In a first-of-its-kind move, Wisconsin and its collective filed a lawsuit on Friday against Miami over tortious interference of a contract with former defensive back Xavier Lucas, Yahoo Sports reported Friday.
A 4-star recruit in the class of 2024 out of powerhouse American Heritage High School in Fort Lauderdale, Lucas played in 11 games in his true freshman season for the Badgers, but planned to move home after his attorney stated Lucas's father suffered a "serious, life-threatening" illness.
However, Lucas had already signed a 2-year revenue-sharing contract with Wisconsin in anticipation of the House settlement passing, which it finally did on June 6, which was set to begin July 1. Because of that, Wisconsin refused to enter Lucas's name in the transfer portal. Instead, Lucas withdrew from the University of Wisconsin and enrolled at the University of Miami in January, after the portal had closed. That moved sparked a round of "You can do that??" reactions within the college athletics industry. “NCAA rules do not prevent a student-athlete from unenrolling from an institution, enrolling at a new institution and competing immediately," the organization said at the time.
Wisconsin has matched Miami's precedent-setting move with another one. The Yahoo Sports story says Wisconsin is seeking "unspecified damages, transparency and accountability" from Miami. Lucas was not named as a defendant in the lawsuit, and there's no indication anyone is trying to force Lucas to return to Madison, but a monetary penalty and the publishing of any correspondence between Miami and Lucas feel like they're on the table. Since Lucas's name never appeared in the portal, any correspondence would seemingly violate the NCAA's tampering rules.
According to the lawsuit, Wisconsin alleges that a Miami coach and "prominent alumnus" visited the Florida home of Xavier Lucas in December, offering a "more lucrative" compensation package to induce him to leave UW for the Hurricanes.https://t.co/KVYafcAdm5 pic.twitter.com/EtrO6pTCED
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) June 20, 2025
“We stand by our position that respecting and enforcing contractual obligations is essential to maintaining a level playing field,” Wisconsin said in a statement. “In addition to our legal acton, we will continue to be proactive to protect the interests of our student-athletes, our program and the broader collegiate athletics community.”
The lawsuit feels like a rubber-meets-road moment as an industry that has longed for clear rules and accountability in regards to player movement. If Miami gets the proverbial hammer, it could slow down the transfer portal -- and the tampering that leads to it -- moving forward. If the Hurricanes get a slap on the wrist or less, it could be open season, contracts be damned.