USC Will Vacate 2004 BCS Title If Appeal Fails

in Weekly Update by Asher Feldman — July 27, 2010 at 3:35 pm | 1 comment

The University of Southern California’s 55-14 victory over Oklahoma in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl to claim the 2004 BCS title was a definite statement of dominance.

Now the BCS is making a definite statement of its own.

BCS executive director, addressing the media at Big 12 Media Day in Dallas, Texas, told the assembled crowd that if USC’s appeal of the NCAA’s sanctions in regards to former Trojan Reggie Bush is to fail, the 2004 BCS title will be vacated.

Currently, the Trojans have been levied a two-year postseason ban and the loss of 20 scholarships, however the school is appealing the ruling to reduce both sentences by half. ‘SC was also docked the 13 wins from the 2004 season, but because the NCAA does not control the BCS title, it could not directly rule for the school to vacate that title.

Hancock’s announcement solidifies weeks of speculation as to what the BCS would do with the NCAA ruling. Many had also speculated whether the ’04 championship will be given to another team, namely Oklahoma (12-1 in 2004) or Auburn (13-0), but the term “vacation” means a simple removal — not awarding it to another team — as a “forfeiture” would.

The records from the 2004 edition of the Trojans will be removed from record books, including those statistics which reflect on Bush, former coach Pete Carroll and USC all-time wins.

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Tags: 2004 bcs title BCS bill hancock featured ncaa sanctions reggie bush university of southern california