14 years after losing the Heisman Trophy, Reggie Bush receives it back.

The Heisman Trust officially “reinstatement” of the 2005 Heisman Trophy to Reggie Bush was announced on Wednesday, citing “enormous changes in the college football landscape.”
The Heisman Trust made its judgment after Bush lost his 2010 Heisman Trophy due to major NCAA fines against USC, which included Bush’s receipt of illicit payments throughout his stint as a Trojan from 2003 to 2005.

The Heisman Trophy will be returned to Bush and a copy will be given to USC as part of the decision made on Wednesday by the Heisman Trust. Starting with the 2024 season, Bush will be invited to all future Heisman Trophy ceremonies once again.
“Personally, I’m thrilled to reunite with my fellow Heisman winners and be a part of the storied legacy of the Heisman Trophy, and I’m honored to return to the Heisman family,” Bush said in an interview with ESPN. “I also look forward to working together with the Heisman Trust to advance the values and mission of the organization.”
At the conclusion of the Trust’s earlier than planned summit meeting on Wednesday morning outside of Jacksonville, Florida, Bush was presented with his Heisman Trophy. Approximately fifteen Heisman winners attended the meeting, which Tim Henning, assistant director of the Heisman Trust, said ESPN’s Coley Harvey had a “celebratory atmosphere”.
Henning said, “The other winners were all very excited to see him.”
The Heisman Trust used a “deliberative process” to examine a radical shift in collegiate sports in recent years before deciding to reintroduce the Heisman Trophy. Rules that have made “student athlete compensation” “an accepted practice and appears here to stay” were identified by the Trust as “fundamental changes in college athletics.”
In a statement, Michael Comerford, president of The Heisman Trophy Trust, stated, “We are thrilled to welcome Reggie Bush back to the Heisman family in recognition of his collegiate accomplishments.” “We concluded that the moment is ripe to restore Reggie’s trophy after taking into account the significant developments that have occurred in collegiate sports over the last several years. We are overjoyed to have him return.”
Bush started pushing for the restoration of his trophy in 2021, when regulations were passed that allowed athletes to get payment for their name, likeness, and image. In a July 2021 statement, he criticized the Heisman Trust and mentioned Comerford’s failure to respond Bush’s calls.
Heisman winners have thrown their support behind Bush’s return of the trophy in a recent frenzy. Johnny Manziel, a former Texas A&M standout, made the biggest statement earlier this year when he said he wouldn’t attend the Heisman Trophy ceremony unless Bush’s trophy was returned. Former teammate Matt Leinart of USC and Heisman winner Tim Brown of Notre Dame have both publicly expressed their desire for the restoration of Bush’s trophy.
In response to the announcement on Wednesday, Manziel expressed gratitude on social media to the Heisman Trust for “doing what’s right and welcoming a storied member of our history back into the fold.”
The Heisman Trust took into consideration the ruling made by the Supreme Court in the Alston case in 2021, which it said “questioned the legality of the NCAA’s amateurism model and opened the door to student athlete compensation.”
“Recognizing that the compensation of student athletes is an accepted practice and appears here to stay, these fundamental changes in college athletics led the Trust to decide that now is the right time to return the Trophy to Bush, who unquestionably was the most outstanding college football player of 2005,” said the Heisman Trophy Trust.
With eight Heisman Trophies officially won, USC currently holds the record for most wins among all universities in the nation, surpassing the seven held by Ohio State, Oklahoma, and Notre Dame.
USC president Carol Folt released a statement in which she stated, “I am so happy for Reggie and the entire Trojan Family.” “Throughout his remarkable career, he captured our hearts and earned the right to have his well-earned distinction returned. We are honored that we were able to support him as an advocate, and we look forward to celebrating with him and his family.”
In September 2010, Bush had surrendered the trophy, making history as the first winner of college football’s greatest honor to return it. One of the first acts under former athletic director Pat Haden’s leadership came months earlier, in July, when USC returned its duplicate of the Bush trophy.
As a result of that probe, USC was penalized by the Bowl Championship Series, which forced them to forfeit their 2004 national championship—the first time a major college football champion has ever experienced such a loss. In the 14 games Bush participated in, the NCAA deprived USC of wins, including the decisive victory over Oklahoma in the BCS championship game after the 2004 season. (In August of 2023, Bush sued the NCAA for slander.)
The Heisman return was hailed by USC athletic director Jen Cohen as “a momentous day for Reggie Bush and the entire USC community.”
Bush became one of the most exceptional collegiate athletes of this century because to his performance on the field at USC. Throughout his career, he averaged 8.5 yards per scrimmage touch. In 2005, he ran for 1,740 yards and 8.7 yards per carry on 200 runs.
Over the course of three seasons, he scored 42 touchdowns in total: 25 on the ground, 13 in the air, and 4 on special teams returns. Only one tailback has been chosen as high in the draft since Bush was chosen second overall in the 2006 NFL Draft: Saquon Barkley in 2018.
“What a historic day!” Lincoln Riley, the USC coach, said in a statement. “For everyone connected to USC football, Reggie’s return to the Heisman Family is a momentous occasion. Reggie’s formal recognition of his athletic exploits as one of the best players in history makes us very happy. Being able to recognize all eight of our champions is remarkable since the Heisman and USC have long been associated.”
With 2,890 all-purpose yards, Bush was so dominating in 2005 that he received 784 first-place votes, which is the seventh highest in Heisman Trophy history.
It was almost twenty years after that legendary season when Bush won the Heisman Trophy once again.

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