College Press Service
LOS ANGELES -- Quick, football fans, who took home the Rose Bowl title this year?
For those of you who guessed the University of Southern California Trojans, think again. It might be the Northwestern University Wildcats after all.
The Los Angeles Times reported March 28 that 15 players on the USC football team took a class in which, seemingly, neither attendance nor work was required. At the head of the class were star received - Keyshawn Johnson, running back Delon Washington and quarterback Kyle Wachholtz, who each received an A.
After the Times reported the accusations, USC notified both the Pac-10 Conference and the NCAA. Both groups have started an inquiry into the matter.
If found to be true, USC could be forced to forfeit all games from the 1995-96 football season, including the Rose Bowl. That would make the champion Northwestern, who lost the game 42-31 after a Cinderella season.
Northwestern coach Gary Barnett told reporters he didn't want to win the Rose Bowl through the back door.
"We wouldn't take it anyway," he said.
Such an event, however, would not be without precedence. Since 1995, 39 teams in all sports have had games forfeited or championships taken away due to NCAA rules violations.
The USC course in question was named Tutoring Elementary, Secondary or University Students. Thirty of the 40 students in the class were athletes, and the students told the Times they never had to show up until an adviser told them to go to the final.
"I went to the class, and it was full of athletes," the student told the Times. "I was handed a paper that was already completed, then told to hand it back in. The paper had my name typed on it, and it was some sort of essay question."
The tenured USC professor who teaches the course, Vernon Broussard, said he announces on the first day of class that attendance is not required and that everyone can get an A. "It is virtually impossible to fail my class," he said, according to reports.