In an unprecedented moment in college football, the University of Wisconsin and its NIL collective filed a complaint Friday against the University of Miami, alleging tortious interference. Filed Friday in a Wisconsin state circuit court, the Badgers allege that Miami poached freshman defensive back Xavier Lucas, who had signed a revenue-sharing contract with Wisconsin.
It is uncharted waters in college football. In the 23-page suit, Wisconsin is seeking financial damages and a judgment that Miami’s actions “wrongfully interfere with contractual commitments.” Beyond that, however, Wisconsin is enforcing its contract with Lucas. The defensive back’s attorney, Darren Heitner, told On3 on Friday that Lucas was never compensated through the deal by Wisconsin.
Lucas is not named in the suit, instead cited as “Student Athlete A.” But Lucas publicly left Wisconsin for Miami this winter without ever entering the transfer portal. Heitner previously alleged Wisconsin of violating NCAA rules by not putting Lucas into the transfer portal after multiple requests. In the complaint filed Friday, Wisconsin alleges that a Miami staff member and alumnus met Lucas and his family at a relative’s home in Florida.
“Accordingly, at the conclusion of the 2024 season, UW-Madison and VC Connect offered, negotiated, and executed separate NIL contracts with Student-Athlete A, under which he would receive one of the most lucrative NIL financial commitments of any UW-Madison football player,” the complaint states. “Within days of contract execution, however, Miami knowingly induced Student-Athlete A to abandon his contractual commitments to Plaintiffs. As a result of Miami’s actions, Student-Athlete A abruptly left UW-Madison’s football program and enrolled at Miami, causing Plaintiffs to suffer substantial pecuniary and reputational harm.
“Miami’s actions are in direct contravention of not only the NCAA’s established anti-tampering rules—rules designed to maintain the integrity of the transfer process and ensure fair competition among member institutions—but also established contract and tort law.”
In another unprecedented situation, the Big Ten has publicly voiced its backing of Wisconsin for filing the suit, telling On3 in a statement 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.” Miami did not immediately respond to a request for comment from On3.
The suit will also put the NCAA transfer rules to the test. In recent years, the college football transfer portal has come under fire from coaches due to the ease with which athletes can hit free agency. Athletes have turned the portal into a payday, too, leveraging schools against each other for the highest contract offer.
But with the House v. NCAA settlement set to officially begin on July 1, revenue-sharing contracts have been drawn up by most of the Power Four in the last six months. Tampering has become prominent in the portal, but there has been minimal enforcement from the NCAA, which has been handicapped by lawsuits.
How a judge decides to rule on this lawsuit could define how the transfer portal is enforced and how revenue-sharing contracts will hold up in the courtroom. It could also prove to be a precedent-setting move if NIL contracts can keep athletes from transferring.
College athletes are currently not classified as employees and do not have collective bargaining power.
“These are the type of tampering allegations that are typically fought behind closed doors at the professional sports level based on the leagues’ collective bargaining agreement,” sports lawyer and professor Dan Lust told On3. “Here, in the absence of any type of similar mechanism at the collegiate level, this dispute is going to be fought in open court for the world to see the complex interplay of forces in and around the transfer portal. This is truly an unprecedented case and one that commands the attention of the college sports world.”
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