Nearly 8 months after Yahoo Sports alleged USC coach Tim Floyd — since returned to the NBA — made payments to an L.A. event promoter that were passed along to hotly pursued recruit O.J. Mayo (above), the school announced self-imposed sanctions including scholarship reductions, a postseason ban, return of loot from the 2008 tournament and forfeiture of all wins from the 2007-2008 season (Mayo’s sole campaign as a Trojan). From the LA Times’ David Wharton and Baxter Holmes :
The university worked closely with Pac-10 and NCAA officials to investigate the matter, athletic director Mike Garrett said. He said the school is “disappointed that rules were violated” but did not elaborate on those violations.
“While we recognize there may be additional questions about our announcement today or other alleged NCAA infractions, until the NCAA concludes its inquiries, we cannot make any further comment,” Garrett said.
The basketball program’s self-imposed punishment suggested that USC knew the NCAA was about to take action, said the director of a compliance department at a major university familiar with such investigations.
“If they’re doing all that, they know something’s coming,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “They know they’re going to have their day in front of the [NCAA’s] committee on infractions, and they’re preparing.”
The NCAA has a history of giving credit to schools that self-impose but nonetheless could hand down further penalties in any or all of these matters.
Though the NCAA is powerless to discipline Mayo, currently ensconced with the NBA’s Grizzlies, if it is eventually determined that Floyd either directly made payments or was aware of such an arrangement, will the governing body step up and ban him from college coaching? Floyd got the fuck out of Dodge Troy right when things were getting hot, and this year’s squad is being penalized for something they had nothing to do with. Sure, Mayo looks rotten in all of this, but whatever he was paid, you can bet it was far less than Tim Floyd’s salary.