Watching the KTLA news down here in Orange County last night, I learned of the bomb that just dropped on the USC men's basketball team.
At every university's athletic department there is an NCAA compliance director that tries to keep teams/players/coaches/staff honest by releasing information on adherence to NCAA rules, regulations and by-laws (which seem to be changing daily). That just goes to show how crazy the NCAA's governance is and how far it actually extends.
But every now and then, someone blatantly ignores the rules, just for a shot at winning an NCAA title.
Enter USC.
In the recruiting of O.J. Mayo, the Trojans broke a ton of rules that I imagine many people probably turned their heads to. To give you an idea as to why, Mayo played one season with USC (2007-08) before being taken in the NBA draft to Memphis, and averaged 20.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game that one season.
It has recently come out that USC broke several NCAA laws in the recruiting of Mayo, including his relationship with Rodney Guillory, who under NCAA rules became a USC booster that season due to the dollar amounts he donated to the basketball program and USC's former head coach that year. There also is a lot of talk about Mayo receiving large sums of money for his play at USC (collegiate student-athletes are not allowed to accept money and can never have done so, since they are supposed to be listed as "amateur athletes" to participate in the NCAA).
There isn't a lot of information out there on what exactly USC and Mayo did wrong. But USC just released their own self-imposed sanctions in response to those NCAA violations on its website.
Now this is a big deal, since Mayo and USC's 2007-08 coach are both gone from the picture. So why severely punish the current members of the USC men's basketball team? What I imagine they're saying, is that O.J. Mayo influenced the team during the entire four-year span he originally committed to USC, which would go until the 2010-11 year, his supposed senior year.
If that's the case, then why not strike all the records from the 2008-09 year? And why not count this year's records? Because let's be honest, how many recruits was USC able to secure the year they also signed Mayo? If we're going with USC's rationale, the team during the entire four-year span is tainted. So why leave last year alone?
Either way, I think that's some severe punishment. Especially when you take into consideration the fact that the NCAA has not yet responded to USC's self-punishment. I imagine USC was so strict so the NCAA wouldn't come in and take over with a worse punishment, but it's still a possibility.
Lesson learned, don't cheat. USC really didn't gain that much from Mayo. Even with him and their No. 6 seed in the post-season, they still couldn't overcome No. 11 Kansas State to advance deep into the tournament. And now, they've actually been hurt by the means to which they secured him.
At every university's athletic department there is an NCAA compliance director that tries to keep teams/players/coaches/staff honest by releasing information on adherence to NCAA rules, regulations and by-laws (which seem to be changing daily). That just goes to show how crazy the NCAA's governance is and how far it actually extends.
But every now and then, someone blatantly ignores the rules, just for a shot at winning an NCAA title.
Enter USC.
In the recruiting of O.J. Mayo, the Trojans broke a ton of rules that I imagine many people probably turned their heads to. To give you an idea as to why, Mayo played one season with USC (2007-08) before being taken in the NBA draft to Memphis, and averaged 20.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game that one season.
It has recently come out that USC broke several NCAA laws in the recruiting of Mayo, including his relationship with Rodney Guillory, who under NCAA rules became a USC booster that season due to the dollar amounts he donated to the basketball program and USC's former head coach that year. There also is a lot of talk about Mayo receiving large sums of money for his play at USC (collegiate student-athletes are not allowed to accept money and can never have done so, since they are supposed to be listed as "amateur athletes" to participate in the NCAA).
There isn't a lot of information out there on what exactly USC and Mayo did wrong. But USC just released their own self-imposed sanctions in response to those NCAA violations on its website.
The self-imposed sanctions for the men's basketball program include a one-year ban on post-season competition following the 2009-2010 regular season, including the Pac-10 Conference basketball tournament; a reduction of one scholarship for the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 academic years; a reduction by one of the number of coaches permitted to engage in off-campus recruiting activities during the summer of 2010, and a reduction in the total number of recruiting days by twenty days (from 130 to 110) for the 2010-2011 academic year.
In addition, because of Mayo's involvement with Rodney Guillory, whom under NCAA rules became a USC booster due to his role in Mayo's recruitment, USC will vacate all wins during the 2007-2008 regular season, which was when Mayo competed while ineligible. USC will also return to the NCAA the money it received through the Pac-10 Conference for its participation in the 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Tournament.
Now this is a big deal, since Mayo and USC's 2007-08 coach are both gone from the picture. So why severely punish the current members of the USC men's basketball team? What I imagine they're saying, is that O.J. Mayo influenced the team during the entire four-year span he originally committed to USC, which would go until the 2010-11 year, his supposed senior year.
If that's the case, then why not strike all the records from the 2008-09 year? And why not count this year's records? Because let's be honest, how many recruits was USC able to secure the year they also signed Mayo? If we're going with USC's rationale, the team during the entire four-year span is tainted. So why leave last year alone?
Either way, I think that's some severe punishment. Especially when you take into consideration the fact that the NCAA has not yet responded to USC's self-punishment. I imagine USC was so strict so the NCAA wouldn't come in and take over with a worse punishment, but it's still a possibility.
Lesson learned, don't cheat. USC really didn't gain that much from Mayo. Even with him and their No. 6 seed in the post-season, they still couldn't overcome No. 11 Kansas State to advance deep into the tournament. And now, they've actually been hurt by the means to which they secured him.
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