The NCAA announced Wednesday that the Oklahoma Sooners eight wins from the 2005 season would be invalidated because two players employed by a booster received pay for jobs they didn’t actually work. The athletics department will face other athletic sanctions as well. States and colleges, trying to avoid situations like that, are increasingly turning to the courts to help protect the integrity of big-time college athletics.

Reggie Bush, the former University of Southern California running back and now a star for the NFL’s New Orleans Saints, recently reached a settlement with CaliforniaDiverse: “The Heisman Trophy Trust is aware of the situation, but does not feel it’s appropriate to make a decision or pass judgment until the NCAA and the Pac-10 have released their findings.” Bush, for his part, has mostly refused to participate in the investigation. real estate agent and sports agent Michael Michaels, who reportedly let Bush’s family live rent-free in a $750,000 house during Bush’s college tenure. Michaels had hoped that he would represent Bush in the NFL, but when Bush signed with Mike Ornstein and Joel Segal instead, Michaels went public with the housing arrangement, drawing scrutiny to the player and the Trojans’ national championship team. The NCAA continues to investigate, and Bush’s Heisman trophy may be more than just a little tarnished; it may have to be flat out returned. Tim Henning, the Heisman coordinator, told

While not as high profile as the Bush case, other instances of improper contact between agents and players have occurred at USC. In 1995, Robert Troy Caron, head of the sports agency Pro Manage, agreed to pay the university $50,000 to settle a lawsuit that claimed he provided three players, Shawn Walters, Israel Ifeanyi and Errick Herrin, with plane tickets, rent and other items in hopes of representing the players at the next level. After the violations surfaced, the three players, all starters, were dismissed from the team.

Agent infractions have hit universities big and small. In 2003, for example, the NCAA levied a four-year probation on Fresno State University for violations that included illicit connections between an agent and a member of the men’s basketball team during the summer of 2001.

Amy P. Perko, the executive director of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, says that while the number of booster-related violations is on the decline, agent-related infringement is increasing.

And since the agents are “not connected with the institution,” it’s harder to control their actions, says Bill Clever, the assistant athletic director for compliance at the University of Oregon. “Agents are a true nightmare.”

Universities such as Oregon now hold “agent days” to educate players about appropriate conduct. States are also beginning to pass laws making it illegal for agents to interact with college athletes in inappropriate ways. The statutes target the agents and the students. Clever says Oregon’s state law allows the school to file a civil suit against a student-athlete should his or her illegal contact with an agent result in a loss of revenue for the institution. Overall, these measures have been “pretty successful” tools, Clever says, but both he and Perko agree more needs to be done.

The Oregon law is based on the Uniform Athlete Agents Act that has been passed in 35 states. In 1997, the NCAA encouraged the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws — an organization comprised of 300 state-appointed lawyers, judges, state legislators and law professors — to develop model legislation regarding sports agents that states could pattern their own laws after. The UAAA was the result of those deliberations. Essentially, it allows a state to fine an agent $25,000 per violation, and institutions can seek financial restitution against a student-athlete for any loss of revenue caused by violations. California, Colorado, Iowa, Michigan and Ohio have passed legislation designed to regulate agent contact that does not fall under the UAAA guidelines. Illinois, Massachusetts, Virginia and seven other states have no laws governing agent misbehavior.

But despite education and legislation, some boosters and agents continue to prey upon rising sports stars.

P.J. Clark, a former walk-on wide receiver and kick returner for the University of Minnesota’s football team, says boosters and agents “are great at being invisible. I don’t think anyone is stupid enough to give a handout after the game, but it’s all about contact information. They’ll pass you a card and say, ‘give me a call if you need a job.’”