Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa hitting 60 plus home runs while sporting super-sized muscles. The New England Patriots' apparent coaching genius at predicting competitor's plays. Andre Agassi's hair. If it seems too good to be true, it often is. Remember the last decade when USC always looked like a team manned by professional football players? According to the Washington Post, you can add them to the list:
Two media outlets are reporting the NCAA has decided to ban USC's football team from the postseason for two years and strip the program of scholarships.
The Los Angeles Times reported the NCAA sanctions include the loss of more than 20 scholarships. According to a story posted on ESPN.com on Wednesday night, the Trojans also will forfeit wins "from at least the 2004 season."
The sanctions follow an investigation that Reggie Bush and his family were effectively paid over $100,000 by marketing agents, while Joe McKnight was given a Land Rover:
The Trojans brought O.J. Mayo in to their basketball program in the most publicly illegal way possible. Their best football player of the last decade, Reggie Bush, reportedly took hundreds of thousands of dollars from a wannabe sports marketer while in school. Their best running back last season, Joe McKnight, reportedly drove a Land Rover registered to another marketer.
Pete Carroll began the exodus from USC with his odd move to quit his job as the darling of college football coaches for the NFL and the Seahawks. Problem is he left everyone else behind.
20 scholarships lost, a two year ban from bowl games. Will Matt Barkley play out his remaining two seasons at a school under sanctions? Who will stick around for a season without bowl hopes? Will top recruits stay on with a new coach in a multi-year rebuilding scenario?
May the exodus of talent from USC begin.