Xavier Lucas' attorney denies Miami meeting alleged in Wisconsin lawsuit

The University of Wisconsin and its NIL collective filed a lawsuit Friday against the University of Miami, alleging tortious interference. While not mentioned in the suit, instead cited as “Student Athlete A,” the complaint centers around defensive back Xavier Lucas, who left Wisconsin for Miami this winter.

Lucas never actually entered the transfer portal. A standout freshman cornerback in 2024 for the Badgers, Lucas posted 18 tackles and an interception in seven games. Lucas withdrew from classes at Wisconsin and enrolled at Miami in January, circumventing the NCAA’s transfer portal.

Wisconsin is seeking financial damages and a judgment that Miami’s actions “wrongfully interfere with contractual commitments.” Lucas’ attorney, Darren Heitner, said in the winter that Wisconsin violated NCAA rules by refusing to place Lucas in the transfer portal.

In the complaint filed Friday, Wisconsin alleges that a Miami staff member and alumnus met Lucas and his family at a relative’s home in Florida in December 2024 after the defensive back signed a two-year, revenue-sharing deal with Wisconsin. That included a “compensation commitment” from Miami that was “more lucrative” than Wisconsin’s deal.

“Miami representatives communicated with Student-Athlete A and his family members, including an in-person December 2024 visit from a Miami coach and a prominent Miami alumnus to the Florida home of a relative of Student-Athlete A,” Wisconsin’s complaint states. “The information related to the in-home visit was communicated to UW-Madison by a relative of Student-Athlete A on December 18, 2024.”

Heitner denied the allegations, telling On3 on Saturday that Lucas never met with a Miami coach and prominent alumnus in December 2024. Heitner previously threatened to file an antitrust lawsuit against Wisconsin if Lucas was not able to play at Miami.

“Wisconsin’s allegations that my client, Xavier Lucas, met with a Miami coach and prominent alumnus in December 2024 are false,” Lucas’ attorney Darren Heitner told On3.

Heitner is an adjunct professor of NIL at the University of Miami School of Law.

In the lawsuit, Wisconsin alleges that Miami communicated with Lucas, “knowingly inducing” him to do so despite being under contract with the Badgers. Wisconsin wrote in the filing that it hopes the lawsuit “will advance the overall integrity of the game by holding programs legally accountable when they wrongfully interfere with contractual commitments.”

The University of Miami has yet to respond to a request for comment. The Big Ten is supporting Wisconsin, telling On3 in a statement that “The University of Miami’s actions are irreconcilable with a sustainable college sports framework and is supportive of UW-Madison’s efforts to preserve.”

It’s an unprecedented moment in college football, with one university accusing another of tampering and it will put the NCAA transfer portal rules to the test.

“These are the type of tampering allegations that are typically fought behind closed doors at the professional sports level based on the leagues’ collective bargaining agreement,” sports lawyer and professor Dan Lust told On3 on Friday. “Here, in the absence of any type of similar mechanism at the collegiate level, this dispute is going to be fought in open court for the world to see the complex interplay of forces in and around the transfer portal. This is truly an unprecedented case and one that commands the attention of the college sports world.”

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