Carroll’s legacy TBD

[BBSOONER]

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...yhoo&type=lgns

Carroll’s legacy TBD

By Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports

So Pete Carroll has reportedly resigned and appears headed back to the NFL, this time with Seattle. What he left behind at Southern California is anyone’s guess.

There will be memories of his exuberant personality, joyfully pacing the sidelines during nine dominant seasons. And there will be questions about how he accomplished it.

Sources with knowledge of the situation say the NCAA is in the final stages of what has become a two-sport, department-wide investigation into USC athletics. A source told Yahoo! Sports that Reggie Bush voluntarily met with NCAA investigators last summer to discuss allegations of receiving extra benefits from marketing representatives.

The NCAA is expected to finalize its investigation in the next couple of months, if not sooner.

Details in the case date back to 2004, when Bush allegedly began receiving cash, clothes, cars, travel and a rent-free home for his mother and stepfather from marketing companies. The case could run through last month’s revelation that Joe McKnight (“the next Reggie Bush”) was driving a SUV registered to an L.A.-area businessman. It also includes agent activity surrounding former basketball star O.J. Mayo that led to the resignation of coach Tim Floyd and the school sanctioning itself last month.

If the NCAA declares Bush retroactively ineligible for the 2004 season, the Bowl Championship Series has said it will consider stripping the Trojans of their lone BCS title during Carroll’s era.

By the end, who knows what will be left.

Carroll never has publicly offered detailed answers to myriad questions that surround how the program handled its off-field business. Whatever, if anything, he’s told the NCAA thus far may be his final comment – as the Seahawks coach he no longer is obligated to speak to investigators.

At issue aren’t just specific details about Carroll’s knowledge of various dealings but the overall personality of his program.

There’s no denying Carroll ran a loose ship. At its best it perfectly represented his fun-loving ways and the laid-back L.A. lifestyle. At its worst it opened the program up to all sorts of trouble.

There were celebs on the sidelines, practices open to nearly anyone, and agents and runners rummaging around Heritage Hall like perhaps no place else in college football. The compliance department appeared to be compliant to the wishes of the football program. And it was all headed by a bumbling, if image-conscious, athletic director in Mike Garrett.

In each of the investigations, the NCAA will ask not just whether a coach (or his assistants) knew about agent or booster activity with a player but also whether he or they should’ve known.

Troubling for USC is that the people who allegedly – or in some cases admittedly – supplied Bush and his family with extra benefits weren’t anonymous to the program.

Two founders of a fledgling San Diego marketing company were given postgame locker room access at the L.A. Coliseum, and one, Lloyd Lake, said USC assistant coach Todd McNair had knowledge of the benefits received by Bush.

Another marketing company that was alleged to have made direct payments to the player and admitted providing travel for Bush and his parents (its claim of restitution doesn’t make it any less of a NCAA violation) actually employed Bush as a summer intern. They did it only after filing paperwork with the USC compliance office.

This means that in the months before his Heisman Trophy season, not one person at USC, let alone Carroll, considered that it might be risky to have a potential top-five pick spend the summer interning at a marketing company desperate to sign him as a client?

In the post-Bush era, the school doesn’t appear all that more diligent. When McKnight registered a SUV with the athletic department during his junior season, red flags apparently didn’t fly. The Los Angeles Times quickly figured out that the car was registered to a local businessman who also employed McKnight’s girlfriend and had secured a web domain that could be used to market McKnight. USC either didn’t check or didn’t act on it.

How isn’t all of this a lack of institutional control?

And how couldn’t Pete Carroll be aware of at least some of it? Can all of it be brushed off as a coincidence?

The perception is that the NCAA has been standing around doing nothing on this case as part of a conspiracy to sweep it under the rug. While its long history of selective enforcement creates reasonable doubt about its motives regarding a cash cow such as USC, in this situation I’m inclined, at least partially, to believe the opposite.

The Trojans represent a must-get for the NCAA, a case that is so over-the-top, so well-publicized and so blatantly against the most obvious of rules that it can’t allow the Trojans to escape without losing all credibility and dealing with an avalanche of national criticism. Many in college athletics wonder that if the NCAA can’t get USC, what’s the point of the operation?

Part of it is jealousy of the juggernaut Carroll built. Part of it is because of the huge financial numbers, the documents, taped conversations and a tell-all book. Part of it is because Bush hasn’t helped his cause. That includes paying a reported $300,000 to Michael Michaels, the man who owned the rent-free home, in a settlement that included an unusual clause that prohibited Michaels from speaking with the NCAA.

All of this is why the NCAA has been so slow and cautious. Here’s how the system works: The NCAA enforcement staff (the cops) get one chance to present their findings to the infractions committee (the jury). That jury has built a recent reputation for turning a blind eye on even obvious violations, in part because it’s mostly made up of sympathetic athletic directors.

In the Bush case, the enforcement staff patiently has waited for all the possible facts to come out. This includes Bush’s potential under oath testimony in a lawsuit filed by Lake. If the NCAA acted swiftly, it would’ve missed out on speaking with Bush (or getting sworn testimony) and thus presented a weaker case to the jury.

In this situation, the delay actually was a sign of serious intent. It’s trying to deliver a thorough case to a jury that knows college sports’ credibility is on the line.

While some of that may not be fair to USC, and Carroll’s Trojans may have done nothing that dozens of their competitors also have not done, the stonewalling, gag-order settlements and circumstances have helped make this what it is.

USC was able to delay things through the years, but doing so may not have helped its cause in the long run.

Now Pete Carroll is all but gone, but the questions remain and his legacy isn’t close to determined.

[BBSOONER]

I cant find the article I read earlier that said, "Norton to Seattle. Done!"

But this references his move. USC falling apart at the seems!

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4814933

[BBSOONER]

Then there is this:

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...yhoo&type=lgns

Bush met with NCAA over probe

By Jason Cole and Charles Robinson, Yahoo! Sports


In what is believed to represent one of the NCAA’s last major hurdles in its investigation of the University of Southern California, Yahoo! Sports has learned former Trojans running back Reggie Bush has been interviewed by investigators.

The NCAA declined to comment, but a source close to Bush confirmed the meeting took place prior to the 2009 NFL season. While the scope of the interview wasn’t revealed, the source indicated that Bush once again denied that he and his family took nearly $300,000 in extra benefits during his sophomore and junior seasons at USC. At the very least, the meeting satisfied a three-year-plus quest by the NCAA to interview the former Heisman Trophy winner.
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Shawn Chapman Holley, an attorney for Bush, declined comment via email.

The NCAA’s investigation has been ongoing since April 2006, when a series of Yahoo! Sports reports detailed allegations of extra benefits given to Bush and his family by a failed sports marketing company. Since then, the probe has come to encompass former Trojans basketball star O.J. Mayo and the men’s basketball program, after a report by ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” detailed benefits that allegedly had been funneled to Mayo. Former Trojans basketball coach Tim Floyd abruptly resigned after a Yahoo! Sports report detailing an alleged $1,000 cash payment from Floyd to a man who had helped steer Mayo to USC. The investigation is believed to now include Trojans running back Joe McKnight, whose use of a 2006 Land Rover and ties to a marketing entrepreneur in Santa Monica also have come under scrutiny after a recent report in the Los Angeles Times.

Multiple sources interviewed by the NCAA eventually revealed to Yahoo! Sports that investigators had widened their probe significantly in the last year, moving beyond Bush and Mayo and deepening the focus on USC’s control of its athletic department. Such a shift was significant, as it brought into play the issue of lack of institutional control – one of the most serious penalties that can be brought against a university. Such a penalty could result in a significant loss of scholarships, postseason bans, the stripping of wins, voiding of statistics and other far-reaching sanctions.

Multiple sources interviewed by the NCAA previously had indicated their belief the investigation would wrap in spring or summer, but recent developments at USC hint that a final determination – which would be issued to the school in a notice of infractions – may be coming soon. Among them:

• USC announced self-imposed sanctions against its men’s basketball program for NCAA violations during the 2007-08 season related to Mayo allegedly having accepted benefits from known sports agency runner Rodney Guillory. Guillory helped steer Mayo to USC, and according to former Mayo confidant Louis Johnson, also allegedly received at least one cash payment of $1,000 from Floyd. The penalties levied by USC included a ban on postseason play, a reduction of scholarships, recruiting restrictions and the vacation of victories from the 2007-08 season. Both Mayo and Floyd repeatedly have declined to comment specifically on the allegations. Mayo’s agent, LaPoe Smith, this week denied the allegations that his client accepted extra benefits.

• The possible departure of USC football coach Pete Carroll, who according to multiple reports has agreed in principle to a contract that would make him the next coach of the Seattle Seahawks.

• The departure of McKnight, who chose to skip his senior season and enter the NFL draft. McKnight’s involvement with a 2006 Land Rover owned by Santa Monica businessman Scott Schenter still is under investigation by USC and the NCAA. Schenter, who employs McKnight’s girlfriend and was the registered owner of the vehicle, also owns a company which once registered the domain 4joemcknight.com. Both McKnight and Schenter have denied any wrongdoing.

Bush and his family still are embroiled in a legal battle in relation to the allegations brought against him. They are being sued by Lloyd Lake, a co-founder of the failed marketing company which allegedly funneled nearly $300,000 in benefits to Bush and his family. Bush already reached a $300,000 settlement with Michael Michaels, who was Lake’s partner in the company.

The suit long has been tied up in legal wrangling between opposing attorneys for each side, but a recent ruling in Lake’s favor has opened the way for depositions of Carroll, Bush, Bush’s family and other potential witnesses in the suit. Those depositions could begin as early as March.

[BBSOONER]

I also read he does not want the USC job. Link to that coming when I find it again.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...v=ap&type=lgns

[TrojanHorse]

NCAA investigation of Trojans athletics is complete

Just as quickly as Pete Carroll spoke his final words at his outgoing USC press conference, Yahoo News was notifying the public that the lengthy investigation of Southern California athletics had come to an end. Coincidence?— It certainly doesn’t bode well for a coach insisting that the probe had nothing to do with his impromptu resignation of one position to become the leader of another up north. Regardless, the results of the investigation have no affect on players and staff members long gone. It is the school and current members that now await their fate. According to the report, the NCAA will now meet in late February to discuss their findings, with a news conference to disclose their results and impose any sanctions to come 6-8 weeks later. So realistically, by the end of spring practices, the Trojans will have a clearer view of their football future.--Empire

[BBSOONER]

http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angele...e=NCFHeadlines

Official: USC sanctions not yet in effect

By Dana O'Neil
ESPN.com

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.

[1badnole]

LMAO What comes around, goes around.

ALso find it a bit funny that USC might define the term "lack of institutional control."

[Extra Point]

My predictions...

1. AD Mike Garrett resigns or is fired
2. USC offers up forfeiture of 2005 football wins to NCAA as punishment (point of contention with Pete in recent weeks)
3. USC Board of Regents/Trustees throws Pete Carroll under the bus (he knew it and bolted for Seattle)

[BBSOONER]

As stated above in TH's post, but more detailed:

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...yhoo&type=lgns

NCAA probe of USC complete

By Charles Robinson and Jason Cole, Yahoo! Sports


After almost four years of investigation, the NCAA’s probe into the University of Southern California athletic program has reached a conclusion. Sources familiar with the investigation have told Yahoo! Sports that the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions will meet Feb. 19-21 to address what investigators uncovered at USC. According to typical NCAA procedures, if sanctions are necessary, they will be determined and then made public via a news conference within six to eight weeks of the February hearing.

NCAA spokeswoman Stacey Osburn declined comment. The NCAA’s website indicates the next meeting of the Committee on Infractions will occur Feb. 19-21 in Tempe, Ariz.


Neither USC nor Pac-10 officials could be immediately reached for comment.

The meeting will be the apex in the NCAA’s probe into USC’s athletic program, as it represents the first determination on whether sanctions should be leveled against the school. The determination on a hearing date also indicates USC has received a letter of allegations from the NCAA and that the school has responded in some way. According to NCAA procedures, schools informed of infractions have at least 90 days to respond. After the response period has expired, a case summary is completed and a date is set for the Committee on Infractions to meet and determine whether there is a basis for sanctioning.

The NCAA’s investigation of USC has been ongoing since April 2006, when a series of Yahoo! Sports reports detailed allegations of extra benefits given to running back Reggie Bush and his family by a failed sports marketing company. Since then, the probe has come to encompass former Trojans basketball star O.J. Mayo and the men’s basketball program, after a report by ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” detailed benefits that allegedly had been funneled to Mayo. Former Trojans basketball coach Tim Floyd abruptly resigned after a Yahoo! Sports report detailed an alleged $1,000 cash payment from Floyd to a man who had helped steer Mayo to USC. The investigation is believed to also include Trojans running back Joe McKnight, whose use of a 2006 Land Rover and ties to a marketing entrepreneur in Santa Monica also have come under scrutiny after a recent report in the Los Angeles Times.

Recent developments at USC, including its decision to self-sanction its basketball program, appear to have occurred after the Trojans received the NCAA’s letter of allegations. News of the hearing also indicates that former Trojans football coach Pete Carroll has been aware for weeks of the specific violations the NCAA may be alleging against his program. Carroll resigned as USC football coach on Sunday and has been named coach of the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks.

The NCAA probe has stretched beyond individual athletes, widening its focus to USC’s control of its sports programs, as well as various aspects of compliance and oversight, according to sources. It is expected to make conclusions on USC’s institutional control and whether the school had the proper checks and balances in place to oversee its athletes.

USC already sanctioned itself for NCAA violations during the 2007-08 season related to Mayo allegedly having accepted benefits from known sports agency runner Rodney Guillory. The penalties levied by USC included a ban on postseason play, a reduction of scholarships, recruiting restrictions and the vacation of all victories from the 2007-08 season. Both Mayo, through his agent, and Floyd have denied wrongdoing.

[BBSOONER]

Hey TH, Finn or USC fans,

What are you hearing if anything about what kind of sanctions USC expects to be imposed and was this all on PC?

Sure starting to look like PC did something or knew of something and left for the NFL. It also looks like he left USC with a serious mess. Is this going to drag the program down to levels that have not been seen since PC got there?

Just interested and hoping to get some insight.

[Herchel]

IMO, they are going to get sanctions similar to Alabama's. It's going to be tough to get an elite coach under those circumstances.

[dawgstud]

Paging Finnian!

[SoonerChuck]

Yeah where is the USC crowd?

[1badnole]

I wondered the same thing SoonerChuck. The trojan nation is in complete meltdown right now.

Anybody here ever see bigdaddy ? I'd like to laugh in his face.... Its probably a good thing that he is no longer here.

[Yellowhammer]

Finn is conspicuously absent and silent. All of his preaching and talking down to FSU fans