Ryan Kartje (LA Times). — Eleven years after his Heisman Trophy was vacated and his legendary 2005 season was erased from the NCAA record books, former USC star running back Reggie Bush might soon be free to reclaim his coveted trophy.
The Heisman Trust broke its longstanding silence on the issue Friday, responding to public calls from Bush to have the trophy returned in the wake of the NCAA’s new policy allowing athletes to profit off their name, image, and likeness. In a statement, the group in charge of college football’s most prestigious award said that “should the NCAA reinstate Bush’s 2005 status, the Heisman Trust looks forward to welcoming him back to the Heisman family.”
But until the NCAA reverses course on its ruling that Bush violated NCAA rules, leaving him ineligible for his trophy-winning season, the Heisman Trust says that will have to wait.
“Bush’s 2005 season records remain vacated by the NCAA and, as a result, under the rule set forth by the Heisman Trust and stated on the Heisman Ballot, he is not eligible to be awarded the 2005 Heisman Memorial Trophy,” the statement read.
The NCAA ruled in June 2010 that Bush was retroactively ineligible during his electric 2005 season as a result of him and his family accepting impermissible benefits from two would-be sports marketers. Harsh sanctions were imposed on USC, which was forced to vacate the 2004 national title and permanently disassociate from Bush. Any mention of the running back was erased from USC — every image scrubbed, every record book entry affixed with an asterisk.
That disassociation ban finally was lifted last June, because of a 2017 rule change that limited such bans to a decade. Bush said in a statement that he’d “dreamed of this day for 10-plus years.”
“This always lingered in the back of my head,” Bush said in an interview on FS1 last June. “It’s the thing that kept me up late at night and haunted me as well.”
Bush did not respond to text messages sent by the Los Angeles Times on Friday. In a statement posted to social media Thursday, Bush said he reached out to both the NCAA and the Heisman Trust about the reinstatement of his college records and the return of his trophy.
“It is my strong belief that I won the Heisman trophy ‘solely’ due to my hard work and dedication on the football field,” Bush wrote, “and it is also my firm belief that my records should be reinstated.”
Now it will be up to the NCAA to decide.
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John McKay’s birthday was yesterday. The renowned quipster who many believe was USC’s greatest coach ever, died at age 77 on June 10, 2001 in Tampa, Fla, from diabetes-related complications. His ashes were spread on the field of the L.A. Memorial Coliseum. He would be 96 today. My three favorite McKay quotes: — Following a Buccaneers loss in their early seasons, McKay was asked what he thought of his offense’s “execution.” He replied, “I’m in favor of it.” — After the Buccaneers won their first reg-season game against the New Orleans Saints during the 1977 season 33–14, McKay mused, “Three… Read more »
In case you haven’t heard — as thoroughly expected, 5-star 2021 DL J.T. Tuimoloau (6-4.5, 277), from Washington, committed to OHIO ST yesterday over USC, ORE, and UW.
USC remains thin on the DL depth-wise.
USC QB commit Devin Brown draws rave reviews from The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman who ranks Brown as the #4 QB at this year’s Elite 11 held at Mira Costa HS. 4. Devin Brown entered the event ranked No. 22 among the QBs by 247Sports, but he generated a ton of buzz in the first two days of the camp. He’s about 6-3 and can really rip the ball. Here’s what I really liked about him. I thought his “pro day” workout in the Thursday night event was as impressive as any of the quarterbacks, and that included the counselors. He rose to… Read more »
Reggie Bush and Chris Webber linked in LAT article: J. Brady McCullough — “Reggie Bush was not alone Thursday as an iconic former college athlete who spoke out after being publicly humiliated and scorned for taking some money while generating exponentially more for others. “Like Bush, Chris Webber, the headliner of Michigan’s Fab Five, was banished from his school’s grounds for a decade. He had to watch the Wolverines’ Final Four banners from 1992-93 come down and stay down, even as his Michigan teammate Juwan Howard returned to the program as head coach two years ago. “‘Ummmmmmm soooo … whoever… Read more »
Come on, Allen– you are stating SC does not win many national championships (during the 1962 to 1980 era)? Try this on for size– !962 National Championship 1967 National Championship 1968 Loses to Ohio State for the National Championship 1969 The Pollsters deny SC a championship despite being undefeated 1972 National Championship 1974 National Championship 1976 One-loss keeps SC from the National Championship 1978 National Championship 1979 Loss to Stanford costs Trojans a National Championship So 50% of the time during the SC extraordinary run from 1962-1980 the Trojans won or almost won the National Championship. No wonder I am… Read more »
I’ve been a USC fan for 60 years and don’t think of USC’s footprint as only involving the 19 seasons from ’62-80, over forty years ago.
You avoid the point, Allen, as you often do between us. Your argument is that the 60s-80s Trojans did not win [enough] championships to justify their fans thinking a National Championship is a given. The facts defy your logic because SC was in the running almost every year during that 20-year magical Trojan period. Anyway, the important take-away idea here is that I, and probably thousands of SC fans like me, got spoiled with “champagne’ during the ’60s and ’70s, and were never able to accept the ensuing 25-years ‘no national championship’ drought until Prince Carroll arrived to save our… Read more »
Not much. Just sorry and surprised you were never really able to accept that big 25-year-no-national championship drought LJ. That’s really tough, but it explains a lot. 😉
As most know here, I’m very hard on anyone, or anything connected to the UCLA Bruins. Happy for it, too. Get them Bruins! But yesterday, 77-year old Terry Donahue died after a bout with cancer. I didn’t know Terry very well. Hardly at all. Just a couple of brief encounters. But he was a classy, friendly, humble, former strong HC of UCLA. He gave as good as he got against often-very-powerful-USC and the rest of the Pac, and was a good friend of John Robinson’s. Terry admitted many years ago that he regretted leaving UCLA when he did, in Dec… Read more »
That’s a BS punt by the Heisman Trust. Reggie isn’t saying he was really eligible during the 2005 season and was mistakenly labeled ineligible by the NCAA and Heisman Trust. He is saying he was ineligible, but he was so pursuant to rules that were unjust and should not have been in place. And, consider this: At the time Reggie won the Heisman, he was deemed eligible by the NCAA. After all, they allowed him to take the field, right? They later RETROACTIVELY deemed him ineligible when they found out that he and his family took $$. So, if we… Read more »
One of my biggest problems with Reggie is that he never tried to help out USC while the program was under full frontal attack by the NCAA. He really didn’t. He just refused to talk (in part I’m sure on the advice of personal counsel and agent, at least for publicly unprotected statements). But both for the public, and behind the scenes, Bush never did anything other than to say he personally did nothing wrong. He never defended USC IMO. It was always all about Reggie, super constricted legalese. By giving his Heisman Trophy back, he admitted wrongdoing. I’m sure… Read more »
Reggie Bush did not cause the fall of SC football from 2010 to the 2020s, about 10-years and running. That Alabama Crimson Tide did– they owned 2010-to-the present with Clemson and Ohio State in the mix…. The starch is taken out of the season when SC loses its first game and is already out-of-the-running. And of course lately that first loss comes early in the season…. John McKay football spoiled those of us around in those days. We thought Trojan National Championships was our God-given right– and from 1962 to 1980 it pretty much was. And so some of us… Read more »
Speaking for myself, it’s certainly not “national championship or bust” at USC, and never has been. “God-given right?” Not in my lifetime. USC rarely wins national championships, and yet has had many very successful, memorable seasons where they competed well and won big games, finishing strong and highly regarded. Hope generally prevailed. But a lot of that hope has now gone poof. That’s because the starch has really been taken out of USC not because of no NCs under Helton — but rather because of blow-out losses under Gentleman Clay to teams like STAN, ALA, OHIO ST, UTAH, ORE, TEXAS,… Read more »
John, I agree with Allen. SC should be an elite program, at least on a par with Oklahoma, Ohio State, and ND. It is not. Under Clay, it is on a par with BYU or Boise State. If SC were in the SEC, Big 10 or ACC, SC would be a second tier program on a par with a Purdue or a Mississippi or a West Virginia. That is a direct result of having Clay as the HC, not the sanctions. It would be nice to be AL again (as we were under Pete), but the choice between is not… Read more »
When we take the field now against ND, I never expect to win. Even if we play like “true warriors” like Clay likes to throw around, I know we’ll lose. The Irish always win the 4th Q against USC now. Anyone here actually expect USC to win against big-time programs now? We’ve been able to beat lowly UCLA (five straight losing seasons) lately, so that’s cool. But otherwise, big brand programs feast on USC. And ORE has owned the west for quite a while. USC needs to catch up to the other programs which have now taken over the game… Read more »
I blame Clay, not the sanctions, for the present state of SC football. More precisely, I blame Swann, Folt and Caruso, with a huge part of Nikias. Clay is in way over his head. I do not bear the animosity of many to Reggie. I view him as the least culpable of the actors. The largest are the NCAA (for imposing illegal penalties), Paul Dees (who I think was paid off), the PAC 12 (for not protecting and instead applauding the illegal sanctioning of SC), and SC for first provoking the NCAA (Garrett) and then failing to litigate (Haden and… Read more »
Selfish Reggie and his family’s flagrant use of significant illegal benefits brought all the bad stuff on. He and his greedy parents ruined USC football. Recovery is ongoing thanks to Reggie “Pretty Please Give Me Back My Heisman” Bush.
You call Reggie, the actual wrongdoer, the “least culpable.” That’s a fantastic example of how we all look at things so differently. If I’m ever on trial for a crime in your area, please be on my jury! I’m sure I’ll have plenty of others to blame. 😆
I’ve been really shocked to read the large volume of negative comments throughout the web about Reggie since he has re-proclaimed his complete innocence and insisted on getting his forsaken trophy back. An amazing amount of Trojan fans see Reggie for exactly what he was, and wasn’t. And also for what he ISN’T. He’s not a stand-up guy and never has been. Great football player. Great worker. Smart guy. Handsome to boot with a great smile. But also a very selfish person who remains incapable of owning up to just what he and his family did to the USC football… Read more »
Ignore all the fire and smoke. The NCAA cannot rescind what it did to Reggie. For one, it still has the McNair case hanging, and don’t you think that an Antitrust Cause of Action will now be added to that case? Assuming McNair can prove direct economic impact of about $5,000,000 (which I think is not going to be difficult), NCAA is on the hook for $15,000,000 plus enormous legal fees (I would put then in the millions as well). How many other anti-trust cases is it facing? At this time, probably not a lot, but if it attempts to… Read more »
In other news, it is July 4th today. Big deal, huh?– Actually, it is a big deal. However, the theory behind the 4th and its meaning should be expanded… July 4th of course symbolizes our developing country’s quest for freedom and how sometimes a country must fight to get its independence. Our forefathers and mothers did not wish to have another country exercising power and ruling over them. Nothing personal England… But that was nearly 250 years ago. The U.S. has never been truly challenged by an aggressive country trying to take-over America other than perhaps Pearl Harbor, but Hawaii… Read more »
Well, gee Reggie, of course you deserved to win the Heisman Trophy for your remarkable 3-years at SC of masterly marauding through miles of enemy football players. But that’s not the point Reg.– Thing is, there’s this little NCAA rule that says if you or your family accepted “impermissible benefits”….you are “not eligible to be awarded the 2005 Heisman Memorial Trophy.” Open and shut case– Reggie Bush will not ever receive that trophy. His better argument is that ‘he don’t need no stinkin’ trophy’, because he was the Heisman winner with the most votes. Mr. Bush should say “OK, I… Read more »
Reggie and his family murdered my alma mater’s football program. We still have lingering affects today. He was a great player, but a POS of a person. He’s never fessed up publicly or apologized to the Coaches, Players/Teammates and the Fans. Until he does and is genuine about it, I’ll continue to boycott any TV broadcast he’s on and say he deserves NOTHING!
I don’t boycott Reggie on TV, but I couldn’t care less if he gets his Heisman back, except as it gives USC another official Heisman winner and Trophy to display with all the other wares in HH. As you say, he was a totally amazing/stupendous player at USC, and I’m very grateful to him for that. But then he left USC to fend for itself against the evil empire and never lifted a finger to help (not publicly, nor privately), while he continues to pretend he did nothing wrong. It’s a shame he turned out to be such a schmuck.… Read more »
It will be interesting to see what happens with Trevor Bauer and the MLB. Hopefully, the Dodgers didn’t get a schmuck!
He’s a Bruin, remember. He had a bad rep before the Dodgers brought him aboard. The Dodgers shouldn’t have added him. Bad, dumb, unnecessary, expensive move, and it’s already costing them PR-wise. Not good to have a guy like that on your team. This isn’t the first time Bauer has made bad headlines.
Sources: Major League Baseball investigators looking into range of inquiries in Trevor Bauer case
ESPN
I agree the Dodgers made a big mistake. I appreciate your take on the situation Allen. Hope you and yours had a great 4th of July!
Thank you @rleeholder1. I did have a very enjoyable 4th. Spent it down in beautiful, balmy Dana Point Harbor where there were hundreds of small craft buzzing around, overloaded with adventurous, happy revelers who were endlessly spraying water all over each other in good cheer, and anyone else who was looking on. It was quite a massive, joyous celebration. Just what the doctor ordered. We didn’t get down there until early afternoon, so finding a parking place required assistance from something called pure, fantastic luck! Maybe it was divine intervention. Maybe God is a Trojan. We called it a day… Read more »
Great to hear Allen. When I worked for Fluor Corporation and lived in Aliso Viejo, I used to take my group to a planning session at the Dana Point Marriott. I also used to take my Seadoo and launch it there in the Harbor and go out and ride waves. This was in 2006-7. Great place to be and glad you had a great time. I played golf and hung out at a local Golf and Country Club that I belong to here in hot Bullhead City. Take care, Ron
I can remember way back surfing Dana Cove with all the seaweed and seals. Then they made a marina out of it.
Seaweed and seals: perfect area for sharks. Just joking — kinda! I’ve always been paranoid of sharks since an experience as a snorkeler too far out in Hanalei Bay in 1969. I really thought I was in trouble.
So when you mentioned “seaweed and seals”, it brought it all back to me! What a memory…
Glad you had a wonderful 4th. Your recount brings back fond memories. When we lived in Monarch Beach, my wife and I would either watch the fireworks from our home (with guests) – we overlooked the marina as well as most of south OC and could watch about 7 shows simultaneously. One year we went to my mom’s rest home which overlooked Dana Harbor and we watched the fireworks launch from a barge in the harbor. Miss it a bit.
No doubt this is a great area. I thank my lucky stars every day. 🙏 ✌
I hope he gets it back and his records reinstated simply for the reason that then we won’t have to hear about it anymore. I do agree with him that his violation did not have any bearing on his accomplishments on the field though.