The usual suspects, including athletic director Mike Garrett, are in town representing USC for their appearance in front of the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions.
While not required to appear, a pair of high-profile individuals heavily involved with the Trojans football program at the time of the alleged infractions committed by Reggie Bush are also in attendance.
Based on multiple reports, both the former and current USC head coaches -- Pete Carroll and Lane Kiffin -- were in Tempe, Ariz., this morning for the start of the school’s hearing.
Neither Carroll nor Kiffin were required to be there, and their attendance was chalked up to wanting to show the individuals more directly involved in the process some moral support.
(Make your own jokes about the words “Carroll”, “Kiffin” and “moral” appearing in the same sentence without the qualifier “lack of” anywhere in sight. I’m not going to do it because it’s simply not fair to either coach.)
Even as Carroll was not required to attend, he will likely, according to one report, answer questions from the committee today before heading out of town.
(Make your own jokes about Carroll heading out of town for an NFL job before these hearings and possible sanctions for the football program. I’m not going to do it because it’s simply not fair to the coach.)
As has been previously reported, these hearings will conclude on Saturday, but a final decision on sanctions will not be made public for 6-10 weeks.