Conference USA includes three football programs that got in trouble with the NCAA before joining their current conference.
Below is a list of programs cited for major violations since the NCAA made its strongest statement yet against cheating, the SMU "death penalty" case in 1987. ESPN.com rates the severity of those penalties on a 0-5 scale, with 5 as most severe.
Memphis
Year: 1989
Violation: Booster allegedly paid one player twice the going rate for summer employment, resulting in extra benefit of $690. Coach Charlie Bailey was accused of asking booster to pay excessive rate to player, then instructing the player to lie to NCAA investigators.
Major penalties: 1-year bowl ban, 1-year TV ban, loss of 4 scholarships for one recruiting year, 1-year ban on off-campus recruiting, campus visits cut to 55 (from maximum 85).
Severity of sanctions: 3
Notable: Memphis avoided "death penalty" as repeat violator. But scandal cost job of Bailey, who later caught on with UTEP.
Houston
Year: 1988
Violation: Widespread violations under tenure of former coach Bill Yeoman, in which dozens of players allegedly were regularly given cash by coaches and boosters in amounts up to $500.
Major penalties: 2-year bowl ban, 1-year TV ban, loss of 10 scholarships for one recruiting year.
Severity of sanctions: 3
Notable: Cougars were on the rise under new coach Jack Pardee, with record of 9-2, when penalties hit. School had been on probation two previous times during Yeoman era.
Cincinnati
Year: 1988
Violation: Team gave more than the then-allowable limit of 30 scholarships per year -- 31 in 1985, 34 in '86 and 36 in '87. Team had 97 players on scholarship in '84 when maximum permitted was 95. Players used team-only gym classes as out-of-season football practices and, in other conditioning classes, received grades from coaches.
Major penalties: 1-year bowl ban, loss of 28 scholarships over three recruiting years.
Severity of sanctions: 3
Notable: NCAA said it originally intended to hand down a two-year bowl ban and keep team off TV for one year, but did not because of the university's cooperation in the investigation.
