As a sophomore in 1957, Rio appeared as a back-up fullback in games against Indiana and Ohio State, gaining 33 yards in 6 carries.

[3] Six other students were also arrested, including Rio's roommate, Jack Lewis, who was the captain of Michigan's basketball team, and Carl Riseman, associate sports editor of the campus newspaper.

Michigan's athletic director Fritz Crisler immediately suspended both Rio and Lewis from their respective teams until the criminal charges were resolved.

[4][5] The story drew national media attention, including a photo-story in Life, noting that the informant, an editor at The Michigan Daily, had been hung in effigy.

[10] Bump Elliott, in his first year as Michigan's head football coach, announced that Rio had been invited to join 75 others when practice opened and added, "As far as I'm concerned the whole thing is past.