Reggie Bush to have Heisman returned

His teammate Matt Leinart won the award (2004) and Bush earned the trophy the following year. As part of the announcement, the Heisman Trust has returned the Trophy to Bush and the replica to USC. Bush will be invited to all future Heisman Trophy events.

Earl Heath 

Contributing Sports Writer

This week The  Heisman Trophy Trust  announced the historic reinstatement of the 2005 Heisman Memorial Trophy to Reggie Bush.

“We are thrilled to welcome Reggie Bush back to the Heisman family in recognition of his collegiate accomplishments,” said Michael Comerford, President of The Heisman Trophy Trust. “We considered the enormous changes in college athletics over the last several years in deciding that now is the right time to reinstate the Trophy for Reggie.  We are so happy to welcome him back.” 

A 2023 inductee into the College Football Hall of Fame, Bush had a legendary career at the University of Southern California and an electrifying 2005 season, amassing more than 2,000 yards from scrimmage and scoring 18 touchdowns. He received 784 first-place votes during the 2005 Heisman Trophy campaign, the fifth-most in Heisman Trophy history, while leading USC to a national title berth.

His teammate Matt Leinart won the award (2004) and Bush earned the trophy the following year. As part of the announcement, the Heisman Trust has returned the Trophy to Bush and the replica to USC. Bush will be invited to all future Heisman Trophy events.

The Trust’s decision to reinstate the Trophy follows a deliberative process in which it closely monitored the enormous changes in the college football landscape, including the Supreme Court’s 2021 decision, which questioned the legality of the NCAA’s amateurism model and opened the door to student athlete compensation; the ability of college football players to be paid for their name, image, and likeness (NIL); and the NCAA’s recent proposal to remove the cap on education-related payments. 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.

The reinstatement of Bush gives USC eight Heisman winners, the most of any school. Johnny Manziel, the 2012 Heisman winner from Texas A&M, mentioned on his social media page  recently  that he would not participate in Heisman festivities unless Bush got his trophy back. He thanked the Trust on Wednesday “for doing what’s right and welcoming a storied member of our history back into the fold. There were many voices throughout this process that stood on the table for Reggie simply because of the kind of human being he is. I look forward to being on that stage with you this December (Reggie Bush) you deserve it.”