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Illinois Governor Attended University Of Tampa In 1970s

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By JOHN W. ALLMAN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 9, 2008

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich briefly lived in Tampa while attending college.

He enrolled at the University of Tampa in 1975, following his older brother Rob, who was already a student.

The Democratic governor was arrested today by federal investigators and charged with conspiring to sell or trade the Senate seat left vacant by President-elect Barack Obama to the highest bidder, the Associated Press reported.

Rod Blagojevich spent about two years in Tampa until he transferred in the spring of 1977 to Northwestern University, according to Eric Cardenas, UT's director of public information.

Rod Blagojevich was featured in the November 2003 issue of Chicago Magazine talking about his time here.

"The University of Tampa was an odd college choice for a kid 'from the neighborhood,' as Blagojevich puts it, but his brother had gone there two years before to play baseball," the article says. "With a lackluster grade point average and an 18 or 19 on his ACT, Blagojevich admits, "schools like Northwestern, I couldn't get into." After two years, Rod got into Northwestern as a transfer student and majored in history."

His brother, Rob, stayed in Tampa and graduated from UT in 1977 with a bachelor of arts degree in history. Rob Blagojevich now runs a property investment company in Nashville. He is a former president and chief executive officer of Invest Financial Corp. in Tampa.

Earlier this year, in May, Rob Blagojevich returned to UT to give the commencement address.

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