Miami, Mario Cristobal hit with tampering lawsuit ahead of 2025 season

Tampering is no longer only a popluar sticking point for college football leaders amid the transfer portal and NIL era, as one college football program has filed suit against another for alleged "tortious interference."

The University of Wisconsin and its Varsity Collective are reportedly seeking unspecified damages, transparency and accountability in a lawsuit against the University of Miami for alleged tampering of former Badgers defensive back Xavier Lucas, according to report from Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports.

Lucas signed with Wisconson and head coach Luke Fickell as a four-star recruit out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in the class of 2024. He appeared in all 12 games as a true freshman, totaling 18 tackles (2 for loss), a sack, two pass breakups and an interception.

Documents show that Lucas, who holds an On3 NIL valuation of $217,000, had already signed a revenue share contract with Wisconsin to return for the 2025 season – an agreement that Miami allegedly knew about – while the Hurricanes continued to communicate with Lucas.

And despite the winter transfer portal being closed, Lucas ultimately signed with Miami in January.

“Miami interfered with UW-Madison’s relationship with Student-Athlete A (Lucas) by making impermissible contact with him and engaging in tampering,” the suit says.

Wisconsin said it "reluctantly" filed the suit while citing "ensuring integrity and fundamental fairness in the evolving landscape of college athletics" in an official statement.

The Big Ten also responded by, not surprisingly, taking Wisconsin's side in the matter.

“We stand by our position that respecting and enforcing contractual obligations is essential to maintaining a level playing field,” the statement said. “In addition to our legal acton, we will continue to be proactive to protect the interests of our student-athletes, our program and the broader collegiate athletics community.”

Lucas' attorney, Darren Heitner, revealed back in January that he planned to file an antitrust lawsuit against Wisconsin if the school kept Lucas from making his transfer to Miami, per Yahoo Sports.

The Badgers were accused by Hetiner of violating NCAA rules by not entering Lucas' name into the transfer portal upon request. Lucas, according to Hetiner's, learned of his father's "serious, life-threatening illness" while home for Winter break and decided to play closer to home.

Accusations of tampering are prevalent, and although against NCAA rules, haven't resulted in any enforcement by the entity given court hurdles. Additionally, current NCAA rules permit Lucas to play immediately at Miami.

Head coach Mario Cristobal and the Hurricanes signed the nation's No. 5 transfer portal class in the 2025 cycle.