Former Saints star Reggie Bush to have 2005 Heisman Trophy returned, ESPN reports

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - Former Saints running back Reggie Bush is getting his 2005 Heisman Trophy returned and reinstated Wednesday (April 24), according to a report by ESPN.

Senior college football writer Pete Thamel was the first to report the news.

“Reggie Bush is getting his 2005 Heisman Trophy back, ESPN has learned, with a formal “reinstatement” of the trophy coming today,” Thamel tweeted. “The decision comes amid what the Heisman Trust calls “enormous changes in the college football landscape.”

Bush was forced to forfeit his Heisman in 2010, in the wake of significant NCAA sanctions levied against the University of Southern California football program. It was alleged that Bush received improper benefits during his collegiate playing career with the Trojans from 2003-05.

Thamel reported that as part of Wednesday’s decision, the Heisman Trust is returning the Heisman Trophy to Bush and a replica to USC, and that Bush will again be invited to future Heisman Trophy ceremonies.

“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.”

Thamel reported that the Heisman 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.”

After the NCAA in 2021 enacted rules allowing college athletes to be compensated for use of their name, image and likeness, Bush began lobbying for his trophy to be returned.

Bush, who played five seasons for the Saints after being selected second overall in the 2006 NFL draft, rushed for 1,740 yards on 200 carries and amassed 2,890 all-purpose yards for USC in 2005. But after a lengthy investigation, the NCAA stripped USC of its 2004 national championship and vacated 14 of the victories in which Bush played for various rule violations.

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