Heisman trophy winner, Reggie Bush, speaks to reporters while on the field during the game between USC vs Arizona at the Los Angeles Coliseum on October 10, 2004 in Los Angeles.[Shutterstock]
USC’s Reggie Bush highlights the latest class of college football luminaries to be inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame, the Tournament of Roses and USC announced Wednesday.
Aside from Bush, who won two national championships and the 2005 Heisman Trophy during his three seasons at USC, the 2024 inductees are Mark Dantonio, the winningest coach in Michigan State football history, and LaMichael James, a College Football Hall of Famer as a running back for Oregon from 2009-11.
Bush is the 28th Trojans player, coach or administrator selected to the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame.
The inductees will be honored in the 136th Rose Parade on Jan. 1, and on the field later that day during the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl Game. They will also be recognized in a private ceremony held by the Pasadena Tournament of Roses on Dec. 31.
A consensus First Team All-American in 2004 and a unanimous selection in 2005 as an all-purpose player, Bush won the Doak Walker Award, was the Walter Camp Player of the Year, the AP Player of the Year, the Sporting News Player of the Year and the Heisman Trophy winner in 2005.
He also finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting in 2004, when his teammate Matt Leinart won the award.
Bush was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2023.
Bush’s 2005 Heisman Trophy was stripped from him five years later amid an improper benefits scandal — but this April, The Heisman Trust announced it was returning the honor to him.
The organization said it was making a formal “reinstatement” of the trophy to Bush in response to what it called “enormous changes in the college football landscape.”
Bush forfeited the trophy in 2010 after USC was sanctioned by the NCAA, which determined Bush received improper benefits from the university during his college career from 2003 to 2005.
In the years since, however, the rules governing college athletes and compensation have changed dramatically, allowing many players to land lucrative endorsement deals and payment for the use of their name and image.
According to The Heisman Trust, it will return the trophy to Bush and a replica to USC, and Bush will be allowed to participate in all future Heisman Trophy ceremonies beginning in December.