NEW REGGIE BUSH GIFT CLAIMS REPORT OF $100,000 IN BENEFITS COULD LEAD TO EX-USC STAR BEING STRIPPED OF HEISMAN.

Byline: Staff and Wire Services

Heisman Trophy-winning tailback Reggie Bush and his family accepted financial benefits of more than $100,000 from marketing agents while he still was playing football at USC, Yahoo.com reported Thursday.

The benefits, which would be in violation of National Collegiate Athletic Association rules, could lead to sanctions against USC and possibly strip Bush of his Heisman. Bush, who left USC after his junior season, was the No. 2 overall selection in this spring's NFL draft by the New Orleans Saints and made his professional debut Sunday.

The report says Michael Michaels, a marketing agency investor who wanted to represent the football star, and current Bush marketing agent Mike Ornstein lavished Bush and his family with gifts while he was still at USC, each hoping to entice him to sign with them once he left school.

Bush eventually chose Ornstein, which caused a falling out between Michaels and Bush's family.

Speculation over whether Bush and his family received money arose earlier this year after reports his mother and stepfather didn't pay $54,000 in rent during the year they lived in a Spring Valley, Calif., house owned by Michaels, who later said the family promised to repay him once Bush went pro.

In April, the Pacific-10 Conference and NCAA launched an investigation into Bush's eligibility.

``I can't really comment on any of this right now because it's in the hands of the NCAA,'' USC head coach Pete Carroll told the Daily News late Thursday night.

Sources at USC told the Daily News they don't expect any NCAA penalties against the school.

The Yahoo report indicated representatives of Michaels' prospective agency, New Era Sports & Entertainment, were allowed into the USC locker room during the 2005 season and that Trojans running backs coach Todd McNair allegedly knew of Bush's involvement with the New Era venture before last season's Bowl Championship Series title game against Texas. Also, Ornstein and other agents frequented the USC sidelines during several games and numerous practices.

The Web site reported additional benefits to Bush and his family included:

$28,000 from Michaels to help Bush's family settle a pre-existing debt.

$13,000 from Michaels for Bush to purchase and modify a car -- a black 1996 Chevrolet Impala SS.

$1,574.86 for a March stay by Bush at the Manchester Hyatt in San Diego, paid for by Michaels.

Weekly payments of at least $1,500 to the Bush family by Ornstein.

$623.63 for a March hotel stay by Bush at the Venetian Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, paid for by Michaels.

$595.20 in round-trip airfare from San Diego to Oakland last November for Bush's stepfather, LaMar Griffin, his mother, Denise Griffin, and younger brother to attend the USC- Cal game in Berkeley. The fees were charged to the credit card of Jamie Fritz, an employee of Ornstein.

$250.65 for limousine transportation from the Oakland airport to the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in San Francisco, also charged to Fritz.

Suits for Bush's stepfather and brother to wear during last year's Heisman ceremony in New York, plus a makeover for his mother and limousine transportation, paid for by Ornstein.

In addition, both Bush and his family reportedly received thousands of dollars in spending money from the prospective agents.

Ornstein, whose background includes a 1997 felony conviction for mail fraud, did not return a call from the Daily News seeking comment Thursday night.

The NCAA prohibits student-athletes and their families from receiving extra benefits from agents or their representatives.

Ornstein denied to Yahoo any wrongdoing on his and Bush's behalf.

``Reggie Bush never received an extra benefit from Mike Ornstein other than what he was allowed to get from the NCAA when he worked with us,'' Ornstein told Yahoo. He added that Bush was an intern at his marketing company in the summer of 2005. ``I feel pretty damn good about that.''