USC stripped of 2004 BCS national championship

The Bowl Championship Series has stripped Southern California of its 2004 title and will leave that season without a BCS champion.

The announcement Monday is no surprise.

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.

USC beat Oklahoma 55-19 in the 2005 Orange Bowl to cap its perfect championship season.

There is no word on whether or not USC will return the crystal football trophy it was awarded after beating Oklahoma 55-19 in the 2005 Orange Bowl, CBSSports.com's Tom Fornelli notes. The AP has said that it will not make changes to its poll and that USC will remain the final #1 team on it's poll in 2004, and USC athletic director Pat Haden has said in the past that the school will still refer to 2004 as a "national championship season."

Here is a statement released by the BCS:

"The BCS arrangement crowns a national champion, and the BCS games are showcase events for post-season football," executive director Bill Hancock said. "One of the best ways of ensuring that they remain so is for us to foster full compliance with NCAA rules. Accordingly, in keeping with the NCAA's recent action, USC's appearances are being vacated.

"This action reflects the scope of the BCS arrangement and is consistent with the NCAA's approach when it subsequently discovers infractions by institutions whose teams have played in NCAA championship events."