LOS ANGELES _ The specter of his legend still looms over USC. His electrifying run from 2003 to 2005 remains an essential thread in the fabric of Trojans football and college football writ large, impossible to untangle from the rich histories of either. Recruits who barely witnessed his supremacy still whisper his name, still mimic his style.
But since June 2010, on the campus where he once captivated a generation, Reggie Bush has been a ghost. It was then that the NCAA imposed harsh sanctions against USC, stripping away its 2004 national title and forcing the school to permanently disassociate from its star running back.
Any mention of Bush at USC was erased, every image scrubbed, all records tagged with an asterisk after a yearslong NCAA investigation revealed he and his family accepted improper benefits from two would-be sports marketers.
Bush returned his 2005 Heisman Trophy as part of the fallout, the only player ever to do so. The replica trophy that once sat triumphantly in Heritage Hall now gathers dust with the Heisman Trust. The No. 5 jersey that once adorned the peristyle end of the Coliseum is gone too; and no Trojan has worn the number since.
But now, after 10 years in exile, shifting public sentiment over amateurism along with a subtle change in the internal operating procedures of the NCAA's Committee on Infractions have cleared the way for Bush's return to USC.
Wednesday marks the final day of the disassociation ban _ since reduced from a permanent one _ levied against Bush exactly a decade ago. In the eyes of the NCAA, he will be free to return to USC's campus, and the university plans to welcome him back.
"It's definitely long overdue," said LenDale White, the other half of USC's 2004 running back tandem. "Reggie should've never been in this situation, considering he was a kid when this went on. We're 35 years old now. I definitely believe it's time."
Others are not so sure. There's no doubt anti-Bush sentiment _ he was, for a time, a living embodiment of everything wrong about big-time college athletics _ has softened over the years. But 15 years after USC's vacated national title, some people are still awaiting an apology.
Bush did not respond to requests for comment about a return to USC, but several of his former teammates and others affiliated with the program during its charmed run were supportive of his reinstatement.
"Reggie don't owe anybody an apology," White said. "He don't owe nobody anything."
Said former Trojan tight end Alex Holmes: "At no point in time have I ever felt any negativity towards him _ at all. The reality ... is that Reggie didn't do anything wrong."
USC would not comment on Bush's return, and its plans are unknown. While some people still clamor for an explanation, others see Bush as a victim _ even a martyr. Some teammates wonder if reinstatement is sufficient penance for the pain of the past decade.
"That's for Reggie to decide, ultimately," Holmes said. "He's not getting the last 10 years back. I mean, how do you make up for that?"
USC has long maintained it would like to welcome Bush, and Bush has said he'd like to return.
Now, as that day arrives, can the healing finally begin?
"I would hope so," said Pete Carroll, the title-winning former Trojans coach. "I don't think there's any other choice to make."
