NCAA Proposes New Penalties to Protect Wisconsin From Another Xavier Lucas Situation

After Wisconsin lost cornerback Xavier Lucas to a transfer outside of the portal, the NCAA is exploring penalties to prevent it from happening in the future.

Wisconsin Badgers cornerback Xavier Lucas (6) transferred to Miami without going through the transfer portal. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Wisconsin Badgers were put in a tough spot when cornerback Xavier Lucas transferred away from the program without going through the transfer portal.

The NCAA is looking to add new penalties to help prevent that from happening again in the future.

Lucas got around the NCAA's transfer portal rules by unenrolling at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and choosing to enroll in classes at Miami to then later join the football team.

He had signed a multi-year revenue sharing agreement with the Badgers that was supposed to keep him at the school for another season.

The move is referred to in college football circles as a "blind transfer" because the player isn't made publicly available for all schools to recruit.

Wisconsin is currently suing Miami over alleged tampering that led to Lucas' transfer.

The NCAA is exploring ways to disincentivize schools from acquiring players in this way, as it anticipates more will follow in Lucas' footsteps.

Related: Wisconsin Badgers Believe High School Coach Helped Miami Tamper With Xavier Lucas

NEW: College football programs are bracing for blind spring transfers amid proposed NCAA penalties, @PeteNakos reports👀

"There’s going to be 15 really high-profile guys that blind transfer, who don’t enter the transfer portal. It’s going to be a horrible look," one P4 GM said.… pic.twitter.com/CJEHbSI3a8

— On3 (@On3) February 26, 2026

This year, the governing body removed the spring transfer window, giving players only one opportunity to properly transfer through the portal.

This week, the NCAA's Oversight Committee proposed penalties for schools who accept a blind transfer player.

That included a fine of up to 20 percent of the school's football budget and also take away five of their scholarship roster spots for the following season.

At this point, these are just recommendations and would need to be approved by the full NCAA Division-I Cabinet, which could happen in April.

These changes wouldn't do anything to help Wisconsin make up for what it lost with Lucas leaving, but it could help prevent other schools from suffering the same impropriety in the future.

Sign Up For the Wisconsin Daily Digest - OnSI’s Free Wisconsin Badgers Newsletter