Latest news with #XavierLucas
USA Today
15-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Where Xavier Lucas, other Wisconsin transfers land on ESPN's final portal cycle rankings
Where Xavier Lucas, other Wisconsin transfers land on ESPN's final portal cycle rankings ESPN released its final 2025 transfer portal cycle top 100 player ranking on Wednesday. The list, which includes both the winter and spring windows, is not full of Wisconsin Badgers. One transfer departure made the cut: cornerback Xavier Lucas, who now plays for Miami, at No. 60. His departure was noteworthy, to say the least, as Wisconsin attempted to block his exit. Former Ball State tight end Tanner Koziol is the other now-former Badger included (No. 91). He was both a transfer addition and departure this offseason, joining the program during the winter window before exiting during the spring. With the dust now settled, he's set to play for Houston in 2025. On one hand, Wisconsin's absence from ESPN's list means the program didn't lose much high-profile talent to top-ranked programs. On the other hand, it means the outlet doesn't see many of its additions as top-end impactful. In total, the Badgers brought in 21 transfers -- 19 during the winter window (although three then transferred out) and five during the spring. The list's headliners are quarterback Billy Edwards Jr., wide receiver Jayden Ballard and four experienced defensive tackles. It's reasonable to look at the team's revamped defensive front seven, deep secondary and strong quarterback room and praise the staff for a strong transfer cycle. But that is a local perspective. Nationally, none of Wisconsin's key additions made major headlines. Wisconsin is projected to have four transfers start on offense, plus another 4-5 on defense. That doesn't include the additional eight in the team's projected two-deep, or the one starter on special teams. That reality means that the program's transfer class will go a long way toward defining its 2025 season, for better or for worse. Maybe, with the benefit of hindsight, we can look at ESPN's forecast and wonder why several Badgers were left off. Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion
Forbes
02-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Private Equity's Next Big Shopping Spree: College Football
Wisconsin's Xavier Lucas (6) breaks up a pass intended for Purdue's Ryan Browne (15) during the ... More second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash) The latest shockwave to hit college football may come from private equity. As billions of dollars in TV revenue have flooded into Power Four football and top players are able to bring in six and seven figure name-image-likeness (NIL) deals, it's impossible to ignore the fact that college football is a business. Big business. These are professional student athletes, and the teams are major sports franchises. But, at the same time, it's an industry that is being heavily disrupted. In other words, college football is a ripe hunting ground for hedge funds and private equity. We've arrived at this point because of a potent mix of explosive growth and poor leadership. The NCAA has fumbled repeatedly during the NIL transition, and most athletic directors are ill-equipped to run businesses generating tens of millions in revenue annually. For proof, look no further than two clear examples: This deficit, coupled with an explosion of revenue, creates an opportunity for savvy institutional investors to get in on the action by actually owning a college football program. This is virtually guaranteed to happen at some point in the near future, and the results will be a cautionary tale to the rest of college athletics. While many in college athletics may scoff at this idea, it's entirely plausible under current conditions. Investors are already out pitching to schools and conferences. The Big Ten Conference is already taking bids with an assist from Evercore. In all likelihood, the first university to sign a major deal will likely be a smaller Power Four football program. While the biggest programs will have no problem paying players and putting together big NIL packages, smaller schools will likely struggle to be competitive. This is the opening that a firm needs. They'll approach one of these smaller programs with an offer of $150 million (or more) for 51% of the say in how they run their football program. For an AD with little business experience trying to put together a winning program, this will look like a good deal. Cash up front to build a team and a promise from the guys in suits to juice revenue in the future. The problem, of course, is that as soon as this deal is done, revenue growth will become the only priority. The investors won't balk at putting in their own athletics director and putting profits ahead of players, education, fans, and the institution. That's a horrible, horrible long-term decision for the university, but it's entirely plausible. What would it take to insulate college athletics from these forces? For one thing, the D1 revenue sports need to spin off from the NCAA so that they can establish common sense rules around revenue sharing, pay-for-play, binding contracts, transfer rules and a salary cap. For another, university's need to get smart quick on the world of professional sports. They can't wait until a deal's put in front of them to have their own experts in house. They need to start hiring people who can run their football programs like a business now. Private equity definitely has an interest in college sports, and college football is a business, but that doesn't mean that it has to lose its soul in the name of profit. Instead, it needs smart, responsible people ready to make some tough decisions. That's the only play that counts.
