A former University of Southern California coach accused in a sweeping college admissions scandal has a new shot at securing an acquittal after a federal court judge tossed his conviction and order…
A former University of Southern California coach accused in a sweeping college admissions scandal has a new shot at securing an acquittal after a federal court judge tossed his conviction and ordered a new trial.
Vavic, who guided USC’s men’s and women’s water polo teams to 16 national championships, was convicted in April after being arrested in March 2019 in the headline-grabbing “Operation Varsity Blues” investigation. Prosecutors have also said Vavic helped recruit others into the scheme, pointing to wiretap transcripts in which Vavic called the arrangement a “win-win” situation and when he encouraged a fellow coach with doubts about the scheme to “just do it.”
Prosecutors accused Vavic of taking more than $200,000 in bribes for faking designating college applicants as water polo athletes to get them into USC.Vavic’s lawyers argued at trial that he was just doing what he could to raise money for his dominant program as athletic officials at the elite Los Angeles school had demanded. They argued he was always acting in the best interests of the school and his team, never lied, and never took a bribe.
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