Could Reggie Bush be welcomed back to USC in the near future? The short answer is yes, he could be if the university chooses to make it happen.

There is potential for USC to formally open its doors to the former Trojans star after nearly a decade of distance following stiff NCAA sanctions for improper benefits the running back and his family received while he was in school.

Among those sanctions handed down in 2010, USC had to permanently disassociate from one of its most popular football players and one who was integral to the program's rise to the top of college football a decade and a half ago.

The parameters have shifted, though, as USC interim athletic director Dave Roberts explained Wednesday in an interview with TrojanSports.com.

Roberts, who served as USC's vice president for athletic compliance from 2010-17, has been on the NCAA's Committee on Infractions since 2015 and is currently the committee's vice chair.

"The COI, which I sit on -- Committee on Infractions -- had recently put through a rule change. It's called an IOP -- internal operating procedure -- which basically reduced any disassociation to a 10-year disassociation, much like what was given to [former Michigan basketball star] Chris Webber," Roberts explained. "So in June of 2020, the disassociation for Bush will expire and it's going to be up to the university what the university wants to do."

Roberts said this IOP actually was adopted back in October of 2017, but it has not yet crept into the external dialogue surrounding Bush's ongoing distance from USC.

