The Brief In a lawsuit, the University of Wisconsin accuses the University of Miami of tampering with a football player. A Marquette sports law expert said the case is one the entire college sports world will be watching. Wisconsin said it reluctantly brought the case to “maintain a level playing field.”

The University of Wisconsin filed a lawsuit, accusing the University of Miami of tampering with a football player. Now, they’re taking their evidence to court in a case that could set precedent.

Sports law expert

Local perspective:

Matt Mitten is the executive director of the National Sports Law Institute at Marquette University. He said the case is one the entire college sports world will be watching.

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“I think the university wants to establish a legal precedent,” he said. “A deal is a deal, and that’s basically what the University of Wisconsin is saying: ‘We had a deal with our athlete.'”

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The backstory:

The Badgers saw the football player as a rising star and a pillar to build around. The facts of the lawsuit align with that player being Xavier Lucas.

The complaint, filed in Dane County court Friday, said the Badgers offered Lucas one of the largest name, image and likeness deals of any Wisconsin student-athlete to secure his commitment for two years.

Wisconsin said Lucas “enthusiastically” signed the deal on Dec. 2. But when he returned home to Florida for winter break, Wisconsin said he sent them a “sudden and unexpected request” to transfer. The university declined, citing the NIL contracts.

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Wisconsin said a family member told them a University of Miami coach and a “prominent alumnus” visited Lucas, which would have violated the NCAA’s tampering rules because Lucas was not yet in the transfer portal.

Lucas announced his commitment to Miami a month later.

What they’re saying:

In a statement to FOX6 News, the University of Wisconsin said it reluctantly brought the case but did so to “maintain a level playing field.” The University of Miami did not immediately respond to a request for comment.