Reggie Bush is getting his 2005 Heisman Trophy back, as ESPN has learned that the Heisman Trust will announce Wednesday the formal “reinstatement” of the trophy to Bush amid what it calls “enormous changes in the college football landscape.”
The Heisman Trust’s decision comes after Bush forfeited his Heisman Trophy in 2010 in the wake of significant NCAA sanctions for USC, which included Bush receiving improper benefits during a Trojans career that spanned from 2003 to 2005.
As part of the decision Wednesday, the Heisman Trust is returning the Heisman Trophy to Bush and a replica to USC. Bush will again be invited to all future Heisman Trophy ceremonies, beginning in the 2024 season.
“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 a statement to ESPN. “I also look forward to working together with the Heisman Trust to advance the values and mission of the organization.”
The decision to reinstate the Heisman Trophy was based on a “deliberative process” by the Heisman Trust to monitor a sea change in college athletics in recent years. The Trust cited “fundamental changes in college athletics” in which rules that have allowed “student athlete compensation” to become “an accepted practice and appears here to stay.”