NCAA to respond after investigation of USC football; school reportedly gets 2-year bowl ban

NCAA to respond after Southern Cal investigation

LOS ANGELES — The NCAA is ready to respond after its four-year investigation of Southern California’s football team. The penalties are expected to stem primarily from allegations of improper benefits given Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush.

The governing body said Thursday it will announce its ruling in the afternoon.

Two media outlets say the NCAA has decided to ban the Trojans’ football team from the postseason for two years and strip the program of scholarships. USC also is expected to face probation and possible limits on football recruiting contacts.

The Los Angeles Times said the sanctions include the loss of more than 20 scholarships. ESPN.com reported Wednesday night that the Trojans will forfeit wins from “at least the 2004 season.”

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two media outlets are reporting the NCAA has decided to ban Southern California’s football team from the postseason for two years and strip the program of scholarships.

The Los Angeles Times reported the NCAA sanctions include the loss of more than 20 scholarships. ESPN.com reported Wednesday night that the Trojans will forfeit wins “from at least the 2004 season.”

USC is also expected to face probation and possible limits on football recruiting contacts after the NCAA’s four-year investigation into the school.

The NCAA’s report could be released Thursday, although school officials wouldn’t confirm Wednesday they had received the NCAA’s report or planned to address it when it was made public. The NCAA infractions committee held a hearing with USC officials last February, and its report has been expected weekly since April.

USC’s penalties are expected to stem primarily from widespread allegations of improper benefits for Heisman Trophy-winning tailback Reggie Bush during his three seasons at the school. The NCAA, the Pac-10 and even the FBI conducted investigations into the Bush family’s business relationships and USC’s responsibility for the culture around its marquee football team.

The Trojans’ football team won seven straight Pac-10 championships and two national titles during the past decade under Pete Carroll, who left to coach the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks after last season.

No BCS conference football programs have been banned from postseason play over the past seven years, but the NCAA has been expected to make an example of USC, one of the highest-profile programs in the country.

USC’s players are expected to be told about the sanctions at a meeting Thursday morning.

“For real it’s out of our hands but I’m praying that the things they are saying aren’t true,” senior linebacker Malcolm Smith wrote on his Twitter account Wednesday night.

Last year, the NCAA reportedly bundled its Bush probe with its look into the men’s basketball program. USC self-sanctioned the basketball program four months ago over its recruitment of former player O.J. Mayo by former coach Tim Floyd, who was accused of giving cash to a middleman who helped steer Mayo to USC. The Trojans banned themselves from postseason play last season, reduced their scholarships and limited their recruiting.