USC spring football

USC quarterback Jalen Greene (10) tries to break a tackle during a run as the Trojans played their spring scrimmage at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday, April 19, 2014. (Rick Loomis/Los Angeles Times)

(Rick Loomis)

A look at news, notes and links from around the Pac-12:

The four years of probation the NCAA handed to USC's athletic department, one of the Pac-12's marquee members, came to end Tuesday.

The NCAA's investigation of the Trojans began in 2006, and the organization found that 2005 Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush had received cash from marketers while he was a running back at USC. Former basketball star O.J. Mayo also received benefits from an agent while at USC, according to the NCAA.

As a result, the NCAA cited USC for "a lack of institutional control" and saddled the athletic department with a hefty list of sanctions in 2010. Those punishments finally expired when the program was officially taken off probation June 10. The Trojans' sanctions included the loss of scholarships, a two-year bowl ban for the football team and vacation of 14 football victories — including the 2004 BCS championship.

The Los Angeles Times put together an extensive package to cover the end of the program's probation, and the occasion has drawn national interest, too.

USC's athletic department has undergone plenty of changes since the NCAA investigation began in the mid-2000s. Pat Haden replaced former athletic director Mike Garrett in 2010, former football coach Pete Carroll won a super bowl with the Seattle Seahawks this year and former basketball coach Tim Floyd is at UTEP after resigning from the Trojans in 2009.

So starting Tuesday, one of the most visible athletic departments in the country enters a new era, one free of NCAA restrictions.

PHIL STEELE'S PRESEASON ALL PAC-12 TEAM

Phil Steele published his annual preseason all-conference selections Friday, and the college football pundit has Stanford and USC leading the Pac-12 with six first-team selections apiece.

Steele has Oregon leading the way with four offensive players on the first team, and Washington has four defensive players on the first team. Arizona, California, Colorado and Washington State are the only Pac-12 teams without a player on Steele's first-team list. Steele doesn't have a representative from California or Washington State on his second team, either.

In addition to his preseason all-league selections, Steele also releases his list of the top 40 teams in the country each summer. So far Steele has unveiled Nos. 40-19, and three Pac-12 teams have appeared in those rankings.

Steele ranks Oregon State as the No. 36 team in the country, has Washington at No. 28 and ranks Stanford at No. 20.

MORE LINKS:

- Arizona landed a commitment from a three-star junior college running back.

- Block U, an SB nation site, compiled a list of expert opinions on Utah football.

- A Fansided site predicts UCLA's starting lineup.

- ESPN.com's Pac-12 blog ranks the 10 best nonconference games involving teams from the league.

-- Aaron Kasinitz | @AaronKazreports