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The USC football program has been placed on probation by the NCAA due to infractions that occurred throughout the 2022 and 2023 calendar years. Head coach Lincoln Riley skirted major punishment, thanks in part to one caveat.
The rule no longer exists! Changes to legislation helped him avoid shouldering all of the blame. That said, there is a hefty fine that comes along with the NCAA ruling.
The Trojans will be docked $50,000 as a response to the rule breaking, which took place in the spring of ’22, the fall of ’22, and the spring of ’23. Connor Morisette of 247 Sports was the first to report the violation, which involves “on- and off-field coaching activities.”
“Eight analysts for the football program engaged in on- and off-field coaching activities during spring 2022, fall 2022 and spring 2023, resulting in the football program exceeding the permissible number of countable coaches by six for two academic years,” which violated NCAA rules, according to a release.
–247 Sports
Lincoln Riley won’t, however, face suspension for the wrongdoing that occurred under his watch. The NCAA chose leniency due to a number of notable reasons.
While Riley “violated head coach responsibility rules,” he was both swift and cooperative in his communication with the NCAA. Also noted in the release is the fact that the majority of those infractions took place prior to a January 2023 rule change.
In this case, however, some of the violations occurred before rules changes effective in January 2023 that shifted head coach responsibility rules from a rebuttable presumption to automatic attachment. Because Riley was not personally involved in the violations and demonstrated that he promoted an atmosphere of compliance and monitored his staff, Riley rebutted his presumed responsibility for the violations occurring before the rules change. For the same reasons, the parties also agreed that a suspension penalty for Riley was not appropriate.
-NCAA release
Had the infractions occurred after January 2023, Riley would’ve assumed automatic attachment. Since they didn’t, he was able to rebut his presumed responsibility.
USC “appropriately educated” its staff of correct NCAA practices, though it “occasionally exhibited” an obvious lapse in judgement. While Riley will walk away largely with a slap on the wrist, his program didn’t come out scot-free.
Included in the penalty was that $50K fine, a year of probation, a reduction in “countable athletically related activities,” and restrictions for analysts from practice and film review.
This season hasn’t gone as planned for the Trojans, who climbed as high as No. 11 in the AP Poll following a 2-0 start. Since, USC is just 2-5 with losses to Michigan, Minnesota, Penn State, Maryland, and Washington.
At 4-5, criticisms surrounding Lincoln Riley have grown loud. He’ll do his best to right the ship over the last three weeks of the year.