Tuesday, during the second of three fraud and bribery trials that the government is bringing against key figures in college basketball, Northwestern came up unexpectedly.
Key witness Marty Blazer, a self-made financial advisor who is testifying against former Arizona assistant coach Brian Dawkins and co-defendant Merl Code Jr., mentioned the Wildcats as one of seven college football teams with players he paid in order to potentially represent them as a financial advisor after they went pro.
The seven programs were Northwestern, Pittsburgh, Penn State, Michigan, Notre Dame, UNC and Alabama. Blazer said that he paid monthly installments of between $100 and $3,000 to family members or associates of players between 2000-2014, but refused to name any names.