"I Never, Ever Thought It Would Come To This."

But aren't you lucky it did, Pete?

After all, the type of major repeat infractions seen at USC are those for which the NCAA "death penalty" was expressly designed.

However, in 1985, in response to rampant violations at several schools, the NCAA Council passed the "repeat violator" rule. The rule stipulates that if a second major violation occurs at any institution within five years of being on probation in the same sport or another sport, that institution can be barred from competing in the sport involved in the second violation for either one or two seasons. In cases of particularly egregious misconduct, a school can also be stripped of its right to vote at NCAA conventions for four years.

"I'm extremely disappointed that we have to deal with this right now."

Well, technically "we" don't have to deal with anything, since you skipped town once you smelled Johnny Law breathing down your neck. The ones who have a right to disappointment are the incoming freshmen who, through no fault of theirs, will get to enjoy four years of watching hamstrung teams. Also, last I checked, Pete, you're not an innocent bystander who's run into some misfortunes. Your (former) school is being punished for violations that took place on your watch. Again, you aren't being punished at all.

"The university didn't know. We didn't know. We were not aware of any of these findings."

Of course you weren't; you remained willfully ignorant to retain plausible deniability should this day come, so you could get on YouTube and say exactly this.

"I think it's important for you to know that through all aspects of the program we are vigilant, in the way we approach every aspect, we always were out there to do things better than it's [sic] ever been done before."

Seattle Times: According to the public report, “The general campus environment surrounding the violations troubled the committee.” When citing the lack of institutional control finding, the committee noted the university failed to heed clear warning signs; did not have proper procedures in place to monitor rules compliance; failed to regulate access to practice and facilities, including locker rooms; and in some instances failed to take an active stance or investigate concerns.

Anyway, don't be so sad, Pete. Soon enough all the power conferences will band together, leave the NCAA to form their own de facto semi-pro league, and no longer have to deal with all the petty rules and standards that come along with trying to maintain a forum for amateur athletic competition.