Sports

Miami accused of NIL tampering

Let us read it for you. Listen now. Your browser does not support the audio element. The University of Wisconsin and its NIL collective VC Connect filed a joint lawsuit on Friday against the University of Miami alleging it knowingly induced one of the Badgers’ football players to abandon a lucrative name, image and likeness […]

Published

2 months ago

June 22, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Let us read it for you. Listen now.

The University of Wisconsin and its NIL collective VC Connect filed a joint lawsuit on Friday against the University of Miami alleging it knowingly induced one of the Badgers’ football players to abandon a lucrative name, image and likeness contract to play for the Florida school this upcoming season.

Allegations of tampering rarely get to this level and the 23-page lawsuit, which was filed in state court in Wisconsin and obtained by The Associated Press, is unusual. Depending on its resolution, it could have a a wider impact on future NIL deals across college athletics.

The player in question in the filing is referred to only as “Student-Athlete A.” But the case summary describes facts that line up with the situation involving cornerback Xavier Lucas, who last December announced his plans to enter the transfer portal.

Shortly afterward, Darren Heitner, who has been representing Lucas, indicated that Wisconsin was refusing to put Lucas’ name in the portal and that it was hindering his ability to talk with other schools. In January, Heitner announced that Lucas would be playing for Miami this fall.

The situation is fallout from the rapid changes engulfing college athletics, specifically a combination of two things: Athletes went to court and won the ability to transfer with much more freedom and the 2021 NCAA decision clearing the way for them to strike NIL endorsement deals now worth millions of dollars.

“Indeed, student-athletes’ newfound NIL rights will be rendered meaningless if third parties are allowed to induce student-athletes to abandon their contractual commitments,” a portion of the lawsuit reads.

Wisconsin said in January that it had credible information that Miami and Lucas made impermissible contact with each other before the former Badgers cornerback decided to transfer.

Wisconsin and VC Connect allege that the inducement for Lucas to attend Miami happened within days of him entering his NIL agreement to play for the Badgers, and that they incurred substantial monetary harm. The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages and “a declaration that Miami’s conduct directed towards Student-Athlete A constituted tampering.”

A message left with the University of Miami seeking comment was not immediately returned. In a text message Friday, Heitner declined to comment on the lawsuit but he said that Lucas still plans to attend Miami and play football.

Wisconsin said it had the support of its leadership and the Big Ten Conference in filing the lawsuit, noting its commitment to “ensuring integrity and fundamental fairness in the evolving landscape of college athletics.”

“While we reluctantly bring this case, 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 action, we will continue to be proactive to protect the interests of our student-athletes, our program and the broader collegiate athletics community.

Lucas, who is from Pompano Beach, Fla., had 12 tackles, an interception and a sack as a freshman for Wisconsin last season.

Heitner said that Lucas hasn’t received any money from Wisconsin and therefore owes no money to the school. Heitner also argued that Wisconsin had violated an NCAA bylaw by not entering Lucas into the transfer database within two business days of the player’s request.

Wisconsin issued a statement at the time saying it hadn’t put Lucas’ name in the portal because he had entered a two-year binding NIL agreement.

In April, the surprise transfers of brothers Nico and Madden Iamaleava from Tennessee to UCLA prompted fresh questions about contracts and buyouts.

Nico Iamaleava, who led Tennessee to the College Football Playoff last season, walked away from a reported $2.4 million NIL contract. Arkansas freshman quarterback Madden Iamaleava entered the portal after spring practices wrapped up.

Arkansas Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek released a statement indicating he would support efforts by the Razorbacks’ NIL collective to enforce buyout clauses in athlete contracts. Iamaleava reportedly had a contract valued at $500,000 upon signing with Arkansas.

Sports

NSU tabbed fifth in SSC Preseason Coaches’ Poll

Story Links FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Sunshine State Conference announced the preseason Volleyball coaches poll on Tuesday morning. The Nova Southeastern Sharks, under the direction of Head Coach Kacie Ehinger, were picked to finish fifth in the league. NSU received 65 points in the poll and trailed Lynn, Tampa, […]

Published

16 minutes ago

August 13, 2025

Your Sports Nation

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Sunshine State Conference announced the preseason Volleyball coaches poll on Tuesday morning. The Nova Southeastern Sharks, under the direction of Head Coach Kacie Ehinger, were picked to finish fifth in the league.

NSU received 65 points in the poll and trailed Lynn, Tampa, Barry, and Embry-Riddle.

2025 Sunshine State Conference Preseason Coaches’ Poll

Place	School	Votes (First Place Votes)
1.	Lynn	97 (8)
2.	Tampa	92 (2)
3.	Barry	81 (1)
4.	Embry-Riddle	66
5.	Nova Southeastern	65
6.	Florida Tech	62
T7.	Eckerd	42
T7.	Florida Southern	42
9.	Rollins	25
10.	Palm Beach Atlantic	23
11.	Saint Leo	10

The Sharks return AVCA All-American Olivia Aniol, who set the single-season record for block assists (131) during the 2024 season. In addition to Aniol, Madelyn Hooper, Brooke Spurgeon, Taylor Stockman, Marley Navaretta, Avery Piatt, Varshini Panuganti, Ella Kern, Gabrielle Spankus, and Juliana Imbuzeiro all return to the program. The Sharks also welcomed several new additions to the team, as Brantley Chipley, Natalya Bergant, Abbie Roth, Hadley Dantzler, Erika Spankus, Mackenzie Pryor, Caiden Largent, Amalee Doyle, Ayana Solan, and Cami Kelsay all look to make an impact in their first season as Sharks.

Nova Southeastern finished sixth in the league during the 2024 season, winning 20 matches, while also advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive year and third season under Ehinger’s guidance.

The Sharks begin their 2025 season on Friday, September 5th, hosting Malone University at the Rick Case Arena. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. To stay up-to-date on Sharks Volleyball, be sure to follow on Instagram at NSU_VBall and X at NSU_VB.

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Sports

Seaside Beach Volleyball Tournament kicks off with record growth

SEASIDE, Ore. (KATU) — The Seaside Beach Volleyball Tournament, the second-largest event of its kind globally, kicked off last week. The only larger tournament is held in Venice, Italy. The tournament, which began as a fundraiser for a new lifeguard tower, has grown exponentially from its humble beginnings with just four courts to now featuring […]

Published

35 minutes ago

August 13, 2025

Your Sports Nation

SEASIDE, Ore. (KATU) — The Seaside Beach Volleyball Tournament, the second-largest event of its kind globally, kicked off last week. The only larger tournament is held in Venice, Italy.

The tournament, which began as a fundraiser for a new lifeguard tower, has grown exponentially from its humble beginnings with just four courts to now featuring over 230 courts.

Organizers attribute the event’s massive growth over the past 40 years to its popularity and the community’s continued support.

In response to the increasing number of teams wanting to participate, the tournament will expand to five days in 2026 to better manage logistics and accommodate more teams.

Watch the full interview with the Interim Director of the Seaside Chamber of Commerce, the Seaside Beach Volleyball Director of Operations, and the Chief Operations Officer of Volleyball Life below.

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Sports

Ivan Dodig named new Croatia Davis Cup coach

by croatiaweek August 12, 2025 in Sport Ivan Dodig (Photo: si.robi/CC BY-SA 2.0) The Croatian Tennis Association has announced that Ivan Dodig has been appointed as the new captain of Croatia’s Davis Cup team. The 40-year-old will replace Velimir Zovko, who has led the side in recent years. Dodig will make his debut in the […]

Published

39 minutes ago

August 13, 2025

Your Sports Nation

by croatiaweek
August 12, 2025
in

Sport

Ivan Dodig (Photo: si.robi/CC BY-SA 2.0)

The Croatian Tennis Association has announced that Ivan Dodig has been appointed as the new captain of Croatia’s Davis Cup team.

The 40-year-old will replace Velimir Zovko, who has led the side in recent years.

Dodig will make his debut in the role when Croatia faces France in the second round of the Qualifier stage in Osijek on 12 and 13 September.

The Croatian Tennis Association thanked Zovko for his work and wished him success in the future, while extending congratulations to Dodig, expressing hopes for continued top results for Croatian tennis.

Dodig is one of Croatia’s most successful tennis players in doubles.

He has won three Grand Slam men’s doubles titles – the French Open in 2015 and 2023, and the Australian Open in 2021 – as well as several mixed doubles crowns, including the Australian Open in 2022, French Open in 2018 and 2019 and Wimbledon in 2019.

He also won a silver medal at the Olympic Games in 2021.

Dodig has been a key figure in Croatia’s Davis Cup campaigns over the years as a player.

Croatia has lifted the Davis Cup trophy twice, first in 2005 and again in 2018.

Sign up to receive the Croatia Week Newsletter

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Sports

Kara Griffin-Ruwin – Women’s Beach Volleyball

2023: Did not see action 2022: Did not see action. Prior to Tulane: Griffin-Ruwin comes to New Orleans from San Francisco, California. At the beginning of her beach volleyball career she trained with the Sandlegs beach volleyball club before moving on to train with the Valley Girls. Griffin-Ruwin also trained on the sand with former USC coach, Anna Collier and […]

Published

58 minutes ago

August 13, 2025

Your Sports Nation

2023: Did not see action

2022: Did not see action.

Prior to Tulane: Griffin-Ruwin comes to New Orleans from San Francisco, California. At the beginning of her beach volleyball career she trained with the Sandlegs beach volleyball club before moving on to train with the Valley Girls. Griffin-Ruwin also trained on the sand with former USC coach, Anna Collier and AVP/USA professional, Allie Wheeler. Griffin-Ruwin was recognized by AVCA volleyball as an elite rising high school volleyball student-athlete. She has trained and competed in P1440, USAV, CBVA’s, AAU and AVP tournaments. Top finishes in CBVA and P1440 tournaments. Getting stronger off the courts, Griffin-Ruwin did OC Fast-Twitch training, F45 training, and Apiros.

Griffin-Ruwin plans on majoring in Design and wants to pursue a career as an Interior Designer in the Real Estate Business.

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Sports

Former Linn-Mar Star Returns to Drake as Head Coach

Former Linn-Mar High School standout Sam Read is returning to Iowa as the new head cross country and track and field head coach at Drake University. The school hosts the annual Drake Relays, a multi-day track and field event that brings in Olympians, college and high school athletes from around the world. Read most recently […]

Published

1 hour ago

August 13, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Former Linn-Mar High School standout Sam Read is returning to Iowa as the new head cross country and track and field head coach at Drake University.

The school hosts the annual Drake Relays, a multi-day track and field event that brings in Olympians, college and high school athletes from around the world.

Read most recently served as the head cross country and distance coach at Eastern Washington for the past seven years. The team was a contender in the Big Sky Conference under Read, as he also coached five school records in track with a handful of NCAA West Regional qualifiers.

“I am truly honored to accept the opportunity to lead the men’s and women’s cross country and track and field programs at Drake University,” Read said. “Having grown up competing in Iowa experiencing the Drake Relays, I understand the pride and tradition these programs carry, and I look forward to building upon that legacy.”

Read coached at Montana State as an assistant for a number of years after competing for Linn-Mar and attending Wartburg College in Iowa. He ran at the Drake Relays as a high school athlete and was an Iowa Conference champion at Wartburg in the 10k while qualifying for the national meet.

“I am thrilled to welcome Sam into our athletics department and excited for his leadership of our cross country and track and field programs,” Drake Director of Athletics Brian Hardin said. “His track record at Eastern Washington was remarkable. Sam’s vision for how he would leverage the greater support available at Drake to contend for Missouri Valley Conference titles was convincing.

“Even more impressive was his ability to see the Drake program for not only what it is today, but what it can be in a short period of time.”

Read replaces Jay Koloseus, who took an assistant track and field position at Arizona earlier this summer after eight years at Drake in a variety of positions.

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Sports

USA Women Advance To Quarterfinals At U20 World Championships With 14-6 Win Over Italy

Story Links Salvador, Brazil – August 12 – The USA Junior Women defeated Italy 14-6 today at the World Aquatics U20 World Championship. Julia Bonaguidi was named player of the match after she scored six goals while Christine Carpenter and Lauren Steele combined for eight saves in the cage. Team USA advances straight into the […]

Published

2 hours ago

August 13, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Salvador, Brazil – August 12 – The USA Junior Women defeated Italy 14-6 today at the World Aquatics U20 World Championship. Julia Bonaguidi was named player of the match after she scored six goals while Christine Carpenter and Lauren Steele combined for eight saves in the cage. Team USA advances straight into the quarterfinals on Thursday at 3pm et/12pm pt with the opponent TBD. Live streaming of all matches is available through the World Aquatics YouTube page by clicking here. Live stats of all matches are provided from Microplus by clicking here.

Team USA got the first goal of the game half a minute in courtesy of Kamryn Barone. Shortly after, the Americans earned a penalty and cashed in when Bonaguidi rang the register from five meters. Italy would halve the deficit with a great bar down goal before Bonaguidi put home back-to-back goals to push the lead to three with an early hat trick. The Italian side would strike back with consecutive goals of its own to leave the score at 4-3 in favor of the United States after one.

Bonaguidi remained aggressive to start the second quarter, scoring first to add to her total. Emily Ausmus got involved from there when she buried a penalty attempt followed by a fadeaway shot that beat the goalkeeper. Carpenter and the Team USA defense held strong all quarter long to send the game into halftime with a 7-3 American lead.

The Italians earned a penalty and converted on the attempt to begin the third period but Bonaguidi had an immediate answer on the other end. Next, Steele dropped a perfect pass to Ausmus who put it away on the counter attack and Lucy Haaland-Ford scored to give the United States double digits on the day. Late in the period, Ausmus rose up from deep to beat the shot clock buzzer as Team USA took an 11-4 advantage into the final frame.

In the fourth, it was Haaland-Ford who had the first word. She followed it up with another score to notch a second half hat trick. Midway through the quarter, Bonaguidi chimed in again to run the American lead to ten. From there, the Italians scored again for the first time since the opening moments of the half but it was too little, too late as Team USA claimed the 14-6 win.

Team USA went 1/2 on power plays and 1/1 on penalties while Italy went 0/3 on power plays with no penalties attempted.

Scoring – Stats

USA 14 (4, 3, 4, 3) J. Bonaguidi 6, E. Ausmus 4, L. Haaland-Ford 3, K. Barone 1

ITA 6 (3, 0, 1, 2) E. Bianco 2, E. De March 1, B. Rosta 1, B. Cassara 1, C. Malluzzo 1

Saves – USA – C. Carpenter 6, L. Steele 2 – ITA – O. Sesena 4

6×5 – USA – 1/2 – ITA – 0/3

Penalties – USA – 1/1 – ITA – 0/0

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