USC Looks To Reduce Sanctions

Southern California hopes to reduce the sanctions handed down in the Reggie Bush case when it makes an appeal before the NCAA Committee on Infractions Saturday.

The school was banned from the postseason for two years and forced to cut 30 scholarships during the next three years last summer. It hopes to have those penalties cut in half, though athletic director Pat Haden was not optimistic.

“I’m just realistic,” Haden told the Los Angeles Times. “Ten percent of appeals are successful. Those are the odds we face.”

Haden and school president Max Nikias will lead a delegation that delivers a one-hour presentation.

“Our primary contention is given what we were found to have done, these are the harshest penalties ever handed out,” associate athletic director J.K. McKay told the Times.

Haden and Nikias met with the NCAA last fall as they attempt to change the adversarial dynamic between the school that developed during the investigation of Bush and demonstrate the school’s new dealings with agents and boosters.

Whatever happens, having closure will be relief to coach Lane Kiffin, who led the Trojans to a 8-5 record after taking over for Pete Carroll.

“We’ve been through a lot,” Kiffin told the Times. “We’ll be happy when it settles down.”

His future with the school will be impacted by the NCAA’s response. The eight wins in 2010 were the school’s fewest since 2001 and loss of scholarships hasn’t started and its impact won’t be felt for another 2-3 years when those recruits would be juniors and seniors.

Because the decision is expected after the Feb. 2 signing day, USC will have 10 scholarships reduced for this recruiting year.