The Big Ten issued an official statement on Saturday night supporting Wisconsin in the Xavier Lucas case.

Lucas originally sought to enter the transfer portal but that move was blocked by Wisconsin. As a result, Lucas withdrew from classes at Wisconsin and enrolled in classes at Miami. This move did not sit well with Wisconsin officials, with the school stating it has “credible evidence” of tampering involving Lucas and Miami.

On Saturday, the Big Ten decided to get involved and throw their weight behind the Badgers. The conference released the following statement:

The Big Ten Conference stands in full support of the University of Wisconsin regarding the contractual agreement between student-athlete Xavier Lucas and the Wisconsin football program.

As student-athletes become active participants in revenue sharing, it is critical that agreed-to obligations be respected, honored, and enforced. In light of current laws and association rules, information suggesting tampering and contract interference in this case by the University of Miami is very troubling. These actions undermine the efforts of its own conference as the ACC continues its collaboration with the other A4 conferences in developing a sustainable framework for college sports.

This situation is just the latest example of the critical need for substantive governance reform.

It’s not surprising to see a conference support one of its members. However, it has been uncommon to see a league body publicly comment on tampering allegations in the new era of college athletics. Allegations of tampering have become commonplace, but it certainly seems like Wisconsin and the B1G fully intend on following this thing through.

It is worth noting that schools are not allowed to contact players that are not in the transfer portal. However, the NCAA chimed in saying “NCAA rules do not prevent a student-athlete from unenrolling from an institution, enrolling at a new institution and competing immediately,”