USC Trojans stripped of 2004 football national title

By Joey Kaufman

The Bowl Championship Series stripped USC of its 2004 national championship Monday as a result of major infractions stemming from the ineligibility of former tailback Reggie Bush.

As a result of the ruling, USC must vacate the results of the 2005 Orange Bowl, the 2004 national title game in which USC defeated Oklahoma 55-19, as well as the 2006 Rose Bowl, in which the Trojans lost to Texas 41-38 in the final minutes.

“The BCS alerted us today that their presidents have voted to vacate USC’s 2005 BCS Championship Game victory,” USC Athletic Director Pat Haden said in a statement. “This was not an unexpected outcome. We will comply with all requirements mandated by the result of this BCS vote.”

The announcement comes 11 days after USC’s appeal of last June’s sanctions, which included a two-year postseason ban and a loss of 30 scholarships over three seasons, was denied by the NCAA’s Infractions Appeals Committee.

The BCS was only waiting for the appeals process to be completed, before making its ruling official.

“The BCS arrangement crowns a national champion, and the BCS games are showcase events for postseason football,” BCS Executive Director Bill Hancock said in a statement. “One of the best ways of ensuring that they remain so is for us to foster full compliance with NCAA rules. Accordingly, in keeping with the NCAA’s recent action, USC’s appearances are being vacated.”

As a result, there will no BCS champion for the 2004-2005 season.

“This action reflects the scope of the BCS arrangement and is consistent with the NCAA’s approach when it subsequently discovers infractions by institutions whose teams have played in NCAA championship events,” Hancock said.

USC will still keep its Associated Press National Championship.

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