FOOTBALL

What Bothers USC Boosters?

When I talk to USC boosters, there is obviously optimism about the future.

But if I hear complaints there are two things that keep coming up, one which I did not expect.

  • Many complain they do not like the free-agency aspect of college football. This is not surprising because a lot of fans across the country are not thrilled with this.
  • The other complaint I hear is the cost of Lincoln Riley’s house in Palos Verdes ($17.2 million). They want to know if USC paid for it and why he needed such a gaudy estate.

My guess is this is something people can relate to (or not relate to in this case) and it bothers them. A lot of these same boosters were irate when USC bought Carol Folt a house in Santa Monica.

77 thoughts on “What Bothers USC Boosters?”

    1. I have lived in the back seat of a 1960 Impala for 4-months in my youth when I was broke, and before the term “homeless” took root.

      So I am pleased to have any kind of a roof over my head these days, and I don’t begrudge people spending millions for shelter if they can afford it.

      Never have been jealous of girls I have been with, and in fact if you give them free rein they usually don’t stray.

      Nor am I envious of other folks’ expensive cars, jewelry and housing, although it amazes me how these mansions have 6 or more bedrooms and bathrooms. If I owned one of those I would be tempted to sublet the bedrooms.

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      1. I know the living in a car thing, John. To save up for law school I worked 2 four hour shifts at an insurance company —the shifts were separated by 6 hours….so I slept in my car somewhere in the vicinity of La Brea Tar Pits. [Don’t anyone worry — I kept the windows open a slit …just like you do for pets]…..

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      2. “But if I hear complaints there are two things that keep coming up……. ”
        Interesting qualifier. So what % complain at all? Nice spin work, Scott.
        Nice to know x=% of boosters who talk with Scott, y=% who talk with Scott complain about something, z =% who complain specifically about the house….

        Liked by 2 people

      4. Who gives a damn what you think? A lawyer if you really were one
        is what gives the profession a bad rap. How much money do you
        donate to the school?

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    2. BOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

      If Riley wins a NC, I’m more than happy to come mow his lawn and pressure-wash his driveway. Folt, no way.

      You are spot-on, Michael! Well-said.

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    3. Lincoln Riley did go overboard on his house, it’s probably the most expensive coaches home in college football 🏈. It requires a small staff of housekeepers, and gardeners to run the estate. At least Carol Folt downsized when she picked a new home in Santa Monica, because the San Marino estate is as gaudy as Riley’s place

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      2. Pat, She did’t down size. San Marino needed work and it was sold at a cut rate. It belonged to the university. The santa Monica house was paid for by the university but she holds the title. So for her it is found money. She can get fired tomorrow and will own that house out right for ever…along with her gaudy salary. Talk about failing up. That is the sign of an institution in trouble, when people in it constantly fail upwards.

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  2. USC boosters should be the LAST folks on earth bothered by the “free agency aspect of college football”….
    #ItSavedOurAsses

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    2. If NIL occurred during Pete’s era, then not liking it would make sense as it allows other schools to become more competitive. Same feeling we had about Nike U. This is what is pissing off Saban right now, he’s losing an edge and his Protector Mark Emmert is powerless to do anything about it. But thanks to Helton and others #ItSavedOurAsses is accurate.

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      1. NIL is USC’s revenge for what the SEC did to Pete.
        #Sorry[NotSorry]CoachSaban…
        #TheGravyTrainStoppedInL.A.&DecidedToStay

        Liked by 2 people

    1. Poor sucla. Their 2 biggest games with a chance to win football National Championships in 1967 when their field goal kicker, an All-American I believe, missed 2 field goals and an extra point.

      And 1998 when they scored more than 40 points against Miami but some guy names James, I believe, ran roughshod and beat them.

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  5. I do not understand why there is not a more wide spread uproar about home buying funds? Why should USC have to purchase homes for staff? That is ok but when a wealthy person desires to buy their kid admission into a college there is a problem? Donors get their imbecile children into Ivy schools all the time still.

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    1. It amazes me that USC was considered a Victim in the Varsity Blues scandal. I guess Lack of Institutional Control is only a NCAA concept and not a legal one.

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    1. The guy was there for 35 years, violating women…where was the accountability? Oversight? Common sense?

      #Answer-ThisIsUCLA
      #ucla’sEmphasisOn”SafeSpaces”IsAJoke

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    2. $350 million is going to only 300 baby-bear women, or over $1,000,000 a piece. That is a heap of cash for Heaps’ transgressions.

      And this kind of news makes it hard for attorneys when trying to settle their cases. “Mr lawyer, the girls at ucla got a million each for a gynecologist merely getting a bit reckless with them, and all you can get me for my accident settlement is $15,000?”

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    3. Yup! As I stated a couple of months ago when one of the SUCLA fans here brought up Tyndall…you’d have to be a complete moron to do that if you’re a Ruins fan.

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    4. This whole thing baffles me. Both Tindell and the UCLA situation. I get it (I don’t agree with the concept) but i get it. Public relations… brush it under the carpet. Its the wrong thing to do but I understand the thought process of protecting the organization. But what I don’t get in both cases, is that both institutions knew, had the facts and decided to leave both these guys in place to keep victimizing students. Lawyer John and MG please chime in on this. Were they afraid that they were going to get sued for wrongful termination? The first thing i say as the university is, “Really… you want to go there??? Bring it on, you will be headed to prison with what we have on you. Your job is the last thing you should be worried about.” But no, not only did they sweep it under the rug, they left the asshats in place to keep victimizing. At that point USC and UCLA are more than half culpable. Now do you know where all your donations (usc) went and your tax dollars (ucla) went? Do the right thing people, it doesn’t cost as much in the long run…and besides you are supposed to do the right thing. Or are you not educators?

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      2. Well, Vault91, here is my 2-cents worth. I would presume that the ‘people in power’ at SC and sucla thought that the complaints were isolated incidents or were exaggerated by the young women. However, if there were an avalanche of complaints and they did nothing, then they should pay damages, although nearly a billion dollars does seem excessive.

        Or maybe these doctors were like Ton-o-Hel, a glad-hander who people liked and hence would be difficult to let go.

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      3. John. I do agree, but after awhile and over many years of complaints no one got the picture? If you cut it off early it goes from billions to only a few million. Wouldn’t you think? And wouldn’t you remove the source so you don’t have to deal with the repercussions anymore?

        Liked by 1 person

    5. From NBC News: “The University of Southern California has agreed to pay more than $1 billion in settlements to those who accused former student health center gynecologist George Tyndall of repeated sexual assaults on female patients.“

      All the other things are chump change in comparison. Though selling the Frank Lloyd Wright house at a loss irks me silly.

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  7. People are idiots. USC sold the San Marino house for $25M and downsized to a $8.6M house. And Lincoln bought this house. Good for him, and USC, that we have such a highly thought of HC that he can afford this house. We don’t live in Sweden, where everyone lives in similar houses and all drive a Volvo. Sorry losers, not sorry that Lincoln is more successful than you.

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    2. Check the facts. Selling the San Marino presidents mansion and buying the samo house was not a down sizing. The samo house is not the new president’s mansion. This is Carols new house. She holds the title on it not the university. That was the deal. So they let the San Marino house run down and gave it away at bargain basement price as well as the wright house in the hills. And gave an admin who just got shit canned from UNC amongst 2 academic scandals a huge salary and an expensive house. Now are you a little more bothered by the first problem?

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  8. If the boosters who are jealous don’t like the house, become successful like LR did and buy your own estate. With his new salary contract he qualified for the house. I really doubt USC bought it. I myself do not like the free agency things with college football, but we have benefitted from it so I can’t complain to much.

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    1. I believe we are getting a great return on our money with Lincoln Riley. Much better than paying helton 5M annually plus perks for destroying USC’s tradition, reputation, history and downing grading its position in the NCAA football community………ESPN never spoke of them unless in a negative. For what LR has done in months, he’s worth the price and then some. SC will reap benefits from his football brilliance and management skills.

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      1. Correct, Carra. It’s not how much you spend, it’s how much you make.
        #CoachRiley:BestInvestmentUSCHasMadeInALongWhile

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  10. Scooter,

    How people forget. Do you remember when Jed was Clampett was living in palor and then he struck Texas tea? Well the first thing Jed gone done was leave Tennesse and he headed for Beverly, Beverly Hills that is, with swimmin pools and movie stars. He bought himself a big ol’ nice house and the banker was very happy about that. Well, that is the same story for Lincoln Riley and USC. He was livin’ in poverty and he struck it with USC money and bought himself a big ol’ nice home. USC is happy because they are counting the money right now that is comin in from boosters, appreal, NIL, and ticket sales.

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    1. USC only had ONE Jed Clampett —he got fired last September…. and hightailed to Georgia….
      #TooBadHeDidn’tTake”Granny”WithHim

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      1. Actually that was Jethro who got fired. You remember…the guy who went from his first childhood to his second childhood with nothing in between, but who could cipher with the best of them with his 6th Grade Education. I think Lynn Swann was Uncle Jed.

        Liked by 3 people

      2. MG don’t badmouth Jed and the Clampett’s. Way more integrity than Hugs who’s more like a slimy politician.

        Liked by 4 people

      4. Granny Moses actually 11 years younger than President Granny Hot Lips when Beverly Hillbillies started. The marvels of Botox and modern plastic surgery 💋

        Liked by 2 people

    1. Must be the Richy Riches. Cuz I’m a peon, too, and don’t give two shits about his house.

      I have an average house in So Cal and in an average house here, I’m living better than most of the world’s population. For that, I give thanks each & every night.

      Truth be told, that house of Lincoln’s riles up Wolfman, not any boosters. 😛

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  12. The ones complaining about the house are probably many educational elite professors who think “who is this guy….he’s just a glorified jock…..I have my PhD degree….why should he make 50-100 times more money than I do”. The fact is, those kids learn 100 times more about competing in life on the football field than they will ever learn in all those woke liberal marxist classes. As far as I’m concerned those profs are overpaid. Also, they don’t bring in the amount of money to the university that LR and USC football does. Those are the guys who have been doing everything that they can to keep the USC football program mediocre since the 1980’s and even trying to turn the program into a Harvard, Yale or Princeton(football programs that were once great but now almost nonexistent).

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    1. I would love to see Harvard Alums put together the Mother of all NIL Collectives. Unfortunately at Harvard, it Just Doesn’t Mean More.

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      1. …Harvard does have the Mother of all NIL Collectives.
        Problem is, they blow it all on future CEO’s and Presidents of the US.
        Sooooo shortsighted are these Ivy League prix!

        Liked by 1 person

  13. well it is SC business…it is a private school, not a taxpayer tech problem like ucla,etc…if an alum doesn’t like it,don’t go to games,or contribute .

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  14. Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Retired Admiral James Stavridis talked to Christiane Amanpour about the war in Ukraine and said the alliance was too timid at the start of the war.

    Well, what else was going to happen when 81M idiots installed a cowardly, frail old man as the leader of the free world?! Of course it was going to result in Putin walking all over him in a manner he’d dare not do to Trump! Thank you, Captain Obvious!

    I’m sure glad Christiane got the scoop on that…something those of us with a brain knew would happen BEFORE THE ELECTION.

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  15. LR owned a large estate in OK. It sat on several acres. To entice his family to move, SC had to address the difference in housing costs between LA and OK. I read a few months ago that SC provided 5 million in relocation/housing costs in addition to his 10 million yearly salary. They also provided a sweetheart mortgage rate. I find nothing wrong with structuring his salary in this manner. It likely made it much easier for his wife and family to leave OK. The PV mansion provides security and privacy and a beautiful ocean view that helps remind them why they left OK.

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    1. Similar to a relo package I received once, if he were to leave voluntarily or involuntarily in less than x years (in my case 1 yr-100%, 2-50%) it would be paid back.

      If that $5M figure is correct, it is probably prorated somewhere between 2-5 years. Entirely reasonable, especially to lure someone from a place where the cost of living is half what it is here.

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    2. You say “I find nothing wrong with structuring his salary in this manner”. That’s because you are not an arrogant left wing educational elite who thinks that the 1% of them are little Einsteins and the rest of us are lab rats.

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      1. Listened to a David Berlinski youtube the other day. He pointed out that most of us live with the consequences of our decisions. But educational elites are “influencers without responsibility” over those whom they influence. A losing football coach is fired. When was the last time a university fired one of these arrogant left wing psuedo intellectuals.

        Liked by 2 people

      2. You can’t get fired for being an arrogant liberal — but you should get fired for not knowing your stuff. There are Harvard and Yale Law Professors regularly appearing on cable news who are regrettably ignorant of the ins and outs of basic Constitutional Law. They make big salaries and give their students nothing. [We’ve also had a recent husband/wife team of lawyers in the White House who knew jack shit about the law, particularly the limits of Executive Orders].

        Liked by 1 person

  16. LB Carson Tabaracci commits to USC, decommits from Utah. Also had offers from the domers, Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon. He had been classified as athlete, but is going to USC to play LB.

    LR has brought in transfers Shane Lee, Romelo Height, Eric Gentry, now Tarbacci. This position is looking so much better.

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    1. That’s news to me. I have not heard that. I hope you are right but do you have any documentation on that?

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      1. You’re right. He did transfer to SC. I hope he turns out to be a very solid prospect and not another Taylor Katoa.

        Liked by 1 person

    3. Plow horse
      David Berlinski is great. you said “When was the last time a university fired one of these arrogant left wing psuedo intellectuals?”….Answer…..probably never!!!

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  17. This is the lamest reaction ever. Why would anyone care about the house he bought?

    He bought into the top of an overpriced real estate market, that home is going to be worth alot less soon. But what does that mean for USC fans? It means that he is going to need to make alot of money for a long time. Since college football pays better than NFL head coaching jobs, he will need to do a great job at USC. Failure is not an option, and there is really no other place to go that will pay better.

    If anyone is pissed off about his house, they are just green with envy. Let it go. The more success he has, the better.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. I’ve heard more than once that “You are in life where you want to be.”

      I firmly believe that for the most part. It’s similar to how Liberace responded when someone said, “I’d give my life to play the way you do.”

      “I did.”

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  18. Got to hand it to Scott. He has almost gotten out of May with nothing but fluff pieces. But what can he come up with in June and July?

    Liked by 1 person

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