In 2010, the NCAA stripped Reggie Bush of the Heisman Trophy he had won in 2005 due to him receiving impermissible benefits while a member of the USC Trojans. He has recently been reinstated as the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner. In 2011, along with revoking the Heisman Trophy from Reggie Bush, the NCAA also vacated USC’s wins in which Bush participated…including the 2004 National Championship. Now, Reggie Bush has dropped a bit of a surprising revelation about that national title.
Former USC Running Back Reggie Bush Speaks on the Vacated 2004 National Championship
Recently, TMZ Sports caught up with former USC running back Reggie Bush at LAX, where he stated he believes the Trojans’ vacated 2004 national championship will be reinstated.
“Absolutely,” he said. “Absolutely!”
After stripping Bush of the 2005 Heisman Trophy in 2010 due to his receiving of impermissible benefits, the NCAA also vacated USC’s wins and the 2004 national championship. Now considered permissible under the NCAA’s new NIL guidelines, which were implemented in 2021, there is precedent for reinstating the national title USC won in 2004. In April, with the new NIL rules in mind, the NCAA reinstated Reggie Bush as the winner of the 2005 Heisman Trophy.
Reggie Bush Reinstated as the 2005 Heisman Trophy Winner in April
Fourteen years after having to forfeit the Heisman Trophy, Reggie Bush was reinstated as the rightful owner of the 2005 honor. After running for 1,740 yards and having 478 yards receiving during the 2005 season, Bush was named the winner of the Heisman Trophy. He was one of the most versatile and dynamic players in college football history during his time at USC.
After he was stripped of the trophy in 2010, many advocated for it to be returned to him, since he was clearly the best player in the country that season…illegal benefits or not. Some also called for Heisman runner-up Vince Young to receive the award after the forfeiture.
In April, after Reggie Bush was re-awarded the Heisman Trophy, it was revealed he will now be invited back to all future Heisman Trophy ceremonies.
“Personally, I’m thrilled to reunite with my fellow Heisman winners and be a part of the storied legacy of the Heisman Trophy, and I’m honored to return to the Heisman family,” Bush said in a statement. “I also look forward to working together with the Heisman Trust to advance the values and mission of the organization.”
The Heisman Trust recognized the Supreme Court’s 2021 ruling against the NCAA in which they questioned the NCAA’s ability to limit or restrict NIL compensation.
“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, who unquestionably was the most outstanding college football player of 2005,” the Heisman Trophy Trust said.
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