About this episode

The episode explores the unsolved murder of football star Bryan Pata and the subsequent investigation by ESPN reporters.

In 2006, Bryan Pata – a football star at the University of Miami – was shot and killed outside his apartment. The death of a high-profile player from a major college football program was big news, but it didn’t lead to an arrest. But more than a decade later, the case found its way to a team of ESPN reporters. What they found was an exasperated family desperate for answers, a murder investigation that appeared to be cold (even though the police said it wasn’t), a legendary football program with a wild reputation in a tailspin, and a side to Bryan he didn’t want people to know about. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Topics covered

• murder investigation
• college football
• University of Miami
• Bryan Pata
• cold case
• family
• sports

Keywords

• Bryan Pata
• murder
• University of Miami
• football
• cold case
• investigation
• ESPN

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Miami, ESPN

More episodes of 30 for 30 Podcasts

• MURDER AT THE U: An Update · March 25, 2026 · 1 min
• MURDER AT THE U Episode 7: Gut Feeling · March 12, 2026 · 50 min
• MURDER AT THE U Episode 6: The Missing Piece · February 26, 2026 · 55 min
• MURDER AT THE U Episode 5: Open and Active · February 24, 2026 · 39 min
• MURDER AT THE U Episode 4: The Teammate · February 19, 2026 · 50 min
• MURDER AT THE U Episode 3: Everybody’s a Suspect · February 17, 2026 · 1h 2m

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the 30 for 30 Podcasts podcast page.