Buckle up, college football fans. Wisconsin and its NIL collective filed a complaint in state circuit court on Friday against Miami for “alleged tortious interference” with defensive back Xavier Lucas, according to Yahoo Sports.
“Miami interfered with UW-Madison’s relationship with Student-Athlete A [Lucas] by making impermissible contact with him and engaging in tampering,” the suit reads, according to the report.
Lucas transferred to play for the Hurricanes in January after spending his freshman season with the Badgers, but he never formally entered the transfer portal.
The Big Ten released a statement in support of Wisconsin’s action, according to On3.
“The Big Ten Conference is aware of the litigation recently filed by the University of Wisconsin-Madison against the University of Miami and is supportive of UW-Madison’s position. As alleged, the University of Miami knowingly ignored contractual obligations and disregarded the principle of competitive equity that is fundamental to collegiate athletics.
“The Big Ten Conference believes that the University of Miami’s actions are irreconcilable with a sustainable college sports framework and is supportive of UW-Madison’s efforts to preserve.”
Earlier this month, a federal judge signed off on allowing college programs to soon directly pay their student athletes.
Last season, Lucas totaled one interception, one sack, two passes defended and 18 combined tackles, including two for loss. Wisconsin went 5-7 and 3-6 in Big Ten play, failing to reach a bowl game for the first time since the 2001 college football season. Lucas joins a Miami team that went 10-3 last season.
Lucas was a four-star recruit and played high school football in Fort Lauderdale, which is located roughly one hour north of Miami’s campus.
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Wisconsin Badgers
Xavier Lucas
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