# Florida State probation... what about USC? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [March 9, 2009, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-state-probation-what-about-usc/488788 "2009-03-09T00:54:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-state-probation-what-about-usc/488788/1 "2009-03-09T00:54:48Z")
Florida State football is on [probation](http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=ap-floridast-cheating&prov=ap&type=lgns). > [@](#): > > Florida State may have to forfeit some of coach Bobby Bowden’s 382 wins and will be on probation for the next four years as part of its punishment for a widespread academic cheating scandal. > > The Seminoles will have to give up two scholarships this recruiting season and one the following year. Other sports will lose scholarships and have victories—including three NCAA national championships in track and field— threatened. > > The NCAA said 61 Florida State athletes cheated on an online test from the fall of 2006 through summer 2007 or received improper help from staffers who provided them with answers to the exam and typed papers for them. > > The NCAA said the school must vacate all wins in contests in which athletes involved in the cheating participated. That could involve up to 14 football victories. A few years ago, USC seemed to be in hot water after Reggie Bush and his family got some improper benefits. There was talk of forfeiting Bush’s Heisman and the USC’s 2004 national championship. And now, nothing. What ever became of that? I know some conspiracy theorists are saying the NCAA is protecting USC due to all the championships, but that seems unlikely, since they only won [one](http://lifedistilled.com/images/184/onepeat_billboard.jpg), and that was nearly 5 years ago. What gives? ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-state-probation-what-about-usc/488788/2 "2009-03-09T01:01:40Z")
I’m an FSU grad, but the only athletics I ever did was jogging around the stadium. This is a huge penalty. I’m well aware that most colllege athletes aren’t there to enrich the Shakespeare program. I’m sure if we dug into USC or UF or Alabama, or Texas, or any other major college program we’d see the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-state-probation-what-about-usc/488788/3 "2009-03-09T01:14:48Z")
The NCAA does seem to give different penalties based on their determination that a problem is isolated or systemic, the product of a single goof or a single player or of institutional failure of leadership and management. Apparently they decided the Bush case was the former, and the FSU case was the latter. One can wonder if they’d have applied the death penalty instead if they still dared to (SMU never recovered, as they know). ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-state-probation-what-about-usc/488788/4 "2009-03-09T03:20:54Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > I’m an FSU grad, but the only athletics I ever did was jogging around the stadium. This is a huge penalty. I’m well aware that most colllege athletes aren’t there to enrich the Shakespeare program. > > I’m sure if we dug into USC or UF or Alabama, or Texas, or any other major college program we’d see the same thing. Won’t be long before you’re the number five Florida football program. You’re arguably already fourth. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-state-probation-what-about-usc/488788/5 "2009-03-10T04:37:00Z")
USC got punished enough by being cheated out of 3 shots at the Nat’l Championship, if you ask me. Move along! Nothing to see here! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-state-probation-what-about-usc/488788/6 "2009-03-10T07:48:47Z")
[This covers it pretty well.](http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/stewart_mandel/05/29/cfb.mailbag/) Essentially the NCAA has no evidence of Bush doing anything wrong. It looks like he probably did, but everyone involved has no motivation to say anything and the NCAA has no jurisdiction or authority over any of them. In any case, one star player getting involved with an agent is small potatoes compared to a widespread academic cheating scandal. Equating the two is nothing but sour grapes and deflection.