MADISON – Until Saturday speech in the ongoing battle between Xavier Lucas and the University of Wisconsin was one-sided, with Lucas and his lawyer offering their side of the story.
That changed on Saturday.
Wisconsin released a statement on the situation involving the freshman’s departure from school, and provided some interesting details.
* On Dec. 2, Wisconsin and Lucas reached a two-year NIL agreement that included “substantial” financial compensation for Lucas that UW said remains in force and enforceable. The release also states that there is a separate agreement with the Varsity Collective, which connects Badger athletes to NIL opportunities.
*Wisconsin said it had credible information indicating prohibited contact between Lucas and University of Miami football personnel before requesting access to the transfer portal. Lucas announced his intention to transfer to X on December 19.
“Direct interference with the engaged actors and contractual interests of another institution is prohibited by the NCAA tampering rules and the law,” UW wrote in the statement.
Lucas, a 6-foot-2, 198-pound cornerback from Pompano Beach, Fla., and his attorney say Wisconsin improperly refused to enter his name in the transfer portal last month. Wisconsin said it did not process Lucas’ transfer request through the portal because it had signed an agreement that commits Lucas to Badgers football program.
In an article published Friday, Lucas’ lawyer, Darren Heitner, said Yahoo Sports that Lucas had unenrolled from Wisconsin and enrolled at Miami. This move could bypass the transfer portal.
“The Badger student-athletes who have signed these agreements expect Wisconsin Athletics to honor the terms. In turn, Wisconsin Athletics relies on the representations of student-athletes when signing these agreements to do the same,” the Wisconsin release said.
Wisconsin said it will continue to review the matter and evaluate all options to determine the appropriate course of action.
“This is another important moment in the evolution of college athletics,” the UW release said. “As we move toward a future state that will rely on direct contracts with student-athletes, enforcing the contractual obligations of the parties and combating inappropriate interference by other institutions must be a priority. The system cannot operate without an operating model that establishes and enforces agreed-upon rules and regulations, as well as contractual terms that bind both institutions and student-athletes.
The Big Ten Conference stands with Wisconsin
The Big Ten Conference released a statement later Saturday supporting Wisconsin’s position on the issue.
“As student-athletes become active participants in revenue sharing, it is essential that agreed-upon obligations are respected, honored and enforced,” the release said.
The Big Ten also said reports suggesting tampering in the matter by the University of Miami were “very disturbing” and said “the situation is the latest example of the critical need for substantial reform of the governance”.
“These actions undermine its own conference’s efforts as the ACC continues to collaborate with other A4 conferences to develop a sustainable framework for college athletics.”
More: Wisconsin CB Xavier Lucas enrolls in Miami without entering transfer portal | Report
This article originally appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin breaks its silence on impasse with DB Xavier Lucas