9 hours ago
Wisconsin files lawsuit against Miami for tampering during Xavier Lucas recruitment
The Xavier Lucas-Wisconsin saga is far from over. Early Friday, Yahoo's Ross Dellenger reported that the University of Wisconsin-Madison has filed a lawsuit against the University of Miami over tampering allegations regarding the recruitment of the former Badgers defensive back.
After learning about Wisconsin's lawsuit against the University of Miami, the Big Ten released their own statement on the matter: "The Big Ten Conference is aware of the litigation recently filed by the University of Wisconsin-Madison against the University of Miami and is supportive of UW-Madison's position. As alleged, the University of Miami knowingly ignored contractual obligations and disregarded the principle of competitive equity that is fundamental to collegiate athletics. The Big Ten Conference believes that the University of Miami's actions are irreconcilable with a sustainable college sports framework and is supportive of UW-Madison's efforts to preserve."
With the latest house settlement regarding revenue sharing, it became clear that lawsuits like these would become more frequent. While college student-athletes making money off their name, image and likeness was long in the works, the rollout of the new structure was flawed. That new legislation, along with the new transfer portal rules, have shifted college sports in massive ways. It seems as if there has been little done to organize a clear structure to address those issues.
Wisconsin's position in this lawsuit is extremely important for the future of revenue sharing and will set a precedent for all deals made with student athletes. Wisconsin is looking not only to sue Miami for financial damages but also deeming UM's recruitment tactics as "wrongful.' UW-Madison also alleges that Miami knowingly sent a coach and important alumnus to the Florida home of Xavier Lucas in December, where they offered "financial terms more lucrative than those included in the contracts" that he had already signed with the Badgers.
This is one of the first instances of a university going after another university with credible allegations of tampering and could set a new standard for how situations like these are handled in the college sports world.
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