholarships for each of the three seasons.
• Reduction of men's basketball athletics scholarships from 13 to 12 for the 2009-10 and 2010-11 academic years (self-imposed by the university).
• Reduction of the total number of recruiting days in men's basketball by 20 days (from 130 to 110) for the 2010-11 academic year (self-imposed by the university).
• A $5,000 financial penalty (self-imposed by the university).
• Remittance of the $206,200 the university received for its participation in the 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship (self-imposed by the university). In addition, the committee noted the university must also forfeit all future distributions scheduled for this appearance.
• Disassociation of the former football student-athlete, the former men's basketball student-athlete and the representative who provided extra benefits to the former men's basketball student-athlete. This disassociation includes the refusal of any financial or recruiting assistance, as well as other conditions, which the public report further details.
• Release of three men's basketball prospective student-athletes from their letters of intent (self-imposed by the university).
• Prohibition of all non-university personnel, including boosters, from traveling on football and men's basketball charters; attending football and men's basketball team practices; attending or participating in any way with university football and men's basketball camps, including donation of funds; and having access to the sidelines and locker rooms for football and men's basketball games. The public report further details appropriate exceptions for these limitations.

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