While references to accused murderer LaVon Chisley's Penn State football career have permeated court testimony over the past four days, athletic department officials say the team has no vested interest in the proceedings.
Neither the Penn State Athletic Department nor the football program is "paying any more or any less attention" to the trial, Penn State sports information director Jeff Nelson said.
Team spokesman Guido D'Elia said that because Chisley was not on the roster at the time of the alleged murder, coaches and officials have no duty or reason to keep close tabs on the trial.
Chisley, 23, was declared academically ineligible in the 2005 off-season, a ruling that prevented him from playing his senior year.
He is accused of first- and third-degree murder in the stabbing death of Penn State senior Langston Carraway, 26, whose body was found June 5, 2006, in his Patton Township apartment. Chisley was formally charged on Jan. 16.
When approached with a question about Chisley after a press conference Tuesday, Joe Paterno said he didn't know what the reporter was talking about, waved his hand through the air and then walked away.
In 2004, during his junior year, Chisley played in all 11 games, registering 14 total tackles and one interception.
Nelson confirmed that all formal ties between the team and Chisley were severed following the ineligibility announcement, adding that he was not specifically aware of any player or coach with a current close connection with Chisley.
"I really don't know of anybody in football or athletics that knows anything more about the trial than the public knows," D'Elia said.
Paul Cronin, a former defensive back and teammate of Chisley's, said that although the two players were friends, he is only following the case in "bits and pieces."
Cronin said he lives out of the state now and is getting updates on the trial through friends and other former players, whom he declined to name.
"In all of my experiences with [Chisley] on and off the field, he was a great guy," Cronin said. "I've never had any problems with him. My mom loved him and we wish him the best."
D'Elia said he wasn't sure of the specifics surrounding Chisley's recruitment to the Penn State football team or the amount of scholarship money, if any, Chisley received from the athletic department.
Centre County District Attorney Michael Madeira informed the jury Wednesday that Chisley owes $7,939 to the Penn State Bursar's office.
Throughout the week, Madeira has consistently held that Chisley, motivated by substantial debt, stabbed friend Carraway 93 times. According to police reports, Chisley was indebted to several parties, including a dog breeder, a local tattoo artist and sports agents. Madeira has said Chisley may have intended to pay his debts upon being drafted into the NFL, but became overwhelmed when the NFL passed him up.
Both Nelson and D'Elia said they were unaware that Chisley was indebted to Penn State and did not know the impact financial aid or athletic scholarships had on his tuition bills.
However, any type of athletic scholarship would have been revoked immediately after his dismissal from the team, D'Elia said.
