Wisconsin issues statement claiming to have 'credible evidence' of Miami tampering with Xavier Lucas
Wisconsin is not taking the news of the recent transfer move by Xavier Lucas quietly. And while many head coaches have complained about tampering publicly, it looks like the Badgers might be the first team to try and actually do something about it.
On Friday, reports surfaced that Lucas was transferring to Miami but with a unique twist to the move. After Wisconsin was unwilling to insert Lucas’s name into the transfer portal, the player simply unenrolled from Wisconsin and enrolled at Miami without officially entering the transfer portal.
According to the original story, Lucas signed a 2-year agreement with Wisconsin that granted the university his non-exclusive rights to use and market his NIL. That agreement is said to prohibit the player’s rights to be used by any other school but allows the individual to sign outside marketing agreements.
The catch? Agreements of that nature are contingent on the settlement of the House v. NCAA antitrust case being approved.
While the NCAA admitted in a statement to Yahoo Sports that rules do not prohibit a player from unenrolling at one destination and enrolling at another with immediate eligibility (seemingly bypassing the portal completely), the issue Wisconsin alleges is improper contact with Miami personnel and Lucas prior to Lucas’s entering the portal.
Since Lucas was never in the portal, any contact with the Hurricanes would be against NCAA rules. According to a Saturday statement, UW is claiming to have “credible evidence” of such communication.
Under the transfer provision used by Xavier this past week, any contact between a student-athlete enrolled at one institution and the football program to which they are transferring is prohibited per NCAA rules. 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. Direct interference with another institutions committed player and contractual interests is prohibited by NCAA tampering rules and the law.
Here is the full statement:
According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, the Big Ten is expected to strongly support Wisconsin in this process. The league believes Miami’s actions are “inconsistent with all the work toward a new framework being done by the A4 leagues, including the ACC,” per Thamel’s source.
The Big Ten is expected to come out strongly in support of Wisconsin, per sources. The Big Ten believes that Miami’s actions are “inconsistent with all the work toward a new framework being done by the A4 leagues, including the ACC,” per a source. https://t.co/wncjvIOocA
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 18, 2025
This is definitely a first-of-its-kind case, and it will be interesting to see what becomes of Xavier Lucas and his career moving forward.