NCAA Denies USC Appeal

It took four months, but the NCAA has finally spoken in regards to USC's appeal of the sanctions levied in light of the investigations in Reggie Bush and Todd McNair. USCFootball.com was the first to report that the appeal was completely denied.

The Trojans football team will be allowed to sign no more than 15 players to scholarships for the next three seasons (against a top limit of 25 for schools not under sanction).

And of even more immediate impact, USC would not be able to compete for the first-ever Pac-12 championship or appear in the first-ever postseason championship game in 2011 as well. 

Of further concern, the NCAA's unprecedented additional sanction allowing players affected by the postseason ban this year to immediately transfer to another institution without sitting out a season would still be in play for this year's seniors.

The school is unable to comment until the decision has been released to the public, which is expected to happen on Thursday.  There had been some hope that at least a portion of the appeal would be accepted in light of lesser punishments handed out to Auburn and Ohio State after recent infractions. However it appears that the NCAA will stand by their apparent decision to make an example of one of its marquee programs run amok.

Congratulations to the NCAA for finding the gumption to finally drop the hammer on one of its major programs for being caught in the act of major infractions. But with Jim Tressel being caught allegedly hiding violations and Cecil Newton shopping his kid out to at least one school, maybe consistency should be the next thing to work on.