I'm also surprised that USC apparently is getting no penalty for this. They have a responsibility to educate boosters and monitor compliance. I believe it's accurate to classify Leinart's father as a booster.
Who would need to be cautioned about eligibility issues more than a Heisman trophy winner (Matt won it before moving into this place with Jarrett) and his father? Especially when he was considering the draft in early 2005 and had to be careful to retain his eligibility.
Here are excerpts from what LSU sends their boosters (tOSU has something similar, I've received it as an alumnus). If USC has something similar (and it's only reasonable to expect them to have it, if not they're being negligent), how could Mr. Leinart not have questioned whether what he was doing was OK for Jarrett?
lsu.ncaa_rules
Louisiana State University, as a member of the Southeastern Conference and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), is responsible for ensuring that its coaches, student-athletes, faculty and staff, donors, boosters, former students, fans, and friends abide by Southeastern Conference and NCAA regulations.
This brochure is a quick reference to the many NCAA rules that apply to our former students, fans and friends of the University. Since all applicable situations cannot be covered in this pamphlet, please feel free to call if you have any questions. The University appreciates your interest and support but reminds you that an inappropriate contact or an inadvertent action on your part can jeopardize the eligibility of a prospective student-athlete, an enrolled student-athlete, and the University.
Q. What are some examples of benefits an athletic representative may not provide to student-athletes, their relatives, or friends?
A. Types of extra benefits that are prohibited include, but are not limited to the following: cash or loans; special discounts or payment arrangements on loans; employment of relatives or friends of a student-athlete; involvement in arrangement for free or reduced charges for professional or personal services, purchases, or charges; use of an automobile; providing transportation to or from a summer job or to any other site; signing or co- signing a note for a loan; the loan or gift of money or other tangible items (e.g., clothes, cars, jewelry, electronic/stereo equipment); gifts or awards of any kind; guarantees of bond; purchases of items or services from a student-athlete or the student-athlete's family at inflated prices; providing directly or indirectly transportation to enroll in classes; any financial aid other than that administered by Louisiana State University; the promise of financial aid for post graduate education; free or reduced cost housing arrangements; arrangement for or payment of transportation or other costs incurred by relatives or friends of a student-athlete to visit the student-athlete or to attend any contest; entertainment of a student-athlete's family on or off campus; benefits connected with on or off campus housing (e.g., television sets or stereo equipment, specialized recreational facilities); tickets or admission to an athletic, institutional or community event; educational expenses (e.g., typing costs, course supplies, use of a copy machine); payment of any registration fees (e.g., tuition and fees, summer camps, etc.); payment to a student-athlete for use of his/her complimentary admissions; or receipt of payment for complimentary admissions sold to a third party when designated as the recipient of a complimentary admission by a student-athlete; use of or pay for long distance telephone calls, or the purchase of athletic apparel or awards from a student-athlete.