Thursday was moving day at South Carolina as a number of additional players moved out of the Whitney Hotel a week after NCAA investigators questioned their living arrangements there.
Tight end Weslye Saunders, whose alleged dealings with agents drew the attention of the NCAA, was one of the players told to vacate the property. Officials want to know whether players received free rooms or discounted rates at a hotel that features limousine service.
If so, that likely would constitute an extra benefit.
Spurrier said after Thursday’s scrimmage that players were asked to vacate the Whitney and settle any outstanding balances. Spurrier, who stayed at the hotel before he and his wife moved into their Columbia-area house in 2005, said he knew players were living at the Whitney but “didn’t know all the arrangements.”
“But all of our guys are going to pay their bill and hopefully go live somewhere else,” Spurrier said. “That’s what we hope happens – that they pay their bills up and go live somewhere else. That’s about all I can say about it.”
As many as seven to 10 players were staying at the hotel, located along the Devine Street shopping corridor. Sources said a couple of players were in good financial standing with the hotel but were asked to move out anyway.
Spurrier would not say specifically whether any players owed several months of back rent.
“I can’t go into all that,” Spurrier said. “They’re going to pay their bills and move out is what we have suggested to them to do.”
By having players pay off their balances and leave the hotel, it appears USC is trying to minimize potential penalties from the NCAA. If the school believes players were staying there at free or discounted rates, expect officials to self-report it as secondary violations and point to the fact that players have made restitution.
The NCAA can choose to accept the school’s findings or reject them. Given that both NCAA and USC officials have said they are working cooperatively on this investigation, there likely has been dialogue about the hotel situation and USC’s plans to remedy it.