From the high-profile drama of Jordan Addison‘s move from Pitt to USC, which had Pat Narduzzi publicly fuming about alleged tampering, to countless other players suddenly entering the portal with a new destination pre-arranged… In the wild west of modern college football, the line between recruiting and outright theft has become so blurred it’s practically invisible. Now, a new legal firestorm brewing between Wisconsin and Canes’ Mario Cristobal is set to become the next major battleground in this war, threatening to expose the rampant hostile takeovers of rival rosters.

The core of the conflict is Wisconsin’s move to block Xavier Lucas from entering the transfer portal after he had already enrolled in classes in Madison, only to bolt for Miami shortly after. “Wisconsin refused to let… Lucas enter the portal, and that’s the issue,” RJ Young pointed out. This is the Badgers treating the letter of intent as a “no-trade clause for the team,” as Young puts it. However, what makes this entire case more interesting is the fact that Wisconsin isn’t budging from dragging this case to a “trial by jury” scenario.

In short, this is an extremely calculated move—a goal to set a “precedent… with other players.” Not only will this case shed light on the whole “whether an NIL agreement is just a fancy handshake or an enforceable contract” but it will also successfully manage to bring change to this high-stakes game of talent poaching that has been running wild in the college football scene.

But much like in every other story, there are always 2 sides to the coin. While the Badgers hold the victim card, Lucas and his lawyer, Darren Heitner, have been on full-blown offensive. Heitner suggests that Wisconsin’s refusal to allow Lucas to release is a blatant restriction of his freedom and a violation of antitrust laws. There is a good reason behind this claim.

Apparently, Wisconsin had “denied multiple requests from Lucas and Heitner” to use the 20-day winter window to place Lucas’s name in the portal. To sum it up, Badgers is not the victim but the bully trying to make an example out of a kid.

But just as the legal slugfest was turning into a whole “he said, she said” affair, the B1G decided to enter the chat. Not to remedy, but to turn this into a whole new level of legal drama.

Big Ten puts Mario Cristobal on notice

“The Big Ten Conference is aware of the litigation recently filed by the University of Wisconsin-Madison against the University of Miami and is supportive of UW-Madison’s position. As alleged, the University of Miami knowingly ignored contractual obligations and disregarded the principle of competitive equity that is fundamental to collegiate athletics.” If we were Mario Cristobal, this is not something we’d like to wake up to.

Imagine being so close to joining the Big 10 conference and then getting put on full blast by the committee. This makes us feel like the Canes’ rush to grab the B1G spot and the solid $7 billion media deal is going to get thrown out the window.

Not only are the walls closing in on Cristobal, but B1G’s involvement gives the Badgers the boost they need to “win” this lawsuit. Man, forget the playoffs; it looks like the season’s most important verdict is going to play out in the courtroom.