When the Heisman Trust Conceded, Leaving the Year Blank for College Football’s Maestro Reggie Bush

Over 87 years, 41 schools have seen their players awarded the prestigious Heisman Trophy. An annual award that seeks to appreciate the outstanding performance of a single young athlete for each season. Among the 87 winners, a diverse group that includes individuals with legal issues, only one recipient has been compelled to return the prestigious trophy. 

Surprisingly, this individual is not even among the rule breakers mentioned earlier but rather the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner and USC running back Reggie Bush. An offender against a rule that was recently amended by the NCAA that allows college athletes to leverage monetary benefits through Name Image and Likeness (NIL) opportunities, though still prohibiting “pay-for-play type arrangements.” Will Bush’s award be returned? 

NCAA’s amendments do not align with Bush’s case 

Though allowing college athletes to gain monetary reward from “their name, image, and likeness,” a statement shared by the organization stated, “Previous penalties, including those that are several years old, will not be re-evaluated or reconsidered based on the recent changes to NIL rules.” It does not address Bush’s case exclusively but it is understood that a case dating back to 2010 that had rained heavily against not only Bush, arguably “one of the best players in college football history,” but the whole of the University of Southern California (USC) will not be revisited anytime soon. 

Following the amendments, the former USC star running back and his agents had headache out to the NCAA, seeking his trophy back. “It is my strong belief that I won the Heisman Trophy ‘solely’ due to my hard work and dedication on the football field and it is also my firm belief that my records should be reinstated,” suggested Bush in his appeal. However, he was served with dismissal. In early July, officials from the Heisman Trophy Trust declared that the former USC running back is ineligible to regain the award due to the NCAA’s ruling. 

NCAA’s ruling against Bush and USC

Bush had been a Heisman candidate in 2004 along with teammate quarterback Alex Smith, but finally won the trophy the following year after putting up an outstanding performance of almost 3,000 all-purpose yards and 19 touchdowns. However, after an NCAA investigation, it was revealed that the star running back had received impermissible benefits during his college career, including money and a vehicle. In 2010, he voluntarily returned the Heisman Trophy.

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The NCAA then imposed a four-year probation on the USC football program, mandating the Trojans to vacate their last two wins of the 2004 season, including the 2005 Orange Bowl, along with all victories in 2005. Furthermore, USC faced a ban from bowl games in 2010 and 2011 and was prohibited from associating itself with Reggie Bush. However, with the current amendments and NCAA ruling, it seems like the NFL star is going to have to “Mastering the art of patience and timing” for a while longer. 

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