The latest first has come to the current era of college football, with name, image and likeness (NIL) reigning supreme.
Wisconsin football and its NIL collective filed a complaint in state court on June 20 against Miami over alleged recruiting interference, according to a report from Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger. The move is the first of its kind and a potentially precedent-setting action.
The situation revolves around former Wisconsin defensive backXavier Lucas, with the school claiming that Miami interfered with Lucas’ revenue-binding contract with the Badgers and their NIL collective. Lucas left Wisconsin for Miami in January.
Lucas notably transferred to Miami without entering his name in the transfer portal, according to numerous reports in January. Lucas had announced his intention to enter the portal in December, but Wisconsin reportedly refused to put his name in the portal after he had already signed a contract with the school.
The documents obtained by Yahoo Sports claims Miami communicated with Lucas despite knowing the defensive back had already signed a contract with Wisconsin.
“Miami interfered with UW-Madison’s relationship with Student-Athlete A (Lucas) by making impermissible contact with him and engaging in tampering,” the suit writes, according to Yahoo Sports
“We stand by our position that respecting and enforcing contractual obligations is essential to maintaining a level playing field,” Wisconsin said in a statement to Yahoo Sports. “In addition to our legal action, we will continue to be proactive to protect the interests of our student-athletes, our program and the broader collegiate athletics community.”
Dellenger also reported the Big Ten support Wisconsin on the matter.
Revenue sharing was approved in a House settlement on June 6, allowing for schools to directly pay athletes across all sports. The Wisconsin-Miami case could serve precedent for future situations of alleged or potential tampering.
Lucas finished his freshman season at Wisconsin with 18 total tackles, a sack and an interception. The 6-foot-2 defensive back from Pompano Beach, Florida, withdrew from classes at Wisconsin and enrolled at Miami as a student in order to skirt the NCAA transfer rules regarding enter your name in the transfer portal during the two separate portal windows.
Lucas reportedly signed a two-year revenue sharing contract with Wisconsin, according to Yahoo Sports. The contract binds the player’s non-exclusive rights to the school, allowing it to market their NIL. The contract forbids the player’s NIL rights to be used by other schools.