The USC football team has been put on probation and fined $50,000 for violating NCAA rules, the NCAA announced on Tuesday. The program had eight analysts involved with coaching activities during spring and fall of 2022, and spring of 2023. That is more than the program is allowed to use, and that is what violated NCAA rules.

“Violations occurred in the Southern California football program when the program exceeded the allowable number of coaches over two academic years, according to an agreement released by the Division I Committee on Infractions,” The release from the NCAA said. “As a result of the violations, the parties also agreed that football head coach Lincoln Riley violated head coach responsibility rules.”

This violation could have resulted in USC football head coach Lincoln Riley receiving a suspension, but the NCAA concluded that would not be necessary.

“Head coaches are presumed responsible for the actions of their staff, and as a result, Riley violated head coach responsibility rules,” The release said. “In this case, however, some of the violations occurred before rules changes effective in January 2023 that shifted head coach responsibility rules from a rebuttable presumption to automatic attachment. 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.”

Here is the full breakdown of the punishments that USC will be facing for their violation:

“The parties used ranges identified by the Division I membership-approved infractions penalty guidelines to agree upon Level II-mitigated penalties for the university and Riley. The decision contains the full list of penalties as approved by the Committee on Infractions, including:

Article Continues Below
Related USC Football News
USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley watches pregame warmups against the Washington Huskies at Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium.
Lincoln Riley shoots down CFB criticism with ‘greatest sport’ takeScotty White ·
Jayden Maiava and Lincoln Riley. The LA Colussieum in the background. USC football, usc schedule, usc prediction
Full USC football game-by-game predictions for 2025 seasonBryan Logan ·
This year's Gala honored former Tampa Bay Buc wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson. The mission of the annual Dick Vitale Gala's is to raise money for pediatric cancer research through the V Foundation for Cancer Research to help men, women and children diagnosed with cancer. This year the 2022, 17th Annual Dick Vitale Gala raises a record $11.1 million. For more information and how to donate visit v.org. Sar Dick Vitale Gala 12
Keyshawn Johnson shares bonkers USC football NIL value estimate if he played todayScotty White ·
USC Trojans linebacker Easton Mascarenas-Arnold (4) intercepts a pass intended for Penn State Nittany Lions tight end Khalil Dinkins (16) at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
USC pursuing rising 2027 talent with Junior Seau tiesLorenzo J Reyna ·
Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley and Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman shake hands after the game at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
2025 could be final edition of USC-Notre Dame rivalryJake Faigus ·
Southern California Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava (14) scores on a 1-yard touchdown run against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the second half at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
USC could rebound from 5-star decommitment with No. 1 TELorenzo J Reyna ·
  • One year of probation.
  • A $50,000 fine.
  • A restriction for the special teams analyst from practice and film review for six consecutive days during two weeks of the 2024-25 season.
  • A restriction for the remaining analysts from practice and film review for six consecutive days during four weeks of the 2024-25 season.
  • A reduction in countable athletically related activities for the football program by 24 hours during the 2023-24 season (self-imposed by the school).”

This comes at an unfortunate time for the USC football program as they are in the midst of a very disappointing season. Lincoln Riley has only gotten worse since coming to take over as the head coach of the Trojans, and now we know that the program has been violating NCAA rules as well. This is going to be a season to forget for USC.

The Trojans are currently 4-5 overall on the year and they are 2-5 in Big Ten play. Every loss that this team has had has been a close one, but still, they aren't finding ways to get wins. The year started with a lot of promise, but now, USC is fighting for a bowl game.

USC will look to pick up win number five this weekend at home against Nebraska. The Trojans and Cornhuskers will kick off at 1:00 PT from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday, and the game will be airing on Fox. USC is currently favored by 9.5 points.