Wisconsin Abruptly Drops Miami Tampering Lawsuit: What Happened Behind the Scenes?

When a Big Ten powerhouse like Wisconsin throws down the gauntlet against Miami with a tampering lawsuit, you’ve got to wonder—what’s really at stake here? It’s not every day you see a college football saga unfold with allegations of secret meetings in Florida, money offers on the table, and contracts purportedly broken. Xavier Lucas, the cornerback at the heart of this storm, didn’t even officially enter the transfer portal before his controversial move south, yet Miami is accused of enticing him anyway. Is this just another ripple in the NIL era’s widening pond, or a sign of things to come in the fiercely competitive transfer landscape? Whatever your take, the Badgers’ legal move pushes the envelope on what’s fair game in player recruitment and contract sanctity. The drama swirls ahead of NIL payments going live July 1—which, if nothing else, amps the intrigue a little higher. Curious to dive deeper into this tangled web? LEARN MORE

Wisconsin football went after Miami in January involving a bombshell tampering accusation. The Big Ten university has now taken a new step: Dropping a lawsuit on the Hurricanes.

Wisconsin officially filed the lawsuit Friday, according to Dan Murphy of ESPN. The Badgers, per Murphy, claim that Miami broke the law by tampering with a current Badgers player.

The athlete in the filing is Xavier Lucas. The cornerback left the Madison campus and landed in Miami as a college football transfer portal addition. However, the lawsuit revealed that Lucas never officially placed his name into the portal. Lucas presented the counterargument that the Badgers refused to place his name there last December. Murphy adds more context to the lawsuit.

“Wisconsin claims that a Miami staff member and a prominent alumnus met with Lucas and his family at a relative’s home in Florida and offered him money to transfer,” Murphy reported. He added that this move came “shortly after Lucas signed a two-year contract last December.”

Murphy added how “The lawsuit states that Miami committed tortious interference by knowingly compelling a player to break the terms of his deal with the Badgers.”

Wisconsin/Miami tampering accusation timeline

Lucas signed an NIL deal at Wisconsin before moving on from the school.

Pete Nakos of On3 revealed on Jan. 18 that Miami had “credible information” that Miami tampered with Lucas. Even stating how the university was “disappointed Lucas has chosen to withdraw” from the Madison campus.

“He has been a valued member of our football program and we were looking forward to helping him continue to grow as a student, person and football player,” the Wisconsin statement obtained by Nakos read. But again, UWM wrote the following in the letter.

“We have credible information indicating impermissible contact between Xavier and the University of Miami football program personnel prior to Xavier’s request to enter the transfer portal,” the letter states.

Murphy included details of how player contracts work among Badger players.

“The contracts between Wisconsin and their athletes give the school the nonexclusive rights to use a player’s NIL in promotions,” Murphy wrote. The deal includes athletes are prohibited from “making any commitments to enroll or play sports at other schools.”

This lawsuit arrives before NCAA universities everywhere, including Miami and Wisconsin, can pay its athletes directly via NIL deals effective July 1.

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