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The revenue-sharing era of college athletics is on the clock. How will UMass handle it? – Massachusetts Daily Collegian

Open any social media app, search up “portal” or “NIL” (name, image and likeness) and there will be a host of opinions lampooning today’s college sports landscape, with comparisons often being made to the Wild West.  The last half-decade in the industry has been defined by uncertainty, turbulence and endless legal battles. The introduction of […]

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Open any social media app, search up “portal” or “NIL” (name, image and likeness) and there will be a host of opinions lampooning today’s college sports landscape, with comparisons often being made to the Wild West. 

The last half-decade in the industry has been defined by uncertainty, turbulence and endless legal battles. The introduction of NIL policies in 2021 have turned educational institutions into dueling bidders, waving money at student-athletes to either get them to transfer to their school or, if they’re already at the university, to prevent them from going on the open market. There’s been little to no regulation on who can spend – or how much. 

Calls for change were louder than ever, to the point where house representatives and senators offered up their two cents on the issues. Ultimately, it appears the Supreme Court will have the final say through House vs. NCAA, a case heading towards a settlement that looks to provide the stability many across the country are looking for. 

Scheduled to take effect in the next month, the settlement will permit colleges to spend up to around $20 million on their own student-athletes yearly. That money can be paid out through direct payments to athletes, NIL benefits or through increased scholarships, although any spending on scholarship benefits past $2.5 million won’t be counted.

Don’t let the number fool you: most Division I schools have nowhere near $20 million to spend. Universities in the “Power 4” conferences (Atlantic Coast, Big Ten, Big 12 and Southeastern) can hit that mark, but very few, if not all schools outside of them can’t. 

These non-power schools have dealt with adversity throughout their entire existence. The only response they know of is to fight back, and in the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s case, to not only survive but thrive in this new climate. 

“We’re going to be in a really positive position as it relates to our [Mid-American Conference] peers from an additional benefit, scholarship and NIL standpoint in our investment there,” athletic director Ryan Bamford said. 

“In a sport like basketball, we want to compete with the Big East schools, and we don’t just want to compete with the MAC schools. We want to compete for student athletes: for acquiring them, recruiting them and then retaining them with those in the Big East and some of the [Power 4 schools].” 

Photo via UMass Athletics (Thom Kendall)

Overall spending

According to Bamford, the University plans to spend $5-to-6 million of the approximate $20 million cap on its athletes in 2025-26. He plans on that number rising to $8-to-10 million the following academic year. 

While few non-power schools have gone public with their numbers, it’s safe to assume that even $5 million puts UMass in a good spot. At the very least, it’s likely one of, if not the top number in the MAC, the school’s new home as of July 1. 

“[Our finances give us] a pretty good head start and advantage,” Bamford said. “I think we [have] to spend those resources strategically and smartly.” 

However, money will not instantly give UMass a winning team. On the extreme end, Kansas State set aside one of the biggest war chests in men’s college basketball this past season just to finish with a losing record. Schools with the deepest pockets, though, typically have the best odds of succeeding. 

“My assumption is that they’re going to want to be in the top 10 percent in [the MAC in] basketball spending because they want to come here and run this league, which is doable,” sports enterprise reporter and founder of Extra Points Matt Brown said. “[The MAC] is the poorest [FBS] league in the country … these are mostly not healthy institutions.” 

Daily Collegian (2024) (Kalina Kornacki)

Where the money comes from

Getting to that $5 million mark, or any number that schools aim for, has been difficult for many departments. Costs have to be cut somewhere, leading to programs being shuttered, staff pools being downsized and more. 

A popular option nationwide to cut costs has been to limit non-conference travel for Olympic sports, an idea that Bamford has considered but hasn’t committed to yet. More likely, he said that some athletic support systems will face minor budget cuts. 

“Some of the nutrition and dining programs, the academic support services, we’re in a really healthy spot in a number of areas that if we were to adjust, pare it back by five percent, it’s probably not going to change the operational posture,” Bamford said. 

“We’ve already talked to our coaches about [it], that if you could do away with five percent of something, what would it be? … It’s just going to get reinvested into something that probably, by measure, would impact winning a little bit more.”

On the flip side, schools are also looking for new revenue streams to boost their monetary bases. For UMass, the primary source of this extra income will be the new Script U Scholarship Society, an initiative founded by the Minutemen Club. This will allow fans to pay a certain amount yearly for student-athletes’ scholarships and/or additional benefits, such as covering team travel costs. 

“In the past, you had to give to the Gridiron Club to get football benefits, you had to give to the Court Club to get basketball benefits … We’re trying to build a holistic UMass fan,” senior executive director of development Drew St. Aubin said. 

If a fan puts a certain amount of money into Script U, they’ll get benefits in return. This will range from preferred parking to team travel opportunities at the $10,000/year “Flagship” level. It will cost a little more out of donors to get a little less, and Bamford acknowledged that, but he said the majority of the fanbase understands what’s needed to keep UMass competitive. 

Screenshot via theminutemenclub.com/scriptu/

In a way, Script U serves as another de facto NIL collective for the athletic department, joining the external multi-sport Massachusetts Collective. 

There was a tumultuous relationship between the school and the external football-centric Midnight Ride Collective. The handling of the two parties’ dissolution was considered to be controversial, but there are benefits to an internal setup. Primarily, older donors may feel more comfortable donating their money directly to a university. 

The other focus of the department financially is to gain incremental revenues from existing sources. Whether that’s through ticket sales, multimedia rights, their Adidas contract or a different area, anything that brings in money will be analyzed to see if UMass can further capitalize on it. 

Team-by-team payouts

With this revenue-sharing money, according to Brown, the standard benchmark for colleges is to give 75 percent of funds to football players, 15 percent to men’s basketball, five percent to women’s basketball and the remaining five percent to be split up between other sports. 

But UMass is not your typical school. 

“If you’re spending 75 percent of $5 million or 75 percent of $8 million on football, the players that UMass is going to be recruiting and probably retaining are about the same,” Brown said. “You’re still going to lose anybody that Penn State wants or Boston College wants for that matter.”

“But UMass can win a national championship in men’s hockey … So the question then becomes ‘Do I spend less on football so I can make more meaningful investments in hockey?’ … or do I put it in for football because if football gets cooking, we’re going to have a lot more money for anything else anyway.” 

Bamford thinks his school can operate in both areas at once. 

Daily Collegian (2024) (Kalina Kornacki)

To be clear, Bamford’s stated plan is more like Brown’s first scenario. He said that if UMass does reach its $10 million goal down the line, closer to $5 million, or 50 percent, would likely go to the football team.

Though that split means the team will inherit much less than an FBS team’s average cut – 75 percent of revenue-sharing money – it doesn’t automatically mean it will extend its 14-year streak of losing seasons. 

According to Bamford, head coach Joe Harasymiak has over $2 million in NIL money exclusively for next year’s roster, which Bamford claims is around double the next-closest MAC team (likely Toledo or Ohio). If that’s true, then coupled with additional benefits like education-related Alston payments, UMass will operate in the best of both worlds: saving money on football to give to other sports while having enough invested in the program to be one of the MAC’s elite. 

Daily Collegian (2023) (Kayla Wong)

The men’s basketball team will be a major benefactor of the department’s decreased emphasis on football, with head coach Frank Martin taking over 15 percent of the pot. Although schools like Akron and Ohio have built up respectable mid-major budgets, there’s confidence within that UMass will be a big fish in a small pond in the MAC, carving out a path to NCAA Tournament appearances. 

“We’re going to be in a position in two or three years where we may be spending more than potentially some of the high-end [Atlantic 10] schools and maybe even lower-end ‘Power 4’ schools in basketball,” Bamford said. 

There’s endless discussion surrounding college football and basketball teams’ NIL budgets, as stories like Matt Norlander’s in April that bring up specific numbers give fellow reporters and fans talking points for months. The regional nature of college hockey, however, means not much is known about what top programs need to spend to build a championship-contending roster.

For the Hockey East – widely considered an elite conference on the ice – the outlook on revenue-sharing is mixed. Schools with FBS football or power conference basketball (UMass, Boston College, UConn and Providence) are likely set up a little better to compete in hockey, given their expanded pools. That same reasoning has led some to believe that the Big Ten could dominate in hockey in short order, with most, if not all of its schools having the full $20-plus million in revenue sharing to work with.

Schools outside of that realm, like Merrimack and UMass Lowell, have to be much more strategic in how much they want to spend on the ice. With a smaller pool that could be at two million dollars or less for the entire department, hockey could take a football-sized share at these universities. 

Then there’s last season’s Western Michigan squad, which won the NCAA championship without a cent of NIL money being spent. It’s risky, but not fruitless, to build a legitimate roster solely through culture and strong recruiters like UMass has in head coach Greg Carvel and his assistants.

Daily Collegian (2025) (Matt Skillings)

The verdict from Bamford is that below five percent of funds will go to the school’s hockey team in 2025-26. In the following year, that cut will jump to between five and eight percent. Using the low end of financial projections, that gives Carvel $400-640,000 to work with in 2026-27. Those numbers, Bamford estimates, would make UMass a top five spender on hockey in the nation.

Since power-conference schools are worried about supporting and advancing their football teams, the opportunity is there for UMass to spend more on the ice compared to other schools than in years past.

Women’s sports in Amherst will be supported as well. The women’s basketball team will lead, receiving around five percent of funds, but UMass can gain more of a competitive advantage through its planned support of other women’s programs.

Daily Collegian (2025) (Kylie Slattery)

The school’s plan leaves a healthy portion of money (15-20 percent of the total pool) to be handed out even after football, basketball and hockey are taken care of, and Bamford has decided to use that capital to continue to chase success in other women’s sports.

A group of six women’s programs (softball, field hockey, women’s soccer, women’s lacrosse, rowing and tennis) will receive money in an era where peer institutions may shut those teams out from revenue-sharing plans entirely. MAC schools likely won’t touch UMass here: if some do shell out for women’s Olympic sports, their reduced finances and more aggressive spending on football will leave their programs lagging behind the Minutewomen.

Long-term challenges and opportunities

An important message: Increased funding does not mean UMass athletics will immediately succeed. Especially for a non-power school in today’s environment, such results are near-impossible. 

A good chunk of the initial money put up for revenue-sharing will come from Script U, taking the biggest share of that pot outside of payments coming from the MAC. With the benefits donors receive, the vision is for them to spend enough to help teams create or build off of winning cultures. Over time, the department hopes this will lead to renewals at similar or higher price points.

But what if in the near future, the wins don’t arrive? What if football spends $3 million on another losing season? What if basketball has a first-place budget for a fifth-place MAC finish? It’s tough to imagine the Script U benefits will be enough to keep people invested at the same level. 

“We’ve got to be very strategic [with our donors] in how we time it out and what we ask for, knowing that for the most part, it’s ‘How many times can we go to the well?’” St. Aubin said. “ … As tough as it can be, it can switch overnight if we’re throwing some teams out there that are winning and they’re exciting.” 

There may be issues getting long-time donors to spend money in the first place. Some people might have been fine with donating $5,000 in 2010 to build better facilities at their alma mater, but they’ll hold on to that money in an era where unpaid labor has been replaced with sizable payouts. 

“How do you convince somebody to donate money to pay for a salary that makes more money than you?” Brown said. “Especially if you’re not very good … Once the school can [pay], I think that becomes a harder sell.”

Retention will also be an issue unchanged from the NIL age. If a donor believes their investment will keep players around and they’re consistently proven wrong, that will be disheartening. The more money poured in, the greater the odds are that top players stick around, but continually failing retention could be another cause of donors backing away. 

The talent gap between mid-major and powerhouse schools also poses a concern. While the rich get richer, schools like UMass can face issues trying to keep up and build a program that can compete.

Does winning the MAC basketball title in a conference that’s twice as weak as it used to be feel the same? Did millions need to be spent? If the answer is no and the budget can be reduced, is it okay to acknowledge that UMass will never again be on the level of a power conference team? 

Revenue-sharing solves problems, but it also raises many questions.

Photo via UMass Athletics (2024) (Thom Kendall)

For mid-major schools and their athletic directors like Bamford, it may be easier just to live in the moment. Win now, or win soon, and the money likely keeps coming in. 

They’ll always be at a money disadvantage, yes, but for now, Brown says there’s one saving grace: “Nobody actually knows how the f*** to spend this money [on players].” 

The rulebooks and collective bargaining agreements present in professional leagues don’t exist in college, Brown said, so nobody can find loopholes in CBAs that get them talented players for cheap. 

“It’s entirely possible that a school with less money finds some market inefficiencies and distributes and spends their money better than someone with a lot more money, just like we saw in baseball,” Brown said. 

Find the right players, create a culture, raise the money and it’s only a possibility that consistent success will come. That’s asking a lot to go right for non-power athletic departments, more than has been asked of them in the past. 

To be fair, non-power schools have never had it easy either. In a subdivision of college athletics that supports over 350 departments but is consistently led by the same 50 or so spending-wise, the remaining 300 need to get creative if they want even a chance at knocking off high rollers, such as finding those market inefficiencies. It’s been that way no matter what NCAA rules have been in place, and it certainly won’t change now.

There’s a bit of a paradox with these new regulations, though, signifying that another creative response may be for non-power schools to lean harder and harder into the status quo.

As power schools spend more and more money, a school content with spending $4 million on sports every year will likely need a miracle to get itself into the limelight. To ensure the highest odds of success, smaller schools need to embrace the new climate and chase after unique revenue streams and innovative funding ideas.

UMass has enough money to where major innovation isn’t required immediately, but it may be needed at some point to ensure the department’s long-term success. That will mean even more of a buy-in into this new landscape, one that industry experts and other voices in college athletics say will impair non-power schools.

To Bamford, that mindset couldn’t be further from his own.

“I think we got a chance to be the best UMass we can be.”

Dean Wendel can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @DeanWende1. 



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Wisconsin, NIL collective file joint lawsuit on Miami for tampering | News, Sports, Jobs

Camp Randall Stadium is seen during a football game between Wisconsin and Miami of Ohio on Sept. 12, 2015, in Madison, Wis. Associated Press file photo 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’ […]

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June 22, 2025

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Camp Randall Stadium is seen during a football game between Wisconsin and Miami of Ohio on Sept. 12, 2015, in Madison, Wis.

Associated Press file photo

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 team 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 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. That has changed the recruiting landscape and forced the issue of contracts and signed commitments to the fore.



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Miami coach J.D. Arteaga discusses NIL, House settlement impact

When Miami Hurricanes fans hear about NIL or the House settlement, they most likely think about its impact on the football team. But there are other sports at UM that need plenty of money, including basketball and baseball plus Olympic sports. With the baseball season recently concluded with an oh-so-close run at Omaha, CaneSport caught […]

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June 22, 2025

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When Miami Hurricanes fans hear about NIL or the House settlement, they most likely think about its impact on the football team. But there are other sports at UM that need plenty of money, including basketball and baseball plus Olympic sports.

With the baseball season recently concluded with an oh-so-close run at Omaha, CaneSport caught up with J.D. Arteaga to discuss where things stand in this oh-so-important area.

From Rock Bottom to Oh-So-Close To Omaha: Miami Hurricane Baseball’s 2025 Resilience Story … What’s Next for Miami Hurricanes Baseball? Coach J.D. Arteaga Breaks Down 2026 Returners, Needs

It wasn’t in the too distant past that Arteaga bemoaned how the Miami baseball program was at a disadvantage financially because the pre-NIL system had scholarships divvied up among teams with a 50 percent baseball scholarship considered a lot. But when you take a 50 percent scholarship at a school vs. Miami vs. a state school like Florida, an in-state baseball player was paying tens of thousands of dollars less a year in UF vs. UM tuition for that same half scholarship.

NIL has, to some extent, balanced that out, although Miami still has to overpay to make up the difference between tuitions and living expenses at the different schools.

That’s because while the NCAA is allowing up to 34 scholarships for baseball programs, many programs are in the 20s because it’s cost prohibitive for departments to give that many scholarships. Miami, per Arteaga, has landed at 21 baseball scholarships for now. Again, any differences money-wise can be addressed through NIL.

“It definitely helps Miami for sure (with NIL available vs. the old system),” Arteaga said. “They [Miami administration] are raising us to 21 (scholarships), a lot better than the old 11.7. I’m not complaining. But it’s still going to be more expensive to come to Miami than anywhere else. Kids that live off campus, real estate getting a two-bedroom apartment in the Gables area is going to be a lot more expensive than getting that same apartment in Gainesville or Tallahassee or anywhere else. So it’s a factor, but I’m a big believer in you get what you pay for, and this place is special.”

With the ability to pay more via NIL if necessary to land a prospect, Arteaga sums up that finances at UM are “less of a problem now.”

“The administration has helped out quite a bit, and if we can’t make up the difference in scholarship that’s where NIL comes in,” Arteaga said. “At other schools that NIL is going directly to a player’s pockets because they don’t have to pay (as much) for the school. That’s where the disadvantage always comes.”

The scholarship percentages aren’t always so obvious, either. For instance, former star Yohandy Morales had need-based aid at Miami and never was on a baseball scholarship. And current star Daniel Cuvet’s father works at UM, so that covers most of his tuition cost.

With that said, “If you have an absolute need for somebody, you have to overpay,” Arteaga says.

As it pertains to the House settlement, Arteaga said there’s no camping out in front of Athletic Director Dan Radakovich’s office asking for a decent piece of the pie for his players.

It’s a case of Arteaga trusting that the Miami administration will take care of baseball as it needs to.

“They decide, and I know football is king,” Arteaga said. “We’re able to charter and do a lot of things that we do because of football (money coming in), and I know that and it’s as it should be. Whatever they give us I have to go out and make up the difference (with fundraising for NIL, etc.), and whatever we have to do, we have to do it.”



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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 […]

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June 22, 2025

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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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College football: Wisconsin NIL collective sues Miami, allege tampering | Ap

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Opinion: 10 Problems With Wisconsin’s Lawsuit Against Miami

Just shy of two months ago, Cameron Anthony Ward stood on a Green Bay, Wisconsin stage, about 140 miles northeast of the University of Wisconsin, celebrating his selection as the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Wisconsin Badgers, who finished their season in November after only mustering five wins, did not have […]

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June 22, 2025

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Just shy of two months ago, Cameron Anthony Ward stood on a Green Bay, Wisconsin stage, about 140 miles northeast of the University of Wisconsin, celebrating his selection as the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Wisconsin Badgers, who finished their season in November after only mustering five wins, did not have a player drafted until the seventh round of the draft. These are two football programs on two different trajectories.

College football is about two months away from resuming the gridiron battles. But on Friday, the University of Wisconsin picked a different kind of battle: Bucky Badger filed a lawsuit against the University of Miami in Wisconsin state court alleging that Miami tampered with contracts between Wisconsin and its NIL collective (VC Connect, LLC). A copy of Wisconsin’s Complaint is available here (thanks to Margaret Fleming and Front Office Sports). In civil litigation, a Complaint is a document that launches the lawsuit by stating the alleged facts occurred and how those alleged facts were illegal. The full Complaint is worth a read, but snippets are discussed below.

Wisconsin’s lawsuit, the first of its kind brought by one university against another in the NIL era, has a host of problems.

1. Gee Whiz, Who Could be “Student-Athlete A”

At the center of the lawsuit is “Student-Athlete A.” This mystery student is described as a “DI college football player” who “arrived in Madison, Wisconsin for his freshman year” in June 2024, and played in “most games” during his freshman season. But then, this anonymous athlete requested to be placed in the transfer portal, Wisconsin refused, and “Student-Athlete-A” enrolled at the University of Miami anyways.

There is a real need to sometimes keep witnesses anonymous, but this is dumb. Obviously Xavier Lucas is “Student-Athlete A.”

2. Wisconsin is Elevating Its NIL Contracts Above NCAA By-Laws

One of the most startling facts in the Complaint is that Wisconsin admitted that it refused to enter Lucas into the Transfer Portal for no reason other than it believed Lucas was breaching his NIL contract(s):

As Lucas’ attorney previously explained, that’s not how that works:

Wisconsin is obligated under NCAA Bylaws to timely enter into the Transfer Portal any athlete wishing to enter. Wisconsin admitting in court that the only reason it ignored an NCAA Bylaw was because of an NIL contract dispute is astonishing. It’s no secret that the NCAA is losing its influence/respect, but could the Badgers at least be subtle about it?

3. Wisconsin Sued Miami, Not Lucas, But Will Still Drag Lucas (and His Mother) Into Litigation

So if Lucas breached some contracts, why not sue the young man for breaching some contracts? He’s an adult, he signed those agreements, and he’s probably being paid a healthy enough sum that he can hire a lawyer and/or pay some sort of breach penalty.

The answer is obvious…it would be a really, really bad look for Wisconsin to start suing its players. So Lucas is not named as a defendant.

Instead, the Complaint bends over backwards to paint the University of Miami as the villain. While the majority of the Complaint is about Lucas, Wisconsin’s main claims are that Miami tortiously interfered with two contracts – one contract between Wisconsin and Lucas (the “University Contract”), and another contract between the NIL collective and Lucas (the “Collective Contract”). According to the Complaint, the Collective Contract would compensate Lucas before July 1, 2025 when the University Contract would kick-in (after the House v. NCAA settlement was expected to have been resolved).

Even if Wisconsin didn’t sue Lucas, he’s not going to escape being entangled in this litigation. To prove its case, Wisconsin must show that Lucas in-fact breached those contracts. Wisconsin also has to show that Miami’s interference caused the breaches. That second step would be unnecessary if Wisconsin had just sued Lucas! But by crafting the Complaint the way Wisconsin did, Wisconsin is telegraphing that Lucas and his mother will be necessary witnesses who should expect to be subpoenaed in this lawsuit.

The clear message from Wisconsin is this: if any student athlete dare to leave your NIL deal early, if we don’t sue you we will at least sue the school you transfer to, and we will not hesitate to drag you and your mother into the litigation. Wisconsin’s crazy if they think this won’t affect their recruiting.

4. Wisconsin’s Lawsuit is on the Heels of Getting Hit With Recruiting Violations

Speaking of Badgers recruiting, the timing of the lawsuit couldn’t be richer. Just last week, the NCAA announced that Coach Fickell’s staff committed recruiting violations in 2023 for impermissible contact with recruits. Wisconsin football staff members made 139 (!) calls to 48 (!!) recruits in violation of NCAA rules.

The aftermath is that Wisconsin is on a one-year probation, and a former assistant coach and a former director of player personnel were each slapped with a one-year show cause penalty. Boy, it sure would be hypocritical if the lynchpin of Wisconsin’s lawsuit is that Miami had “impermissible contacts” with a student athlete…

5. Fellow Big Ten Member Nebraska Did the Same Thing

While on the subject of hypocrisy, it’s a little known fact that last year the University of Nebraska pulled a similar stunt with a highly coveted prospect. Mac Markway was a four-star, top 250 overall prospect for LSU. Markway played for the Tigers his freshman season, but then abruptly unenrolled five practices into fall camp. A few days later, the story is that Markway worked with a sports agent to secretly transfer without ever entering the Transfer Portal. When interviewed, Markway’s dad said that his son wanted to transfer closer to home. Nebraska Coach Matt Rhule swore that he knew nothing about Markway until he showed up at practice one day asking to join the team.

There’s no reason not to believe the Husker’s story. It’s a nice story, and frankly LSU should be commended for not (publicly) putting up a fuss about Markway’s departure. It has to be disruptive when a highly rated prospect leaves in the middle of Fall camp. Although not reported on, it would be surprising if Markway hadn’t signed some sort of NIL deal with LSU.

But when Xavier Lucas says he wants to transfer near his Fort Lauderdale home because his father was “suffering from a serious, life-threatening illness,” apparently that’s a gross breach of contract. It’s fine when Nebraska “facilitated” Markway’s enrollment outside the transfer portal, but when Miami “facilitates” Lucas’ enrollment that’s “impermissible contact.”

6. If Wisconsin Wins, How Are Athletes Not Employees?

Whether student athletes should be considered “employees” is a subject of hot debate. Classifying student athletes as employees would have a host of implications including entitling them to minimum wage, overtime pay, and a right to form a labor union. The NCAA and its members have consistently taken the position that athletes are not employees. But if Wisconsin has its way and a court agrees that Wisconsin was justified in denying Lucas the right to transfer schools because of a contract with Wisconsin, how is Lucas not considered an employee who can be restricted from talking with other Universities (ahem, employers)? Bucky better be careful what he wishes for.

7. Workout Chats Now Mean You Are Program Committed

One thing the Complaint attempts to demonstrate is that Lucas was 1,000% committed to Wisconsin until big, bad Sebastian the Ibis swooped in and soiled Lucas with impure thoughts:

This only further demonstrates how strained it is for Wisconsin to sue Miami instead of just suing Lucas. Apparently, talking about weightlifting and shooting some social media videos means you’re in a committed relationship. Ask any college student if that’s true. It’s not.

8. Miami Allegedly Outbid One of Wisconsin’s Richest NIL Contracts in History

In one breath, the Complaint alleges that Lucas “was offered one of the largest NIL financial commitments of any [Wisconsin] athlete.” In another breath, Wisconsin alleges that Miami offered “financial terms more lucrative than those included in the [Wisconsin] Contracts.”

So if that’s true, is one of Wisconsin’s “largest NIL financial commitments” in history laughably small, or is Miami just that flush with cash?

By the way, a plausible reading of the Complaint allegations is that Lucas was railroaded into signing a new NIL agreement just days after Wisconsin’s end-of-season throttling by Minnesota, and he quickly realized how badly he got hosed and looked to transfer. If that’s the story, does Wisconsin really emerge as the good guy for low balling teenagers?

9. How Awkward Will It Be When Miami Joins the Big Ten?

The Big Ten issued a statement that it’s “supportive” of Wisconsin in its lawsuit. From the Big Ten’s perspective, it “believes that the University of Miami’s actions are irreconcilable with a sustainable college sports framework and is supportive of [Wisconsin]’s efforts to preserve it.”

The problem is that the next round of realignment is rapidly approaching, and Miami’s brand and strong TV ratings will be one of the most alluring additions. Miami has always been the villain – a role Hurricanes fans accept with glee – so perhaps this lawsuit is just priming the storylines for when Miami joins the Big Ten, not unlike a wrestling heel switching between WCW and WWE. The University of Miami has always been Razor Ramon, right?

WWE Archive

Photo by WWE via Getty Images.

10. But Seriously, What Damages?

Ultimately, the lawsuit seeks damages to compensate Wisconsin for the “loss of financial and promotional benefits [Wisconsin and its Collective] anticipated receiving” from Xavier Lucas’ NIL and participation on the football team. How you could calculate the loss of a freshman DB from a 5-7 football team is incomprehensible. How Wisconsin, not Lucas, would lose value because they could not promote his NIL is also incomprehensible. How many tickets will Wisconsin fail to sell to Lucas’ fans? How much will Lucas’ departure hinder the Big Ten from negotiating a new media rights deal? The world may never know…

…because this lawsuit will almost certainly settle. Wisconsin talked tough when Lucas forced his way to Miami, and evidently Wisconsin felt compelled to follow through with this lawsuit. In some ways it’s an important lawsuit because it could shape the future of NIL disputes in college athletics. In other ways, the lawsuit is extremely problematic. Most likely the later will carry the day, the schools will settle, and the Badgers and Hurricanes will be conference rivals a decade from now.





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Arizona State leans into NIL era with the Student Athlete Venture Studio

How the program, in partnership with GoDaddy, is helping student-athletes build businesses and their brands TEMPE, Ariz. — Four years ago, the NCAA started allowing student-athletes to get paid for their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL). A recent ruling involving a former Arizona State University swimmer will allow universities to pay their student-athletes directly with […]

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June 22, 2025

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Arizona State leans into NIL era with the Student Athlete Venture Studio

How the program, in partnership with GoDaddy, is helping student-athletes build businesses and their brands

TEMPE, Ariz. — Four years ago, the NCAA started allowing student-athletes to get paid for their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL). A recent ruling involving a former Arizona State University swimmer will allow universities to pay their student-athletes directly with revenue-sharing. 

At ASU, they’re thinking a few steps ahead by creating a space on campus to help athletes navigate the NIL era. Having a summer job and earning money can look different for college athletes but in Tempe, they’re encouraged to leverage sport as an entrepreneurial platform. 

The University teamed up to launch the Student-Athlete Venture Studio in January. The program supports Sun Devils in their entrepreneurial and NIL journeys by providing resources and mentorship to kickstart careers.

The Co-Founders of the Student Athlete Venture Studio are Jeff Kunowski and Kate Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald, a former Sun Devil beach volleyball player, also carries the title of Sports Innovation Entrepreneurship Catalyst at the J. Orin Edson Entrepreneurship + Innovation Institute. 

Her experience and initiative have helped shape what this program looks like for Sun Devil athletes. Fitzgerald says the Venture Studio resources are in place to help answer the questions someone just starting a business might have such as: “Where do I go with this? How do I organize my thoughts? How do I create media? How do I create content? How do I brand myself?” Fitzgerald said. 

“While I was in undergrad, I launched my own company called VB America. It’s a volleyball lifestyle clothing brand… What I did when working with Jeff is say, ‘okay, this is everything I wish I had as a student-athlete that would’ve helped me. How can we make it possible for other student-athletes to get these same resources?”

Kunowski’s career has led him to work with various sports teams before returning to his Alma Mater to mentor students along their journeys and help drive sports innovation within Sun Devil Athletics. The Venture Studio is like “Shark Tank” for Sun Devils. At the end of the year, there is a Demo Day pitch competition where student-athletes can receive funding for their ventures. The goal is to inspire student-athletes to build their brands now and equip them with the skills they need to excel in business.

“We’re encouraging entrepreneurial mindset, design-thinking principles, things that are applicable while they’re here at ASU as an athlete and while they’re leveraging NIL,” Kunowski said. “To be able to be on the sideline witnessing the confidence levels rising, the ability to public speak, the ability to articulate an idea and put it into a framework that people can understand and gravitate towards, it really is just such an inspiring position to be in.”

Rising sophomore on the women’s lacrosse team, Sierra Ryan, says the support from Sun Devil Athletics has allowed her to focus her energy on getting her venture off the ground. With practices, games, training and all the other time commitments required to participate in sports, it’s often a challenge for athletes to focus on their ventures. Whether it’s through sport or a startup, ASU gives its athletes an opportunity to pursue their passions and tap into their competitive nature through this new program.

“My venture is Fuel Warden. It’s a nutrition and wellness management platform for elite athletes. It’s still in the works right now but I’ve been programming it myself and putting everything together, meeting with investors and things like that,” Ryan said. “Everything that you could need to truly succeed in entrepreneurship, they’re bringing here to athletes at ASU. Like, helping me scale my venture and look with my pitch decks when I’m meeting with investors… Literally an hour before [my lacrosse game] my coach was like ‘hey, you need to go do this pitch I’ll cut out 15 minutes for you to do it in the locker room. Everyone will leave for you so you can do your meeting.’ [My coaches] are flexible and they believe in me and that means the world.”

Follow the conversation with Lina Washington on X and Instagram: @LWashingtonTV. If you have a sports story idea, email Lina at LWashington@12News.com.

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