BASEBALL

USC Sunday Buzz: Time To Step In With A Reasonable Commitment

Two weeks ago, Jen Cohen bragged that athletic dept. revenue at USC is up 60 percent the past three years and donors have increased the department’s financial reserves by more than 700 percent since she took over as athletic director.

So where is the commitment to USC baseball?

The Trojans just went to the Super Regional for the first time in 20 years, so how about letting baseball bring in 2-3 marquee transfers? USC always seems more likely to lose baseball players to the portal than adding them. Why did USC have to lose its best pitcher, Cade Aoki, after last season? He is in Omaha right now with Georgia.

Here’s the thing: It really isn’t much of a financial commitment compared to football or basketball. And it’s a big bang for relatively small bucks. That is, if you really increased revenue and the financial reserves.

52 thoughts on “USC Sunday Buzz: Time To Step In With A Reasonable Commitment”

  1. I wouldn’t get into an NIL bidding war over a baseball player. If you overspend in a non-revenue generating sport like baseball and produce only an average to good team, it is worse than spending virtually nothing and producing a poor to average team. Maximize football spending to the detriment of the lesser non-revenue producing sports. I wouldn’t spend any NIL dollars on any sports other than football, men and women basketball, baseball and a few track and volleyball athletes and all sports other than football would be on the low end. I think we are currently overspending on basketball.

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    1. Everybody is happy USC did so much with so little this year in baseball —and they’ll be happy with the same next year.

      But they won’t be happy if USC’s football team loses to Oregon and Ohio State at the coliseum.

      Good news: Highly respected Lindy’s Sports rates USC Football as Top Ten in 2026.

      Bad News: Oregon, Ohio State and Indiana are all rated ahead of us [with Oregon being named National Champion].

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      1. So four from the BIG in the top 10. And Washington and Penn State are not exactly chopped liver. Wonder what the SEC with Georgia, Texas, Texas A&M, Alabama, Oklahoma, Old Miss, Missouri, Auburn and LSU think about the Lindy predictions. There may be a new sheriff in town.

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      3. KAM: Or Lindy’s cynically wants to sell magazines and get hits from one of the largest population centers in the US.

        DON: MG, how can SC be in the Top Ten with 3 losses?

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    2. Per men’s basketball – that play was gone when Wooden dominated in the 1960-70’s. The university has never been able to recover and I believe it is because there is no real interest in doing so. That feeling flows outward – USC will never generate enough interest to be a magnet for ntl’ attention and everyone knows it. It’s why I and many alums don’t care for men’s basketball USC or any other – NBA I’ll watch it but college? Who cares.

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      1. Agree Rusoviet. Even when USC managed to field some good teams they didn’t sell out. The Galen Center is a nice venue and NIL is competitive and yet still no real interest by the fan base. The students don’t go to weekday games and neither do the alumni who work in downtown LA. I wish USC would just accept their situation and stop wasting money on a 4 million dollar coach and one and done player at 1 million. Rather, develop the local high school kids from Bosco, Mater Dei, ect. and try to keep them together for 3 or 4 years and see what happens. I bet the chance to play with their high school and travel club friends will entice them. Hire the Bosco high school coach for the USC job. He has won a few state championships and his brother is married to my niece. I will talk to him and make the deal. I bet he would do it for 500K and then use the other 3.5 from Musselman’s salary for NIL to the local kids.

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      1. I rather hope the Pac-12 makes an offer to NM St. ‘Aggies’, as their 9th member keeping that streak of ‘name of city/state ‘St.’ UTEP is wisely leaving the Conference USA for the Mtn West. ND St. is the most intriguing joining the Mtn West

        Going to be weird reading No. IL, in the Mtn West, traveling west as Sac St., in the Mid-American, goes east next year.

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    2. KAM: Last year highly respected Lindy’s picked Texas (1), Penn State (2), Ohio State (3), Clemson (4) and LSU (5).

      DON: No mention of Indiana.

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      1. Good one, Gabby. [I only called them that cuz they put us in the playoffs]…

        #….AlthoughTheyHaveUsLosingToMiamiIn1stRound

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  5. USC administration has been a school that economically forces departments to cover their own expenses, and that also appears to be true within the athletic department. For years we heard that nonrevenue, meaning not profitable, sports were subsidized by the revenue sports mainly football of course. Of course John McKay and John Robinson were paid peanuts so they both left for the NFL and bigger, much bigger paydays. Of course, recruits came to USC for the quality of the school and all the traditions of great athletes in the nonrevenue sports. Chad should be asked how ND is able to have the fourth best NIL program after Texas A&M, Texas and Ohio State. College sports is ruled by money nowadays, and the billionaire donors have to step up like Knight does at Oregon. In Texas it has always been the oil money. We have had good boosters for all sports through the years, and that is why so many facilities are name identified, but will those same well healed alums, pay millions every year for athletes as well as named facilities which are one time expenses and lasting tributes. Maybe the athletes should be able to put the name of the NIL donor on their jersey. Fight on, Dan, Class of 1962

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    1. I think our Head Coach should be allowed to have Mike Bohn’s name on his ski pants.

      And I’d like it if Carol Folt had been allowed to wear a miniskirt with “Soros” on it….

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      1. What If USC Has No More Excuses ...

        I think the names/emblems are on the backside of the clothing MG. The above picture is of Folt telling Riley he needs to run it more and that defense wins championships.

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      2. Carol dialog balloon: “Sometimes I fantasize about accidentally dropping LSD…and running around during halftime in a real loose Jessica Rabbit costume with flimsy straps that can’t stay up.”

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  6. Investing in USC under Musselman is a huge gamble might work for a year but not long term. USC baseball has 12 national championships the program has been ignored since Mike Gillespie left. It is truely unfair not to put money back in the program which is already being restored, and just needs a boost to get back on its feet on a consistent basis. Musselman, and Riley have already spent too much money it’s time to see the results this year or part company, and put money into the baseball program.

    A USC investment in baseball is not a gamble we have a great coach where investing in the Men’s Basketball program especially is a big gamble. We shall see but I don’t see USC packing the Galen Center, but there is no question USC baseball is back let’s put the money back into the baseball program

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  7. KAM: P r e s i d e n t T r u m p and Dana White Make Grand Entrance at UFC Freedom 250.

    DON: Where was Dana White’s Best Friend Cowardly Gabby?

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  8. DON:: Well, just because SC’s athletic coffers has increased doesn’t mean you go around spending it all haphazardly

    KAM: The athletic department is run by a woman, and don’t you believe in general that women are more prudent with money than men, except for the perfume and jewelry

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  9. The Dodgers win because they invest in people. The Rams invest in people. Winning college programs invest in people not just buildings. Oregon with Knight’s funding for years has invested in people. USC has the Nike Swoosh on their jerseys, but how about putting other sponsorship names on team jerseys in all sports and have all of the money go to NIL for that team’s players. With the Big Ten network and other sports networks showing almost all of the games on television and public appearances by the players, the sponsorships could be worth a lot of money. Sponsorship money coupled with donations from wealthy alumni could keep us competitive in all sports for national championships. Fight on, Dan, Class of 1962

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  10. KAM: But seriously, hoo-ray hoo-rah, it looks like we are finally at peace with Iran

    DON: And we can once again enjoy a more restricted but nonetheless “open Strait

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  11. DON: September and the start of football is creeping up on us

    KAM: SC probably won’t make the Playoffs this year with that schedule of theirs, but it is filled with little ‘Super Bowls all the way through like the Trojans-Ducks game

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    1. If we win our home games it’s gonna be awful hard to keep us out —but you’re right about our schedule — it is a consensus Top Ten Most Difficult….. while UCLA has a consensus Top Ten Easiest Schedule [which means UCLA has the luxury of focusing on ONE game…. the one played on November 28th…against Us]…..

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      1. UCLA’s new football coach is a coward if he accepts this schedule…. he must demand a new and infinitely more difficult one….

        #MakeCharlieProud!

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  12. Almost, ambitious Gab, Mike, Plow heck I’ll even throw in a crumb to ‘passerus domesticus’….

    ….USC should consider using Galen for ice hockey – it has a rink beneath the planking and it would bring a huge influx of fans missing with a spill over affect towards basketball. I realize it isn’t cheap ‘but’ I’ll bet some alum/donor from ‘snowland’ would quickly emerge.

    I am dead serious – there are currently 65 schools that field a team:
    In the Big 10 alone: MI, MI St, MN, OH St., PA St., & WI
    In addition AZ St., West Point, Air Force Academy, ME, CT, MA-Lowell/Amherst, AK-Anchorage/Fairbanks, ND (Grand Forks), Boston College, Boston Univ. heck even ‘the princess’ and that mighty football foe they faced 2 years ago this fall TN St,
    NE-Omaha, a slug of upper midwest schools in MI (MI-Ins Tech, No. MI, and MN (MN-Duluth, MN St. – Makato, St. Cloud St.,) as well as ‘the princess’ and the northeast – RPI,

    Note the Ivy – Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Yale.

    It wouldn’t be cheap on the front end but I swear it would produce both revenue and huge interest.

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  15. MG, always appreciate your comments. i’m not a big ice hockey fan, but I appreciate the discussion from everyone who is far more knowledgeable than I. However, if we did have a team I would be rooting for them just like I do for women’s lacross which I also do not understand. I started enjoying soccer when my granddaughter was playing youth soccer, high school soccer and college soccer.

    Sorry to see Briana Selby transfer. Bet she goes to Georgia to run with Hodges and for Coach Carol. Quincy better be able to give out some NIL money and recruit in the portal. We have women’s cross country; so, why are we not recruiting world class distance runners. Oregon always gets a bunch of points from their distance runners as do many of the SEC schools. Great to see the throws improving now that we have the new facility in the harbor area. Scott, please talk to Coaches like Watts and Andy and find out what is going on. Fight on, Dan, Class of 1962

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