Varsity Sports at USC

November 3, 2022
By AdmissionSight

Varsity Sports at USC

What are the Varsity Sports at USC? A long history of success in the sports field can be traced back to the University of Southern California. The men from the University of Southern California have won more individual NCAA championships than those from any other university in the United States. Additionally, two Trojan women have been awarded the Honda-Broderick Cup, which is given to the most outstanding female collegiate athlete of the year. Since 1904, nearly 400 athletes representing the Trojans have taken part in the Olympic Games, and they have brought home 122 gold medals.

The Varsity Sports at USC seeks to recruit and cultivate student-athletes who are capable of excelling academically and competing at the highest levels of their respective sports, all while adhering to the letter and the spirit of the standards established by the NCAA and the Pac-12 Conference.

In addition, the administrative structure of USC is operated in a transparent and economically responsible manner, supports equitable opportunity for all students and staff, and is committed to the highest standards of ethical conduct. The Athletics Department makes decisions based on the following four fundamental tenets: promoting the well-being of student participants; achieving and sustaining competitive excellence; administering in a clear, open, and responsible manner; and supporting the overarching goals of the USC community.

View of sports equipments.

USC is dedicated to the development of well-rounded global citizens, and as part of this mission, the university encourages its student-athletes to excel in both their academic and athletic pursuits. A number of Trojan players have been named to the First Team All-America, have received NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships, have been honored as National Football Foundation Scholar-Athletes, have been awarded Rhodes Scholarships, and have graduated at the top of their class at USC.

The Trojan family also includes entertainer-athletes like the legendary actor John Wayne, who played tackle in the 1925–26 season under his real name, Marion Morrison; and tackle Mike Henry, who played for the Trojans, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the L.A. Rams before he played Tarzan on the silver screen. Both of these men played for the Trojans from 1956–1959. John Wayne played tackle in the 1925–26 season under his real name, Marion Morrison.

As a result, the objectives of USC Athletics are as follows: to ensure that each and every student-athlete who completes their athletic eligibility at USC receives a degree; to compete successfully in each sport, with the ultimate objective of winning national championships; to provide an atmosphere that fosters the positive growth and development of both student-athletes and Athletics Department staff; to promote a genuine, all-encompassing, and fruitful college experience rather than merely an athletic experience; to ensure that USC Athletics is financially

What are the different Varsity Sports at USC?

What are the different Varsity Sports at USC? The University of Southern California (USC), which is located in Los Angeles, California, is home to the college athletic team known as the Trojans. These teams compete in a variety of sports. The men’s athletic teams are known as the Trojans, while the women’s teams are either called the Trojans or Women of Troy depending on which moniker is preferred (the university officially approves both terms). The program competes in the Pac-12 Conference and has won 131 team national titles, 108 of which are national championships awarded by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

In a number of different sports, the UCLA Bruins and the USC Trojans compete against one another as rivals. On the other hand, the football rivalry between USC and Notre Dame began three years before that of USC and UCLA. The Notre Dame rivalry is widely regarded as the most intense example of an intersectional rivalry in college football.

View of Sports equipments placed on the floor.

It began mostly as a result of the yearly football game that is played between these two universities. In addition, the Trojans and the Stanford Cardinal compete against one another. The University of Southern California Trojans is widely regarded as possessing one of the most successful athletic programs in the history of college athletics. Cardinal and gold are recognized as the school’s official colors.

In the year 2024, USC and UCLA will both become members of the Big Ten Conference. Thus, here are the following Varsity Sports at USC.

Men’s Varsity Sports at USC

  • Baseball
  • Basketball
  • Football
  • Golf
  • Swim & Dive
  • Tennis
  • Track & Field
  • Water Polo
  • Volleyball

Women’s Varsity Sports at USC

  • Beach Volleyball
  • Basketball
  • Cross Country
  • Golf
  • Lacrosse
  • Rowing
  • Soccer
  • Swim & Dive
  • Tennis
  • Track & Field
  • Water Polo
  • Volleyball

Popular Varsity Sports at USC

What are the most popular Varsity Sports at USC? The growth of human beings and society as a whole through the cultivation and enrichment of the human mind and spirit is the primary objective of the University of Southern California (USC), which was founded in 1880 and is located in Los Angeles, California. Teaching, research, artistic creation, professional practice, and selected types of public service are the primary avenues via which this objective might be realized. Other avenues include community service.

View of sports equipments.

The education of students is the primary focus of the teaching and support staff, and they strive to meet this objective by providing a comprehensive range of first-rate academic, professional, extracurricular, and sports opportunities for students.

The university is committed to achieving the highest possible standards of excellence in the areas of knowledge and skill transmission while simultaneously assisting students in the acquisition of wisdom and insight, love of truth and beauty, moral discernment, understanding of self, and respect and appreciation for others. Here are some of the most popular Varsity Sports at USC wherein USC sponsors teams in ten men’s and thirteen women’s NCAA-sanctioned sports.

Football

The football program for the USC Trojans was established in 1888, and it now holds an all-time win-loss record of 793–313, which results in a winning percentage of.707 for the program as a whole. In a poll conducted by SPORT magazine in December of 1998, the University of Southern California was ranked as having the fourth-best college football team of the 20th century. ESPN placed the University of Southern California (USC) as the second-best program in the history of college football in 2009.

The University of Southern California’s football team has been crowned national champions an incredible 11 times. A number of players who went on to win the Heisman Trophy attended USC. The number of Heisman Trophy winners for USC is second, with 7. From 2002 through 2005, three of the four players that won the Heisman Trophy were from the University of Southern California’s Trojan football team: Carson Palmer in 2002, Matt Leinart in 2004, and Reggie Bush in 2005.

Since 1959, the Trojans have won the conference championship a total of 18 times, and on six additional occasions, they have either won or tied for the title. USC has the best bowl-winning percentage (.660) among the 65 schools in the US that have had at least 10 appearances in bowl games, and the Trojans’ 34 appearances in the Rose Bowl is an all-time record for the game. USC athletes have received a total of 17 first-team All-American honors, including eight picks by consensus and two selections made unanimously.

Football record does “not include 9 overall wins vacated due to NCAA penalties, including 2 vs. UCLA and 1 each vs. WSU, ARIZ, STAN, ORE, CAL, ASU, and WASH,” according to the official NCAA website.

Baseball

The baseball team that represents the University of Southern California, known as the USC Trojans, has a distinguished past in the sport. With 12 baseball national championships, the Trojans are the undisputed leader in that category (no other school has more than 6). Since 1924, when the baseball program at the University of Southern California was established, the Trojans have collected a record of 2,221-1,093-15 (.669) versus other college teams, and they have won or tied for 38 conference championships.

The most successful and well-known coach in the history of the University of Southern California’s baseball program was Rod Dedeaux, who served in that capacity from 1942 to 1986. During his tenure, USC won 11 NCAA titles, including five in a row from 1970 to 1974.

USC has produced many successful players who have gone on to play in the major leagues, including Ron Fairly, Don Buford, Tom Seaver, Dave Kingman, Fred Lynn, Roy Smalley, Steve Kemp, Mark McGwire, Randy Johnson, Bret Boone, Jeff Cirillo, Barry Zito, Geoff Jenkins, Kent Hadley, Aaron Boone, Jacque Jones, and Mark Prior. Other notable USC alumni include Steve Kemp, Mark McGwire, and Randy Johnson. More than a hundred former Trojans have gone on to play major league baseball, while dozens more have played in the minor leagues.

Basketball

The men’s basketball program that is run by the USC Trojans has a rich history. There are approximately 48 colleges that have more than 1,000 wins in college basketball, and the men’s program at this school is one of those schools. Since they began playing basketball in 1907, the Trojans have amassed a record of 1,357–984 (.580%), and they have won 14 league championships during that time.

The 2007 squad recently established a new record for the most wins in a season at the institution, and they also made it to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament. Recently, the University made a significant announcement about the imposition of punishments in response to allegations that a player, OJ Mayo, accepted illicit advantages during the 2007-2008 season. Notably, USC has renounced all of its regular season victories from that season, bringing their overall record for the 2007-2008 campaign to 1-32, which is the worst mark in school history. The year 2021 saw the Trojans advance all the way to the Elite Eight.

On the other hand, the women’s basketball program for the USC Trojans, which had been steadily improving, finally reached the pinnacle of success in women’s basketball in 1983. Since then, the Trojans have been near the top almost all of the time, having won national championships in 1983 and 1984 and having participated in four Final Fours. The Women of Troy have qualified for the NCAA tournament six times in the past 14 years, including three times when they advanced to the regionals.

Volleyball

Since USC began offering athletic scholarships for the sport of volleyball in 1977, the men’s volleyball team has competed in a total of 11 NCAA Final Fours. 1977, 1980, 1988, and 1990 were the years that the Trojans were crowned NCAA champions. In addition, the Trojans finished in second place seven other times (1979, 1981, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1991, 2009). USC Volleyball became one of the most dominant programs in the country under the direction of Ernie Hix, who stepped down as head coach following the 1981 season. Hix finished his eight-year career with a remarkable record of 146-47 (.756) along with two national championships.

USC volleyball players have been named to the first team of All-Americans 27 times, and there have been 24 Trojans who have competed for the United States national team. The United States of America won its first-ever gold medal in the sport in the 1984 Summer Olympics, led by Steve Timmons, Dusty Dvorak, and Pat Powers. In 1988, Timmons was a member of the United States team that won the gold medal again.

However, the USC Women’s Volleyball team has won a total of 6 national titles, including 3 in the NCAA (1981, 2002, and 2003) and 3 before the NCAA-sponsored women’s Volleyball Championships. Coach Chuck Erbe was responsible for the first 4 of these victories. Erbe, who was the most successful coach in the sport during his 12-year tenure at USC, which began in 1976, amassed a record of 310-121-3 during the course of his career (.718). He coached the teams that won the AIAW championship in 1976, 1977, and 1980, as well as the NCAA championship in 1981. His 1976 squad recorded the first-ever perfect season (38-0) in the annals of women’s volleyball with their accomplishment.

Swimming and Diving

A performance by Trojan swimmers at the 1976 Olympic Games best showed the level of dominance that USC has had in this sport. At those games, Trojan swimmers won more gold medals and more total medals than swimmers from any other country, including the United States.

USC men’s swimmers have participated in the Olympics 122 times, during which time they have won a total of 38 gold medals, 23 silver medals, and 18 bronze medals. Lenny Krayzelburg, John Naber, Bruce Furniss, Murray Rose, Wally Wolf, and Oussama Mellouli are just some of the athletes who have won gold medals in the past.

Female student practising on a swimming pool.

Since the Trojans began competing in swimming in 1929, they have won nine NCAA championships. All of these titles were won under the direction of Peter Daland, who coached the team for 35 years before retiring in 1992. USC swimmers and divers have achieved an astounding 562 All-American distinctions and 110 individual and relay titles at NCAA events (including Erik Vendt, who won 5 individual titles in 2000, 2002, and 2003 competitions).

USC swimmers and divers have also won 110 individual titles at NCAA meets. USC amassed an amazing record of 318-31-1 in dual meets when Daland was in charge, winning 17 championships in the Pac-10 (.917). Three of his teams from the previous six competitions all finished in second place in the NCAA meet.

Daland was followed by Mark Schubert, a coach who has won four Olympic medals for the United States and two national championships with the Texas women’s basketball team (he also served as the head coach of the Women of Troy). During his 14 years coaching men’s teams at USC, 12 of those teams finished in the Top 10 at the NCAA Championships. After Schubert served in both capacities in 2007, Dave Salo was given the position of head coach.

Does USC Provide Athletic Scholarships?

Does USC Provide Athletic Scholarships? The operational budget for USC Athletics allocates a large amount of money to athletic scholarships each year. Over $18 million is paid out each year by Athletics to cover the cost of this obligation. Increasing the size of the endowment is critical to ensuring the continued viability of our programs over the long term. Doing so will also give USC Athletics the flexibility to spend annual funding in whichever way best serves the interests of the student-athletes. In addition, an endowed scholarship will continue to exist in perpetuity, providing financial support to a large number of exceptional student-athletes for many generations to come.

USC Athletics is committed to the development of student-athletes who are capable of excelling academically while also competing at a championship level in all of their respective sports. This is evidenced by the fact that we have won 130 national team championships and achieved an all-time high of 985 in the multiyear NCAA Academic Progress Rating for all 21 teams in the year 2020.

View of students sitting on their desk in a classroom.

USC’s commitment to financial resources for each individual team was a significant factor in the overall success of that endeavor. The different Varsity Sports at USC are able to hire the best staff, grant athletic scholarships, provide the greatest facilities feasibly, and support the team in meeting its day-to-day operational demands because of enough financing that has been provided.

Want to learn more about getting into Varsity Sports at USC? You’ve come to the right place. At AdmissionSight, we have over 10 years of experience guiding students through the competitive admissions process, including our athletic recruitment program.

AdmissionSight can help you put your best foot forward when applying to college this fall. Contact us today for more information on our services.

 

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sign up now to receive insights on
how to navigate the college admissions process.