Wisconsin football alleges Miami (FL) tampered with contract of CB Xavier Lucas, raising concerns about transfer portal regulations

The University of Wisconsin-Madison and VC Connect, an NIL collective for Badger Athletics, filed a five-count civil complaint Friday against the University of Miami, marking the latest legal battle on the NIL frontier. 

It’s a case with the potential to drag on for quite some time. Given the legal intricacies involved, it draws attention to the increasingly blurred line between collegiate student athletes and professionals. As the business of college sports continues to explode, the transfer portal is busier than ever and athletic programs are even more determined to secure top prospects. Five-star recruits are treated like celebrities, while regulations seem to be an afterthought. 

What unfolds in the Wisconsin decision is going to write the playbook for how future recruiting directors and coaches move, but the reality is this: the transfer portal and NCAA need strict, specific regulations on recruiting tampering, and they need to be enforced. 

Wisconsin and VC Connect are suing Miami for tortious interference in the transfer of Xavier Lucas. Technically, the documents only refer to “Student-Athlete A,” but the details line up with the cornerback’s move. Tortious interference is claimed when a party seeks damages against an entity for attempting to interfere with the party’s business relationships formed under contracts. 

In this case, the Badgers are accusing Miami coaches of tampering with Lucas on a winter trip to Florida. Wisconsin alleges Miami influenced Lucas to leave Wisconsin and sign with the Hurricanes before he was in the transfer portal, affecting his contracts with the university and VC Connect. Lucas claims Badgers staff refused to enter his name in the transfer portal when he requested it in December.

According to the suit documents, Wisconsin claims interference in four contracts: Lucas’s contract with the university and his collective NIL contract with VC Connect, plus prospective contracts that could’ve been made between Lucas, the university and VC Connect. 

📲 Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp 

At the professional level, this is not taken lightly. 

Teams found violating league tampering rules are subject to fines and lost draft capital, something the Falcons experienced firsthand in 2024. The NFL launched investigations into the signings of Kirk Cousins with the Falcons and Saquon Barkley with the Eagles after suspected violations of the legal tampering period. The Super Bowl LIX champions were cleared, but Atlanta lost their 2025 fifth-round draft pick and were fined $250K. 

The legal tampering period was implemented in 2012, but beginning this season rules allow for remote video calls and visits to be lined up with free agents during the legal tampering period. Prior, only players’ agents could speak with teams, not the athletes themselves. There are restrictions around how many players a team can call, travel plans to a facility can only be made upon agreeing to a contract and the facility visit still has to wait until the new league year. 

Athletes like Lucas are still collegiate athletes. When teams are recruiting and treating them as professionals, regulations around recruiting and the transfer process need to be enforced more strictly. If college athletic entities are giving these players contracts, they have to hold them accountable.