The Notre Dame athletic director says they were informed of the possibly hoax by Te'o on December 26. In January 3rd press conference Te'o responded to a question about his girlfriend.
Te'o's response focuses on the support system he has around him and how the sport helped him take his mind off things. The generic answer leaves the question open about whether he was speaking about dealing with the hoax or with the supposed death of his girlfriend at the time
TRANSCRIPT: "I think whenever you're in football, it takes your mind off a lot of things. You know, this team is very special to me, and the guys on it have always been there for me, through the good times and the bad times. I rarely have a quiet time to myself because I always have somebody calling me, asking, do you want to go to the movies. Coach is always calling me asking me, "Are you okay? Do you need anything?" I have three roommates, Zeke, Carlo and Robby Toma, who are always yelling at each other, who's going to play Call of Duty. I'm rarely by myself, and that's how I like it. I'm always around my guys, always around my family."