LOS ANGELES — After nearly 14 years apart, Reggie Bush is reunited with his Heisman Trophy, ending a nearly two-decade saga that became a touchpoint for public opinion about how college athletes should benefit from their stardom.
The Heisman Trust reinstated Bush’s 2005 Heisman Trophy on Wednesday in a seismic moment for a player who was the face of a golden era for USC football. The career of Bush, who forfeited his Heisman in 2010 after the NCAA deemed he received impermissible benefits, forced fans — and now the sport’s long-established institutions — to reckon with whether NCAA penalties could actually taint a player’s on-field legacy.
“We are thrilled to welcome Reggie Bush back to the Heisman family in recognition of his collegiate accomplishments,” said Michael Comerford, President of The Heisman Trophy Trust. “We considered the enormous changes in college athletics over the last several years in deciding that now is the right time to reinstate the Trophy for Reggie. We are so happy to welcome him back.”
The decision to reinstate Bush’s Heisman — and return its replica to USC — comes at a time when players can now be paid for their name, image and likeness, which was not the case when Bush emerged as a star running back for the Trojans.
Bush won the award in 2005 after he accumulated 2,890 all-purpose yards and accounted for 19 total touchdowns while leading USC, which won at least a share of the national championship in 2003 and 2004, to the national championship game. It wasn’t too long after that Bush and the Trojans were embroiled in a years-long NCAA scandal that resulted in heavy sanctions against the Trojans’ football program, after the governing body determined that Bush and his family received impermissible benefits while he was at USC. The penalties came down in 2010 and included a two-year postseason ban and the loss of 30 scholarships over a three-year period, which crippled the program’s depth for several seasons and took years to restore.
The NCAA also forced USC to permanently disassociate from Bush — meaning it had to essentially ignore or erase all acknowledgement of Bush. In September 2010, Bush forfeited the Heisman Trophy, becoming the first player to ever return the prestigious award. Soon after, USC removed his No. 5 jersey from the peristyle end of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum — where all its Heisman Trophy winners’ jersey numbers are displayed.
“They kind of dragged him through the mud,” said former USC All-American offensive lineman and first-round pick Sam Baker, who was in the same recruiting class as Bush. “I was there. I saw him earn every yard. So it’s never sat right with a lot of us that played with us obviously. Felt he was vindicated (today). It’s been really cool.”
USC’s disassociation with Bush created at least one awkward moment. In 2019, Bush returned to the Coliseum with Fox Sports, where he works as an analyst, for USC’s nationally televised game against Utah. The school couldn’t prevent it even though he remained under disassociation, and his presence loomed large.
In the fourth quarter of that game, running back Markese Stepp scored a touchdown and ran toward Bush, dapping up the former Trojans legend. Ironically, Stepp was penalized for excessive celebration.
5️⃣ pic.twitter.com/ZrS4pu8UZb
— Jordan Moore (@MooreSports) April 24, 2024
The Heisman Trust said it went through a “deliberative process” in which it tracked the massive changes going on through the sport as it determined whether to reinstate Bush’s trophy.
In 2021, facing legislative pressure, the NCAA first introduced a policy allowing student-athletes to receive payments for their NIL. Opinions and attitudes have changed, as has the landscape across college football. Student-athletes are allowed to have relationships with agents now, which is what sparked Bush’s trouble.
“Recognizing that the compensation of student-athletes is an accepted practice and appears here to stay, these fundamental changes in college athletics led the Trust to decide that now is the right time to return the Trophy to Bush,” the Trust said in its announcement.
As time passed since 2010, Bush gained a groundswell of support from several different corners. USC ended its NCAA-mandated dissociation with Bush in June 2020, billboards demanding the NCAA to return the Heisman Trophy to Bush popped up across Los Angeles, and supporters of his the cause have become only more vocal.
Former Texas A&M quarterback and 2012 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel has taken several opportunities to defend Bush, and in March he tweeted that he would be “humbly removing himself from the Heisman Trophy until Reggie Bush gets his trophy back.”
Thank you to the @HeismanTrophy for doing what’s right and welcoming a storied member of our history back into the fold. There were many voices throughout this process that stood on the table for Reggie simply because of the kind of human being he is. I look forward to being on…
— Johnny Manziel (@JManziel2) April 24, 2024
“Incredible,” said Alex Holmes, a former USC tight end who won two national championships with Bush. “My reaction is: Justice has been served. Absolutely amazing. Well deserved.”
In August, Bush went on the offensive against the NCAA and announced his plans to sue the organization for defamation for a statement made by a spokesperson in 2021 describing Bush as being involved in a “pay-for-play” arrangement.
Though Bush sued the NCAA and several others directed their frustrations at the institution as part of his effort to get his Heisman Trophy back, the decision was always in the hands of the Heisman Trust.
Bush’s induction into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2023 was a positive step for his cause. Ahead of the inductions in Las Vegas, USC athletic director Jen Cohen threw a surprise party for Bush and hosted his former teammates, family and friends, a strong indication for how supportive the university had become for Bush and the efforts to restore his Heisman Trophy.
“This is a momentous day for Reggie Bush and the entire USC community as we celebrate the rightful return of his Heisman Trophy,” Cohen said in a statement Wednesday. “Reggie’s impact at USC and on college football as a whole is truly unmatched. He has displayed the utmost resiliency and heart throughout this process and is so deserving of every accolade and Trophy he’s ever received. We are grateful to the Heisman Trophy Trust for making this happen.”
Finally! So excited Reggie’s Heisman has been returned to him. His impact on USC and college football is legendary. This is a HUGE day for Reggie and the entire Trojan Family. FIGHT ON! https://t.co/P1XNozFiFW
— Jennifer Cohen (@ADJenniferCohen) April 24, 2024
Bush is one of eight Heisman Trophy winners from USC, putting the Trojans back ahead of Notre Dame, Ohio State and Oklahoma, who each have seven.
USC’s athletic department has been willing to restore Bush’s jersey on the peristyle end of the Coliseum for several years, but Bush didn’t want his jersey back up until he had his Heisman back.
Surely, soon enough, that moment will come.
“It’s been difficult,” said former USC All-American defensive lineman Shaun Cody. “As a former player and teammate of Reggie’s, you hate to see it for someone who worked as hard as he did and put in the effort he did – to have it unjustly taken away. I think that’s what today represents – a wrong was done and now it’s back in his hands. It was tough to see how much stuff Reggie had to go through. I think that was the toughest part. He had to take a lot of bullets for a lot of people. I’m happy he’s getting that (trophy) back. …
“He was part of a really cool era of football at USC and I think that number kind of represents that for a lot of former players, for all of us, kind of what we were able to accomplish and what Reggie did during that time.”
Required reading
- Reggie Bush looks back on his college career through the lens of NCAA rules changes
- ‘Highlights don’t die’: Reggie Bush’s aura endures as he returns to college football
- For many at USC, the end of Reggie Bush’s disassociation is long overdue
(Photo: Michael Cohen / WireImage)