Question over USC’s capitol shout-out since title stripped

The University of Southern California (USC) Trojans men’s football team
was stripped of its 2004 national championship title this summer
following an investigation into various charges of misconduct.

{mosads}But will they lose Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-Calif.) and Sen. Barbara Boxer’s (D-Calif.) congressional commendation, too?

The two California senators passed a joint resolution, S.R. 12, in January of 2005 congratulating the Trojans for their Bowl Championship Series win earlier that month in the Orange Bowl.

Speaking on the floor of the Senate, Feinstein lauded a team “led by All-Americans Matt Leinart, tailback Reggie Bush, defensive tackle Shaun Cody and linebacker Matt Grootegoed,” saying the players “brought much pride to the university and the Pacific-10 Conference.” Boxer was equally effusive in her remarks, though she didn’t single out any players.

After a four-year probe by the NCAA, the Trojans were found to be in violation of a host of rules governing player recruitment, sponsorships and perks, many of which centered around Bush. As part of a sweeping punishment, the NCAA vacated all Trojan wins that Bush played in while he was in violation of the rules, including the 2005 Orange Bowl.

So what will happen to the congressional commendation? And furthermore, to the presumably framed “copies of this resolution for appropriate display” that the commendation called for?

Boxer was traveling Monday and unavailable, while a spokesman for Feinstein declined to respond to a request for comment.

As for the Trojans, a USC spokesman told ITK that he’d never seen a congressional resolution in a frame, even though he walked through the school’s trophy room “about 30 times a day.”