Wisconsin legend Barry Alvarez calls out NCAA over 'Wild West' Xavier Lucas saga

Former Wisconsin coach and athletic director Barry Alvarez was asked to comment on the Xavier Lucas drama earlier this week. Alvarez was on "The Great Dane Huddle" as part of the ESPN Madison network. He went into detail about how much of a mess the whole situation is, and he's baffled that the NCAA hasn't done anything more about it. You can watch the full interview here and the snippet that is referenced below:

Barry Alvarez is happy to not be involved with the mess around the Xavier Lucas transfer drama

As a refresher, Xavier Lucas signed an agreement back in December to play for the Wisconsin Badgers as part of the NIL and MOU understandings. He then changed his mind and wanted to jump into the portal and play at the University of Miami. Wisconsin refused to put him in the portal, and a standoff began. He eventually took the advice of a lawyer he hired (an adjunct professor at Miami) unenrolled from Wisconsin, and then enrolled at Miami, effectively creating his own transfer portal.

Wisconsin and the Big Ten both responded by saying the actions of Miami were unethical and were tampering. Even to say that Lucas has a contract he needs to honor. Lucas' lawyer says he doesn't need to honor it because the MOU isn't in effect yet and he never took any money from Wisconsin (which is often debated). A mess, right? Which is why Alvarez is gald he doesn't have to touch it.

"You'd like for the NCAA or someone to put their arms around it and have restrictions and guidelines that people have to follow. If you don't follow them, you're going to be reprimanded, you're going to be dealt with. It's the Wild West right now. I don't like it. I'm glad I'm NOT involved.""

Barry Alvarez on ESPN Madison

There will be more layers to unfold in this story, and we haven't quite reached the end of it yet. It may end up shaping the future of how the transfer portal and pay-to-play athletics are conducted in college.