Q: I’ve heard in the past that schools have successfully sued Agents that have broken NCAA rules and interfered with players who are on scholarship (since the scholarship is in fact a legal contract). Can you confirm this? If Lake conspired with RB or his parents to break USC’s rules (and those imposed on RB by the NCAA through USC’s giving him a scholarship), could SC sue Lake for any monetary loss due to NCAA sanctions that directly cost SC money (ie, TV or post season bowl ban)? Wouldn’t this go a long way to sending a message to Agents?

A: Actually, USC did this more than 10 years ago in a case involving tailback Shawn Walters. The agent paid USC $50,000 and agreed not to contact its athletes. The difference is that Lake is no longer in the sports marketing business, so he isn’t likely to contact future USC athletes. And apparently the first lawsuit didn’t prevent the agents or runners from getting to the athletes. Something needs to be done on campus instead of in a courtroom.