Wisconsin sues Miami over transfer tampering in a legal first

The University of Wisconsin sued the University of Miami on Friday, formally accusing the Florida school of tampering with a football player under a financial contract with the Badgers.

The decision to sue could become a watershed moment in the current era of college athletics. Never before has a university accused another of tampering with one of its athletes, who did not have contracts before the dawn of name, image and likeness rights this decade.

"While we reluctantly bring this case, we stand by our position that respecting and enforcing contractual obligations is essential to maintaining a level playing field," the school said in a statement provided to ESPN on Friday.

Though Wisconsin's lawsuit only refers to the player as Student Athlete A, the subject of the case is cornerback Xavier Lucas, who left Wisconsin and enrolled at Miami over the winter without ever entering the transfer portal.

It was reported at the time that Wisconsin refused to put Lucas' name in the transfer portal. Lucas signed a two-year contract with the Badgers in December 2024 -- a deal that gave the football program nonexclusive rights to use his NIL but also prohibited him from committing to enroll or participate in athletics at another school.

Lucas enrolled at Miami in January.

Wisconsin's lawsuit alleges that a Miami staffer and a prominent alumnus of the school met with Lucas and his family and offered him money to transfer.

--Field Level Media