The former president of this Orange County school helped affluent students enter USC as walk-on athletes — a route that the university now acknowledges as fraud.
Mater Dei High School was building a new campus parking structure, and asked its hometown, Santa Ana, for $1.8 million for related street improvements. The response from City Hall was cool. Mater Dei was an elite private school with annual tuition and fees then north of $15,000 and a student body drawn mainly from Dana Point, Laguna Beach and other wealthy areas. Santa Ana was working-class, overwhelmingly Latino, and at the time, six years ago, in the midst of a budget crisis.
” In addition to the walk-on route, USC had a number of other ways in which favored or well-connected applicants could get a boost in admissions, including a VIP program. “He is my VIP list with admissions but this may be difficult,” Haden wrote. “If you feel inclined, I would appreciate you putting him on your list as well. I always stress in these situations that gifts are not linked to admissions.” Nikias replied less than an hour later, “Sure Pat! No problem.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
What happened to top Mater Dei football players going to USC?Oregon has intervened and is landing players from Mater Dei, which has a long heritage of recruits going to USC.
Read more »
Mater Dei Linebacker Nasir Wyatt Reveals Why He Committed To Oregon Ducks Over USCIn a battle between the top two high school football teams, No. 1 Mater Dei vs. No. 2 St. John Bosco, Oregon Ducks linebacker commit Nasir Wyatt came up big in Mater Dei's 59-14 win. Wyatt revealed why he chose Dan Lanning and Oregon over USC.
Read more »
USC DC D’Anton Lynn goes toe-to-toe with alma mater Penn StateThe defensive coordinator cycled through a variety of alignments in the first quarter of Saturday’s Big Ten matchup at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Read more »
USC Trojans' Quarterback Miller Moss Is Not The Problem With USC FootballUSC Trojans quarterback Miller Moss is following in the footsteps of the sport's giant quarterbacks. While Moss hasn't been perfect by any stretch of the imagination, no quarterback is. It's time to be honest about the issues plaguing USC football.
Read more »
USC Trojans vs. Rutgers Injury Update: USC's Nate Clifton Carted to Locker RoomThe USC Trojans are facing the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in week nine of the season. USC defensive lineman Nate Clifton was carted into the locker room while Rutgers star running back Kyle Monangai exited the game for a few plays before returning.
Read more »
USC Trojans Recruiting: Four-Star Defensive Lineman Braeden Jones Commits to USCDespite the USC Trojans' overtime loss to No. 3 Penn State, USC coach Lincoln Riley and his staff secured the commitment of four-star defensive line recruit Braeden Jones over Michigan and Ohio State.
Read more »