Federal wiretap transcripts show that Richardson said he paid $40,000 to “a high school coach” to help ensure the academic eligibility of former Wildcats guard Rawle Alkins, plus “two grand” a month to Alkins’s cousin after he moved to Tucson from New York City. Richardson did not say where he got the money. He cited the payment as an example of the difficulty handling the demands of recruits, their families and those around them.

“So, again, is it something different each year?” Richardson said. “It is. Like I said, $40,000 to do that was totally extreme. If I had the chance to do it all over again, I would not do it. I'd try to barter something. I'd give blood. I'd give semen, something.”