The NCAA has ruled that USC will receive a two year ban from the postseason, a loss of scholarships, and will forfeit some wins according to an ESPN report that you can read here. A formal announcement from the NCAA will take place at 3:00 P.M. today.
This is a big blow to the USC football program. This will effect recruiting not only next year but the year after as USC will not be eligible to play in a bowl game until 2012. This also effects current players who have the ability to transfer, although they must sit out a year if they choose to do so. Lane Kiffin has his work cut out for him in the upcoming years, as he has his hands tied as he enters his first season as head coach of the USC football team. The people with smiles on their faces today are the people of Knoxville, whom Kiffin ditched after coaching for only one year to coach at USC.
In other college football news, Nebraska has accepted an offer to join the Big 10. Other teams are also expected to join the Big 10 some time in the near future. The Pac 10 also added the University of Colorado to join its conference. According to Pac 10 officials, it is only a matter of when more teams will join the conference.
A major change in the landscape of college football is taking place. It has been speculated that the Big 12 will dissolve if they lose more teams. We will wait and see if that happens. But what is taking place is something I do not think benefits the game of college football. The better teams will only get better and there will be more of a gap between the bad teams and the good ones. Expansion does not increase competition, and no one wants to see bad football. Expansion also does not benefit the average football fan. These programs are all in it for the revenue. They want more revenue to put more money into their schools to buy more things for their programs in order to recruit better players which only passes the burden on to the fans. Fans should expect ticket prices to continue to increase significantly, while more benefits will be given to boosters who contribute more to the pot. That is just how it works. Just like PSL's are ruining the average Joe NFL fan, expansion in college football will be a detriment to the average Joe college football fan.
What college football may get out of this is the possibility of a playoff system for the postseason. I have never been a fan of the computer system currently in place for the BCS, even though it has benefited the teams I root for. We have to wait until everything settles before we can talk about what type of system we can get.
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Showing posts with label USC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label USC. Show all posts
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Lane Kiffin ditches Knoxville for LA
Lane Kiffin is no stranger to controversy. Over the past 14 months as head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers, he has committed at least 3 NCAA violations.
USC is no stranger to controversy either. The school is under investigation for a slew of NCAA violations involving Reggie Bush and Joe McKnight. McKnight has allegedly been driving an SUV owned by a California businessman, a violation of NCAA rules. Bush has been sued by Lloyd Lake for allegedly accepting $300,000 in gifts during his time at USC.
So what does this all mean? This leaves Tennessee in a real bind. They have no head coach, and a bunch of recruits who have only verbally committed to the school. This means that they they did not sign a letter of intent, meaning they are free to decommit and choose a school of their liking, including USC. Tennessee must now frantically search for a head coach, even though most of the talented ones are gone. My guess is they hire Mike Leach, who has filed a lawsuit against Texas Tech after they fired a few weeks ago.
Lane Kiffin must pay Tennessee $800,000 for leaving his contract at Tennessee. Then he is off to USC to become their next head coach after Pete Carrol left to become head coach of the Seattle Seahawks. So the question remains, why did Lane Kiffin take this job? Well it is a higher profile job then Tennessee, who has not won the SEC since 1998. USC has been a powerhouse in the PAC-10 under Carroll, winning at least a share of 2 National Titles and 7 PAC-10 titles. USC is the cream of the crop right now. And the cast Kiffin is surrounding himself with is incredible. His Dad, Monte, will join him as defensive coordinator after he left the NFL to be with Lane at Tennessee last year. Ed Orgeron will also be on his defensive staff. It has been rumored that Norm Chow will leave UCLA and head to USC to become their offensive coordinator. Chow had that position while Carrol was their but left for UCLA 2 years ago.
But these sanctions are still hanging over USC. What will happen after these investigations are over is anyone's guess. But if they tie Lane Kiffins hands, he is going to have a difficult time getting USC back to where it was.
USC is no stranger to controversy either. The school is under investigation for a slew of NCAA violations involving Reggie Bush and Joe McKnight. McKnight has allegedly been driving an SUV owned by a California businessman, a violation of NCAA rules. Bush has been sued by Lloyd Lake for allegedly accepting $300,000 in gifts during his time at USC.
So what does this all mean? This leaves Tennessee in a real bind. They have no head coach, and a bunch of recruits who have only verbally committed to the school. This means that they they did not sign a letter of intent, meaning they are free to decommit and choose a school of their liking, including USC. Tennessee must now frantically search for a head coach, even though most of the talented ones are gone. My guess is they hire Mike Leach, who has filed a lawsuit against Texas Tech after they fired a few weeks ago.
Lane Kiffin must pay Tennessee $800,000 for leaving his contract at Tennessee. Then he is off to USC to become their next head coach after Pete Carrol left to become head coach of the Seattle Seahawks. So the question remains, why did Lane Kiffin take this job? Well it is a higher profile job then Tennessee, who has not won the SEC since 1998. USC has been a powerhouse in the PAC-10 under Carroll, winning at least a share of 2 National Titles and 7 PAC-10 titles. USC is the cream of the crop right now. And the cast Kiffin is surrounding himself with is incredible. His Dad, Monte, will join him as defensive coordinator after he left the NFL to be with Lane at Tennessee last year. Ed Orgeron will also be on his defensive staff. It has been rumored that Norm Chow will leave UCLA and head to USC to become their offensive coordinator. Chow had that position while Carrol was their but left for UCLA 2 years ago.
But these sanctions are still hanging over USC. What will happen after these investigations are over is anyone's guess. But if they tie Lane Kiffins hands, he is going to have a difficult time getting USC back to where it was.
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