News that the NCAA came down hard on the University of Southern California's Athletic Department was good news. If the Trojans cheated, they should be penalized.
Right or wrong,the NCAA has often been criticized for looking the other way when one of its big-boy programs broke the rules. Now, the big boys across the country know the NCAA has some teeth in these cheating matters.
So USC is banned from two straight bowl games and will lose 30 scholarships. That should cripple the program for a while. The Trojans won't lose any television appearances however. Keeping them off TV would have further distanced them from the college football world. So that was a break for USC.
The NCAA will also strip victories and championships away. I could never really understand why this is a punishment. Really, who cares. Most people will remember the victories and championships still belonging to USC anyway. I think the penalties should further hinder the present and future.
It will be interesting to see how this affects USC football AND basketball. The basketball team was also cited. If it doesn't cause more losses than victories, then maybe the NCAA didn't do enough.
But at the very least, USC knows it must keep a tighter reign on its athletic program. In due time, the Trojans will want to return to their big boy status.
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