The University of Wisconsin and its NIL collective VC Connect on Friday filed a lawsuit against the University of Miami, according to the Associated Press. In the 23-page lawsuit, UW alleges that Miami knowingly induced one of the Badgers’ football players to play for the Florida school this season, abandoning a lucrative name, image and likeness contract.
The resolution of the lawsuit could have a broader impact on future NIL deals across college athletics; allegations of tampering rarely reach this level.
While the filing does not refer to the student athlete in question by name, the case summary describes facts in line with the situation involving Xavier Lucas, a cornerback who last December announced his plans to enter the transfer portal. A January announcement confirmed he would be playing for Miami this fall, but Wisconsin said at that time that it had credible information that Miami and Lucas had impermissible contact before Lucas’ decision to transfer.
Wisconsin and VC Connect say that the inducement for Lucas to play for Miami occurred within days of him entering his NIL agreement to play for the Badgers, and that they incurred significant monetary and reputational harm. The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages and “a declaration that Miami’s conduct … constituted tampering.”
