USC infractions update

[George S. Patton]

http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/n ... id=4816942

[smupony94]

Official: USC sanctions not yet in effect
Comment Email Print Share
By Dana O'Neil
ESPN.com
Archive

USC's significant self-imposed sanctions could be just the tip of the iceberg as the university tries to get in front of a hearing with the NCAA Committee on Infractions.

In a story about what will happen to wins and losses in 2007-08 against USC for other Pac-10 schools, conference spokesman Dave Hirsch told The Oregonian via e-mail that "USC's sanctions won't become official until the NCAA Committee on Infractions hears the case in February."

Under NCAA protocol, schools typically receive a notice of allegations at least three months prior to a hearing with the COI. A source told ESPN.com that USC did indeed receive a notice of allegations.

A source with knowledge of the situation told ESPN.com's Andy Katz that USC's notice of infractions included both football and men's basketball, which may make the timing of Pete Carroll's departure to the Seattle Seahawks a bit more interesting based on what will come out of the report. The NCAA had folded the two investigations into one so it can review the entire athletic department's culpability in any possible infractions. That is par for the course in investigations since a failure to monitor can be applied to the entire department.

Per NCAA policy, schools have 90 days to respond to the notice of allegations before a hearing is set on the committee on infractions calendar. That means USC received the notice more than three months ago since a hearing date has been set by the NCAA.The committee on infractions will meet Feb. 19-21 in Tempe, Ariz., and according to a source, USC will be the focus of that meeting with the committee.

The school has banned itself from postseason play this year, trimmed scholarships (one for each of the next two years), curtailed the number of days spent recruiting, forfeited victories and returned NCAA tournament revenue for improprieties involving one-year player O.J. Mayo during the 2007-08 season.

USC has never acknowledged an NCAA investigation, notice of allegations or a pending hearing.

USC is a private institution and therefore doesn't have to release its report to the public under any freedom of information act. But the NCAA will make public the committee on infractions report when a decision on any punishment is rendered. That can be six to eight weeks after a hearing, meaning that it might not be until the spring when more details emerge on the violations that were uncovered in the football and basketball case.

USC sports information director Dave Tuttle said that any information regarding a pending meeting with the COI would be part of an ongoing investigation and therefore the university would not comment.

Dana O'Neil covers college basketball for ESPN.com. Information from ESPN.com's Andy Katz was used in this report.

[lwjr]

And Pete Carroll leaving for Seattle had nothing to do with the ongoing NCAA sanctions. HA HA

[ponyscott]

Who wants to step onto this minefield? ..more to come that will present major recruiting difficulties for the next coach ....

[Diamond Girl]

Gee, what former college coach left the collegiate realm and headed for the pros when his team had been on probation a couple times prior to a major NCAA investigation? Sound familiar?

[ponyte]

Gee, what former college coach left the collegiate realm and headed for the pros when his team had been on probation a couple times prior to a major NCAA investigation? Sound familiar?

Ron Meyer left during probation. Had he stayed one more year, SMU would have been off probation and with a final ranking of #2 in the nation. He left with the good times yet to come.

[smupony94]

I have a weird feeling that USC will get off with a happy ending

[Dutch]

I have a weird feeling that USC will get off with a happy ending

isn't that the best way to get off?

[smupony94]

I have a weird feeling that USC will get off with a happy ending

isn't that the best way to get off?

And you had to turn it dirty

[Diamond Girl]

[quote][/quoteRon Meyer left during probation. Had he stayed one more year, SMU would have been off probation and with a final ranking of #2 in the nation. He left with the good times yet to come.]

Yes he did, but he still left before the stuff hit the fan. Would it have been worth him to stay for '82-'83, to be #2 in the country, the team to go on probation again in '83-'84 and all the other stuff that followed? He left when the going was good.

[ponyte]

[/quoteRon Meyer left during probation. Had he stayed one more year, SMU would have been off probation and with a final ranking of #2 in the nation. He left with the good times yet to come.]

Yes he did, but he still left before the stuff hit the fan. Would it have been worth him to stay for '82-'83, to be #2 in the country, the team to go on probation again in '83-'84 and all the other stuff that followed? He left when the going was good.

We will never know. Meyer would have been the coach of his best recruiting class when they were Sr. The team would not have had to learn a new offense and defense under a new coach. Meyer was much better with the press and may have been able to influence a few votes through his PR abilities. Perhaps SMU goes undefeated and wins the National Championship. And Meyer may have had a better reign on the boasters that got out of hand once he left. Of course it could have gotten worse. We will never know.

Meyer left because he wanted to coach in the NFL. He let that be known to all that his goal was to coach in the NFL.

[PoconoPony]

[/quoteRon Meyer left during probation. Had he stayed one more year, SMU would have been off probation and with a final ranking of #2 in the nation. He left with the good times yet to come.]

Yes he did, but he still left before the stuff hit the fan. Would it have been worth him to stay for '82-'83, to be #2 in the country, the team to go on probation again in '83-'84 and all the other stuff that followed? He left when the going was good.

We will never know. Meyer would have been the coach of his best recruiting class when they were Sr. The team would not have had to learn a new offense and defense under a new coach. Meyer was much better with the press and may have been able to influence a few votes through his PR abilities. Perhaps SMU goes undefeated and wins the National Championship. And Meyer may have had a better reign on the boasters that got out of hand once he left. Of course it could have gotten worse. We will never know.

I agree with you that had Meyer not left for the NFL that things would have been much different. One source very close to the situation at that time once told me that Meyer was much too smart and savey to have let this matter get out of control and the rest would never have surfaced. Unfortunately, Meyer was not there and the rest is our history to languish forever as the only school to receive the death penalty as the NCAA will never again ever use that penalty based on the SMU experience.

[Mexmustang]

I posted my own version of USC conspiracy earlier. Wasn't their new coach the offensive coordinator at USC? and probably that would have made him Reggie Bush's recruiting contact under Pete Carroll? I'm just guessing here. But, obvioulsy, UCS needs to have one of their boys that knows their unique recruiting system, control the spin and investigation. Could Kiffen get caught for his earlier acts? Would that be justice? Would Tenn. feel vindicated? I beleive the other Pac Ten universities are through protecting USC and more than ready to throw them to the wolves. This could be fun to watch.