USC football placed on 1 year of probation, fined $50,000 by NCAA for violating coaching staff rules

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Southern California’s football program has been fined $50,000 and placed on probation for one year by the NCAA because of multiple violations of coaching staff rules over two seasons.

The NCAA and USC announced Tuesday that they reached a settlement in the case.

An NCAA investigation found that USC exceeded the allowed number of countable coaches during the 2022 season and during spring practices in 2023. Eight analysts did on- and off-field coaching during that period, exceeding the permissible number by six.

Both parties also agreed Lincoln Riley violated head coach responsibility rules but that he would not be suspended.

The NCAA changed its rules restricting the number of coaches and their duties in January 2023.

“Because Riley was not personally involved in the violations and demonstrated that he promoted an atmosphere of compliance and monitored his staff, Riley rebutted his presumed responsibility for the violations occurring before the rules change. For the same reasons, the parties also agreed that a suspension penalty for Riley was not appropriate,” the NCAA said in a news release announcing the settlement.

Riley briefly spoke about the NCAA’s decision after the Trojans’ practice on Tuesday night, saying USC had “had that behind us now for multiple months.”

“That’s one of the challenges that we all face is that you could work at different institutions, and then the definition of all that, how it’s interpreted, is going to be different at a hundred different places,” Riley added. “So I think you see what the level of penalties that were levied. In this day and age, the head coach responsibility thing, it’s a big deal, and we get it. If it’s something very serious, they’re going to suspend the head coach, so I think that kind of says what it was. We don’t take it lightly. We own the things that we have to correct, and we move forward.”

The probation announcement is another chapter in what has been a disappointing third season for Riley. USC is 4-5 overall and 2-4 in its first season in the Big Ten going into Saturday’s game against Nebraska.

Riley — who took the USC job after five years at Oklahoma — was 11-3 in 2022 but is 12-10 the past two years.

The NCAA also restricted USC from having its special teams analyst in practice and film review for six consecutive days during two weeks of the 2024-25 season. The remaining analysts will be restricted from practice and film review for six consecutive days during four weeks of the 2024-25 season.

“Since learning of potential violations related to our football program in May 2023, USC has worked cooperatively with the NCAA enforcement staff and with the Committee on Infractions, as we identified and acknowledged violations, issued corrective measures, and submitted a negotiated resolution in a timely fashion that was approved by the Committee,” USC athletic director Jen Cohen said in a statement. “We remain committed to upholding the highest standards of ethical behavior and integrity in our athletic programs.”

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