The dam finally broke, and Wisconsin is taking legal action against the tampering of the University of Miami and head coach Mario Cristobal. The threats phase is over, and it's time to see how the courts handle the Xavier Lucas situation. One attorney involved with college sports and NIL lawsuits weighed in yesterday, saying that while Wisconsin was asking for money damages, it's more about defining and regulating "tampering."
Now, it is up to the courts to decide what to do about the mess. Here's a quick summary if you need a recap: Xavier Lucas signed a contract with Wisconsin that prohibited him from playing for another team, and then Miami came in and offered him more. Lucas then tried to transfer.
Knowing that Miami tampered, Luke Fickell said no. Wisconsin stood its ground. Lucas decided to transfer without the portal by unenrolling from Wisconsin and then enrolling at Miami. It's a mess, but yesterday news broke that Wisconsin, with the Big Ten's support, was going to sue Miami. So while the legal case will be about reparations it's really about a larger narrative that according to attorney Mit Winter, "Could set a precedent that would be followed by the rest of college athletics."
Although Wisconsin is asking for money damages in its lawsuit against Miami, the most important reason to bring this lawsuit is to have a court find Miami’s actions constitute tampering.
— Mit Winter (@WinterSportsLaw) June 20, 2025
Could set a precedent that would be followed by the rest of college athletics. https://t.co/B5TL8p8sTm pic.twitter.com/oircTKYtE1
Wisconsin is redefining college athletics by finally bringing a tampering case to court
Here's the thing, either way, college sports will have a way forward. It may still be a bit muddy, but the picture will be somewhat clearer, no matter which way the courts take this. As another person online said, "Good, tampering is either a thing or it's not, and if it is, there will finally be enforcement." Wisconsin and the Big Ten are pretty convinced it is, and there are a lot of bylaws in the NCAA that seem to give them the evidence to point to. But the courts will probably need to decided if a student-athlete is an employee or not and thus if the contracts they sign are real or not.
You know what? Great.
— Matt Brown (@MattBrownEP) June 20, 2025
Either we get a judge essentially saying that "tampering" isn't a thing and we can safely ignore coaches crying about it, or we finally get enforcement, rather than passive aggressive tweets or complaints to recruiting reporters. A win for everybody IMO https://t.co/ROFsrgAogB
It's a mess but hopefully this step that Wisconsin is taking will help every school out in the long-run.