The True Champions

Recently, the NCAA decided the fate of the USC athletic program. The penalty was harsh and undoubtedly deserved. Southern Cal has been the gold standard for cheating in college sports in this past decade. The NCAA ruled that now New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush's mother stayed in a classy San Diego area home while Bush was a Trojan. The problem was that Bush's mother wasn't paying rent. Memphis Grizzlies guard OJ Mayo went on shopping sprees worth thousands of dollars during his year at USC. The credit card that Mayo used to make those purchases was the credit line of a non-profit charitable organization. Unfortunately, the organization didn't exist and the credit card was given to him by an individual who had already been reprimanded for shady dealings with USC basketball players. This particular bad guy, an agency runner by the name of Rodney Guillory, was a frequent visitor to the USC basketball offices despite the fact that he had already ruined the eligibility of a former Trojan hoops star named Jeff Trepagnier.

There's no other way to put it. The Trojans cheated. It should be time for USC to give back two trophies that they don't deserve.

It was suspected that the Trojans football program would have to vacate their 2004 National Championship season. The BCS is currently debating their decision on the fate of the 2004 championship. If USC is stripped, the BCS will proclaim the title as being vacant. The Associated Press has made the decision to allow the Trojans to keep their title. The decision was made in direct contradiction to a decision made by the AP earlier this year.

When Houston Texans rookie linebacker Brian Cushing tested positive for a banned substance, the AP decided that a re-vote would decide the fate of Cushing's Rookie of the Year award that he had won months prior.

If the AP followed their earlier precedent, a re-vote would have found the Auburn Tigers to be the true national champions of the 2004 season.

To refresh your memory, the 2004 season was the season that the BCS code was finally cracked by a team outside of the power six confidences. Utah finished undefeated by thrashing Pitt in the Fiesta Bowl, and Auburn capped off an undefeated season by knocking off Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl. Neither of these teams got the chance to play for a title. That right was taken away by USC and their ineligible star player, Reggie Bush. Boise State and Oklahoma also finished the 2004 regular season undefeated, but Boise State lost one of the best bowl games ever to Louisville, and Oklahoma got drilled by USC in the title game.

If the AP had enough backbone to re-vote, the Auburn Tigers would be the new champ for the 2004 season. The Tigers ran through the best conference in the country, and beat a really good team in their bowl game. Retrospectively, that Tigers team even produced a ton of future pros that are still playing on Sundays.

In a perfect world the 2004 national championship would have been awarded to a team that didn't cheat....or at least had the decency not to get caught.

The AP had a chance to crown a true champion...and they blew it.

Conference Shake Up Summary

As it turns out, the NCAA did not undergo any catastrophic changes to its conference alignments. Changes were made however, and there will be more to come. This is a quick rundown of what has happened so far and what still might happen in the next year or two.   

-Realignment proceedings got off to a very unorganized start. It was rumored weeks ago that the Pac-10 would invite the entire Big 12 South division to join their conference, leaving the teams of the Big 12 North to scramble for conference affiliations. When rumors circulated that both Missouri and Nebraska had found a home in the Big Ten, Colorado jumped ship and joined the Pac-10. The move was supposed to be a precursor to Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Texas A&M all joining the Pac-10. Colorado's acceptance was slated to scratch Baylor's involvement in the expansion plan. Unfortunately, no one joined the Buffs in the Pac-10, leaving them as a member of an eleven team Pac-10 that financially can't compete with a ten team Big 12.   

-Nebraska made a very tactical move by becoming the 12th member of the Big Ten. The Huskers give the Big Ten the opportunity to host a conference championship game, and the logistic ability to expand their groundbreaking Big Ten Network into more households. Wisconsin has already contacted league offices, requesting that they annually play Nebraska at the end of the regular season with the hope of starting a rivalry.

-Shortly after Nebraska made their move, Missouri realized that they would not get an invite from the Big Ten. The Tigers had no choice but to rely on Texas to keep the Big 12 Conference together.

-Boise State made a regrettable move by going from the WAC to the Mountain West. The Broncos could have been patient and landed in either the Big 12 or the Pac-10.  

-Fortunately for Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, and previously mentioned Missouri...Texas did decide to save the Big 12. The Longhorns chose to stay put and the rest of the Big 12 South followed suit. As repayment for breathing life back into the conference, Texas will receive an inordinate percentage of the conference's revenue and will be allowed to start their own television network (tentatively named "The Longhorn Network").  

-Texas A&M made the most ego driven move in the past month. In an effort to hide the fact that they planned on following the lead of their arch rival Texas, the Aggies decided to flirt with the idea of joining the SEC and leaving behind it's geographic rival. There was no way that A&M would ever separate itself from Texas, but the ruse was put in place to portray Texas A&M as a school that could make decisions without the consent of Texas. In the end, the Aggies embarrassed themselves by staying with Texas when they had every reason to leave.

-Utah just received an invitation from the Pac-10 to be the conference's 12th member. BYU and (later) Boise State are possible candidates for further Pac-10 expansion.

-Notre Dame is safe for now, but eventually conference expansion will force the Irish to join the Big Ten for all sports. Notre Dame's football program carries too much prestige to play in a Big East football conference that may not even exist in a few years.

-The Big East desperately needs to add football programs. Connecticut West Virginia, Louisville, and South Florida are all destined for either the ACC or the SEC at some point. Even though it makes absolutely no geographical sense, the Big Ten could possibly take away Rutgers and Syracuse. Teams like Marshall and East Carolina are beating down the door to get into the Big East, but the conference would be better off transitioning established winning programs such as FCS National Champ Villanova and perennial FCS power Richmond. Georgetown also has a FCS football program that can be upgraded. The addition of those three teams along with ECU and/or Marshall could possibly be enough to save the Big East football conference.
TCU is an ideal candidate to join the Big 12. They are already bitter rivals with Baylor, and would be a great addition. Right now, the Frogs are a better program than Colorado or Nebraska.