USC Admitted Unqualified Athletes

LOS ANGELES--The University of Southern California (USC) admitted 330 scholastically unqualified athletes during the last decade, according to a report issued Monday by the University's president, James H. Zumberge.

The USC department of athletics directed the athletes' enrollment, the report said, approving their admissions on the strength of their athletic skills alone.

Each of the men's and women's varsity teams had at least one of the athletes, a majority of whom played football and none of whom met USC's minimum academic requirements, the report said.

Most of the 330 dropped out before their senior years, a USC spokesman said, adding that very few of them had met graduation requirements.

Terming the former admissions procedure "a system gone awry," Zumberge said in the future all admissions decisions will be made solely by the admissions department.

Former president John Hubbard, now a history professor, condoned the enrollment of students by the athletic department and "directed the admissions office to keep hands off," Vance Peterson, director of academic relations, said.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) already has investigated USC, and could investigate it again, for violations of the association's constitution, which states that student athletes must be admitted to institutions under established requirements and guidelines.