Can you believe Southern Cal has 79 returning letterman? Wow, that's unreal. The top five are: 1. USC-79 2. Hawaii-70 3. Miami-67 4. Oregon State-61 5. Kentucky-60 There aren't any other SEC teams in the top ten. Auburn has 51, bama has 48and LSU has 46.
Something smells here. How can USC have 79 returning letterman on an 85-man roster when they graduate 18 seniors this year and just added 18 new recruits? It can only be that they are lettering everbody on the team including the walk-ons. I'd be curious to know what the standards for earning a letter at USC are compared to the SEC. Letters are NOT handed out wholesale at LSU, they have to be earned on the field.
That's what I wondered. As you and Terry pointed out maybe they have different standards for giving letters. I hadn't thought about that. I guess I assumed the NCAA had a standard for everything.
Anyway you can provide a link to where this came from? In trying to get an answer on the USC site, everyone thinks I'm talking about schollies and not letters.
Check this out: http://ucla.rivals.com/cdepthtext.asp UCLA only has one starter with less than two varsity letters... most have four... So, if a player will be a senior this fall, how does he already have four letters... I bet there's a cheap letter factory just south of Tijuana.... could be the same place where they make those little plastic USC swords...:wink:
I'm sure you're right and I found the requirements for USC in our Media Guide. Since 1976, squad members who have played at least 30 minutes have been listed as lettermen. There have been many exceptions including kickers and others who contributed significantly to the team's success without playing 30 minutes. Also, senior squad members who have been on the team for several years have generally been awarded letters for their senior season as long as they appeared in at least one game. Or you can take the description offered up by a Vandal's fan which is that Bob Leinart hands out lettermen jackets with the pockets stuffed full of cash. :lol:
