The University of Southern California is represented by the USC Trojans to the Pacific-10 Conference of football teams. The team is a member of the NCAA Division I FBS. Since the creation of the NCAA, the team has consistently been one of the foremost. It boasts of eleven national championships so far.

When the team was first organized, they were called variously the ‘Methodists’ or the ‘Wesleyans’ at one time or another in that early period. The Alliance Athletic club was their first opponent. They won against this team with a 16-0 score. In their second year, the team played their first college football match against St. Vincent’s College. They won 4-0.

In their early years, their games were limited within Southern California. Their first game outside was played against Stanford University on Nov. 4, 1905. Although they lost that match 16-0 that marked the beginning of the lasting rivalry between the two colleges. In 1912, the team was named the Trojans by a news writer in reference to the fact that they seemed to be largely unprepared for playing against their more experienced and better trained rivals.

From 1920 to 1930, things improved for the team. Under the guidance of coach Gus Henderson, they began to attract the attention of football fans. Henderson was replaced by coach Howard Jones who stayed with them from 1925 to 1940. They won their first four national championships at this time and came to be known as the ‘Thundering Herd.’

When Jones quit the team, the Trojans managed to keep maintain their ratings but did not make made slow progress. In spite of that they still managed to take home three Rose Bowl trophies. They won the first two in 1943 and 1945 coached by Jeff Cravath. The last one was bagged in 1953 when Jess Hill was coach.

It was during the tenure of coach John McKay that the team experienced another resurgence of power. Between 1960 to 1975 two of the team members had received Heisman Trophies. In the years following McKay’s departure for the NFL, the team continued to enjoy success, garnering two more Heisman Trophies as well as another national championship in 1978.

Between 1980 and 1990 the Trojans experienced another lull in their career. They did not win any new national championship and performed poorly against their old opponents. The situation was not to be tolerated by USC fans. In 2001, the then coach Hackett was replaced by Pete Caroll. During his term, Caroll saw the team winning two BCS championships, the national championships of 2003 and 2004. The team also won the Pacific-10 Conference from 2003 to 2008.

Despite their outstanding career, the team has had serious issues with the NCAA. They have been on probation for a total of sic times. Their last probation is in 2010. The period lasts for four years during which the conduct of the team will be closely monitored. The team is not allowed to participate in Bowl games for two years.

The Jewelled Shillelagh is the rivalry trophy that the USC Hurricanes competes for yearly with Notre Dame. It is the most famous of all the rivalry trophies that the team contends for. Notre Dame leads 42-34.

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