June 6, 2011
(APCSN) The Bowl Championship Series has stripped Southern California of its 2004 title and will leave that season without a BCS champion.
It had been the Trojans' first undisputed national championship since 1972.
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The announcement Monday is no surprise. This is the first time a football or men's basketball championship has been vacated since the initiation of the poll system.
BCS officials had said USC was in danger of having its championship vacated after the Trojans were hit with heavy NCAA sanctions last year for rules violations committed during the 2004 and '05 seasons.
USC appealed the sanctions, which included a two-year ban from postseason play and a loss of 30 scholarships over three seasons, and the BCS waited until the NCAA ruled on the appeal to make a decision about its championship.
The NCAA denied USC's appeal on May 26.
News
USC beat Oklahoma 55-19 in the 2005 Orange Bowl to cap its perfect championship season.
Among the wins wiped from the record are a 31-28 victory over Stanford in Palo Alto and a 23-17 win over seventh-ranked Cal in Los Angeles.