The Heisman Trophy Trust reportedly will strip 2005 winner Reggie Bush of the award by the end of the month and name no winner for that season, according to a Yahoo report.
Bush would be the first athlete in the 75-year history of the award to be stripped of the honor.
Citing two sources close to the Heisman trust, Charles Robinson writes that the group’s investigation is nearly closed and it is likely to agree with the NCAA finding that Bush was ineligible during the 2005 season. Sources said Bush met with Heisman representatives last month in New York.
The NCAA ruled in June that Bush, now a running back with the New Orleans Saints, accepted cash, gifts and other benefits in violation of NCAA rules while playing at the University of Southern California. He was ruled retroactively ineligible for part of the 2004 season and all of 2005. USC was ordered to remove references to Bush from its sporting venues and promotional materials and delete his numbers from game stats. In July, the university returned its copy of the Heisman to the trust.
Vince Young, who finished a distant second to Bush in Heisman voting, has said he would not want the trust to give him the award.
